scholarly journals Information structure effects on the processing of nouns and verbs: evidence from event-related brain potentials

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Emanuela Piciucco ◽  
Viviana Masia ◽  
Emanuele Maiorana ◽  
Edoardo Lombardi Vallauri ◽  
Patrizio Campisi
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Word Class ◽  
Eeg Signals ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Class Level ◽  
Processing Demands ◽  
Nominal Reference ◽  
The Cost

Abstract Electroencephalographic (EEG) signals can reveal the cost required to deal with information structure mismatches in speech or in text contexts. The present study investigates the costs related to the processing of different associations between the syntactic categories of Noun and Verb and the information categories of Topic and Focus. It is hypothesized that – due to the very nature (respectively, predicative and non-predicative) of verbal and nominal reference – sentences with Topics realized by verbs, and Focuses realized by nouns, should impose greater processing demands, compared to the decoding of nominal Topics and verbal Focuses. Data from event-related potential (ERP) measurements revealed an N400 effect in response to both nouns encoded as Focus and verbs packaged as Topic, confirming that the cost associated with information structure processing follows discourse-driven expectations also with respect to the word-class level.

The Immediate Effect of Pragmatic Plausibility in Reanalysis: Evidence from Event-related Brain Potentials

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Oishi
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Processing Load ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Revision Process ◽  
Structural Revision ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Reading Study ◽  
Existing Structure

AbstractPrevious studies on reanalysis in sentence processing have shown that the processing load of reanalysis increases in proportion to the difficulty in revising the existing structure. The present study, on the other hand, argues that the processing load of reanalysis also increases when the pragmatic plausibility of the interpretation of the revised structure turns out to be pragmatically less plausible. This paper reports the results of two experiments: The results of Experiment 1 (a self-paced reading study) indicate that the pragmatically less plausible interpretation of the revised structure immediately affects the processing load of the reanalysis. Experiment 2 further addresses the issue of the immediate impact of the effect of the pragmatic plausibility by recording event-related brain potentials (ERPs). The results revealed that a large N400 effect was observed at the pragmatically less plausible words, while the response to the effect of the structural revision resulted in a P600 effect. Furthermore, we found the nearly perfect linear summation between the N400 and P600 effects, suggesting that the difficulty in the pragmatic integration process did not affect the difficulty in the structural revision process. In addition, we found that the onset of the P600 effect reflecting the cost of revising the existing structure was relatively earlier than that of the N400 effect reflecting the pragmatic implausibility. The present study provides us with some implications for a theory of reanalysis and consideration of the time course of reanalysis.

EXPRESS: Selective adaptation in sentence comprehension: Evidence from event-related brain potentials

2020 ◽  
pp. 174702182098462
Author(s):  
Masataka Yano ◽  
Shugo Suwazono ◽  
Hiroshi Arao ◽  
Daichi Yasunaga ◽  
Hiroaki Oishi
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Selective Adaptation ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Equal Probability ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Processing Cost ◽  
Low Probability

The present study conducted two event-related potential experiments to investigate whether readers adapt their expectations to morphosyntactically (Experiment 1) or semantically (Experiment 2) anomalous sentences when they are repeatedly exposed to them. To address this issue, we manipulated the probability of morphosyntactically/semantically grammatical and anomalous sentence occurrence through experiments. For the low probability block, anomalous sentences were presented less frequently than grammatical sentences (with a ratio of 1 to 4), while they were presented as frequently as grammatical sentences in the equal probability block. Experiment 1 revealed a smaller P600 effect for morphosyntactic violations in the equal probability block than in the low probability block. Linear mixed-effect models were used to examine how the size of the P600 effect changed as the experiment went along. The results showed that the smaller P600 effect of the equal probability block resulted from an amplitude’s decline in morphosyntactically violated sentences over the course of the experiment, suggesting an adaptation to morphosyntactic violations. In Experiment 2, semantically anomalous sentences elicited a larger N400 effect than their semantically natural counterparts regardless of probability manipulation. No evidence was found in favor of adaptation to semantic violations in that the processing cost of semantic violations did not decrease over the course of the experiment. Therefore, the present study demonstrated a dynamic aspect of language-processing system. We will discuss why the language-processing system shows a selective adaptation to morphosyntactic violations.

scholarly journals The Role of Prosodic Breaks and Pitch Accents in Grouping Words during On-line Sentence Processing

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 2447-2467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Bögels ◽  
Herbert Schriefers ◽  
Wietske Vonk ◽  
Dorothee J. Chwilla
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Pitch Accent ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
On Line ◽  
Group Words ◽  
Pitch Accents

The present study addresses the question whether accentuation and prosodic phrasing can have a similar function, namely, to group words in a sentence together. Participants listened to locally ambiguous sentences containing object- and subject-control verbs while ERPs were measured. In Experiment 1, these sentences contained a prosodic break, which can create a certain syntactic grouping of words, or no prosodic break. At the disambiguation, an N400 effect occurred when the disambiguation was in conflict with the syntactic grouping created by the break. We found a similar N400 effect without the break, indicating that the break did not strengthen an already existing preference. This pattern held for both object- and subject-control items. In Experiment 2, the same sentences contained a break and a pitch accent on the noun following the break. We argue that the pitch accent indicates a broad focus covering two words [see Gussenhoven, C. On the limits of focus projection in English. In P. Bosch & R. van der Sandt (Eds.), Focus: Linguistic, cognitive, and computational perspectives. Cambridge: University Press, 1999], thus grouping these words together. For object-control items, this was semantically possible, which led to a “good-enough” interpretation of the sentence. Therefore, both sentences were interpreted equally well and the N400 effect found in Experiment 1 was absent. In contrast, for subject-control items, a corresponding grouping of the words was impossible, both semantically and syntactically, leading to processing difficulty in the form of an N400 effect and a late positivity. In conclusion, accentuation can group words together on the level of information structure, leading to either a semantically “good-enough” interpretation or a processing problem when such a semantic interpretation is not possible.

scholarly journals When Heuristics Clash with Parsing Routines: ERP Evidence for Conflict Monitoring in Sentence Perception

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 1181-1197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marieke van Herten ◽  
Dorothee J. Chwilla ◽  
Herman H. J. Kolk
Keyword(s):  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Conflict Monitoring ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Late Positivity ◽  
Error Related Negativity ◽  
Monitoring Process ◽  
Outcome Monitoring

Monitoring refers to a process of quality control designed to optimize behavioral outcome. Monitoring for action errors manifests itself in an error-related negativity in event-related potential (ERP) studies and in an increase in activity of the anterior cingulate in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Here we report evidence for a monitoring process in perception, in particular, language perception, manifesting itself in a late positivity in the ERP. This late positivity, the P600, appears to be triggered by a conflict between two interpretations, one delivered by the standard syntactic algorithm and one by a plausibility heuristic which combines individual word meanings in the most plausible way. To resolve this conflict, we propose that the brain reanalyzes the memory trace of the perceptual input to check for the possibility of a processing error. Thus, as in Experiment 1, when the reader is presented with semantically anomalous sentences such as, “The fox that shot the poacher…,” full syntactic analysis indicates a semantic anomaly, whereas the word-based heuristic leads to a plausible interpretation, that of a poacher shooting a fox. That readers actually pursue such a word-based analysis is indicated by the fact that the usual ERP index of semantic anomaly, the so-called N400 effect, was absent in this case. A P600 effect appeared instead. In Experiment 2, we found that even when the word-based heuristic indicated that only part of the sentence was plausible (e.g., “…that the elephants pruned the trees”), a P600 effect was observed and the N400 effect of semantic anomaly was absent. It thus seems that the plausibility of part of the sentence (e.g., that of pruning trees) was sufficient to create a conflict with the implausible meaning of the sentence as a whole, giving rise to a monitoring response.

Brain Responses to World Knowledge Violations: A Comparison of Stimulus- and Fixation-triggered Event-related Potentials and Neural Oscillations

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 1017-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Metzner ◽  
Titus von der Malsburg ◽  
Shravan Vasishth ◽  
Frank Rösler
Keyword(s):  
Word Meaning ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
World Knowledge ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Gamma Range ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Related Potentials

Recent research has shown that brain potentials time-locked to fixations in natural reading can be similar to brain potentials recorded during rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP). We attempted two replications of Hagoort, Hald, Bastiaansen, and Petersson [Hagoort, P., Hald, L., Bastiaansen, M., & Petersson, K. M. Integration of word meaning and world knowledge in language comprehension. Science, 304, 438–441, 2004] to determine whether this correspondence also holds for oscillatory brain responses. Hagoort et al. reported an N400 effect and synchronization in the theta and gamma range following world knowledge violations. Our first experiment (n = 32) used RSVP and replicated both the N400 effect in the ERPs and the power increase in the theta range in the time–frequency domain. In the second experiment (n = 49), participants read the same materials freely while their eye movements and their EEG were monitored. First fixation durations, gaze durations, and regression rates were increased, and the ERP showed an N400 effect. An analysis of time–frequency representations showed synchronization in the delta range (1–3 Hz) and desynchronization in the upper alpha range (11–13 Hz) but no theta or gamma effects. The results suggest that oscillatory EEG changes elicited by world knowledge violations are different in natural reading and RSVP. This may reflect differences in how representations are constructed and retrieved from memory in the two presentation modes.

scholarly journals Are all code-switches processed the same? Examining semantic v. language unexpectancy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Valdés Kroff ◽  
Patricia Roman ◽  
Paola E. Dussias
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Online Processing ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Main Effect

Prior studies using the event-related potential (ERP) technique show that integrating sentential code-switches in online processing lead to a broadly distributed late positivity component while processing semantically unexpected continuations instead lead to the emergence of an N400 effect. While the N400 is generally assumed to index lexico-semantic processing, the LPC has two different interpretations. One account suggests that it reflects the processing of an improbable or unexpected event while an alternative account proposes sentence-level reanalysis. To investigate the relative costs of semantic to language-based unexpectancies (i.e., code-switches), the current study tests 24 Spanish-English bilinguals in an ERP reading study. Semantically constrained Spanish frames either varied in their semantic expectancy (high vs low expectancy) and/or their language continuation (same language vs code-switch) while participants’ electrophysiological responses were recorded. The Spanish-to-English switch direction provides a more naturalistic test for integration costs to code-switching as it better approximates the code-switching practices of the target population. Analyses across three time windows show a main effect for semantic expectancy in the N400 time window and a main effect for code-switching in the LPC time window. Additional analyses based on the self-reported code-switching experience of the participants suggested an early positivity linked to less experience with code-switching. The results suggest that not all code-switches lead to similar integration costs and that prior experience with code-switching is an important additional factor that modulates online processing.

Morphosyntax, Prosody, and Linking Elements: The Auditory Processing of German Nominal Compounds

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1647-1668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Koester ◽  
Th. C. Gunter ◽  
S. Wagner ◽  
A. D. Friederici
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Brain Potentials ◽  
Prosodic Cues ◽  
Linking Elements ◽  
Nominal Compounds ◽  
Dual Route Model ◽  
Anterior Negativity

The morphosyntactic decomposition of German compound words and a proposed function of linking elements were examined during auditory processing using event-related brain potentials. In Experiment 1, the syntactic gender agreement was manipulated between a determiner and the initial compound constituent (the “nonhead” constituent), and between a determiner and the last constituent (“head”). Although only the head is (morpho)syntactically relevant in German, both constituents elicited a left-anterior negativity if its gender was incongruent. This strongly suggests that compounds are morphosyntactically decomposed. Experiment 2 tested the function of those linking elements which are homophonous to plural morphemes. It has been previously suggested that these indicate the number of nonhead constituents. The number agreement was manipulated for both constituents analogous to Experiment 1. Number-incongruent heads, but not nonhead constituents, elicited an N400 and a subsequent broad negativity, suggesting that linking elements are not processed as plural morphemes. Experiment 3 showed that prosodic cues (duration and fundamental frequency) are employed to differentiate between compounds and single nouns and, thereby, betwen linking elements and plural morphemes. Number-incongruent words elicited a broad negativity if they were produced with a single noun prosody; the same words elicited no event-related potential effect if produced with a compound prosody. A dual-route model can account for the influence of prosody on morphosyntactic processing.

scholarly journals Semantic Processing in Healthy Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review of the N400 Differences

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 770
Author(s):  
Marilyne Joyal ◽  
Charles Groleau ◽  
Clara Bouchard ◽  
Maximiliano A. Wilson ◽  
Shirley Fecteau
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Pathological Aging ◽  
Healthy Elderly

Semantic deficits are common in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These deficits notably impact the ability to understand words. In healthy aging, semantic knowledge increases but semantic processing (i.e., the ability to use this knowledge) may be impaired. This systematic review aimed to investigate semantic processing in healthy aging and AD through behavioral responses and the N400 brain event-related potential. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analyses suggested an overall decrease in accuracy and increase in response times in healthy elderly as compared to young adults, as well as in individuals with AD as compared to age-matched controls. The influence of semantic association, as measured by N400 effect amplitudes, appears smaller in healthy aging and even more so in AD patients. Thus, semantic processing differences may occur in both healthy and pathological aging. The establishment of norms of healthy aging for these outcomes that vary between normal and pathological aging could eventually help early detection of AD.

scholarly journals Mobile EEG identifies the re-allocation of attention during real-world activity

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Ladouce ◽  
David I. Donaldson ◽  
Paul A. Dudchenko ◽  
Magdalena Ietswaart
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Real World ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Processing Demands ◽  
Neural Marker ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Human Participants

Abstract The distribution of attention between competing processing demands can have dramatic real-world consequences, however little is known about how limited attentional resources are distributed during real-world behaviour. Here we employ mobile EEG to characterise the allocation of attention across multiple sensory-cognitive processing demands during naturalistic movement. We used a neural marker of attention, the Event-Related Potential (ERP) P300 effect, to show that attention to targets is reduced when human participants walk compared to when they stand still. In a second experiment, we show that this reduction in attention is not caused by the act of walking per se. A third experiment identified the independent processing demands driving reduced attention to target stimuli during motion. ERP data reveals that the reduction in attention seen during walking reflects the linear and additive sum of the processing demands produced by visual and inertial stimulation. The mobile cognition approach used here shows how limited resources are precisely re-allocated according to the sensory processing demands that occur during real-world behaviour.

scholarly journals Spoken Sentence Comprehension in Aphasia: Event-related Potential Evidence for a Lexical Integration Deficit

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Swaab ◽  
Colin Brown ◽  
Peter Hagoort
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Sentence Context ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Oddball Paradigm ◽  
Final Word ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Lexical Information ◽  
Preceding Sentence ◽  
Comprehension Deficit

In this study the N400 component of the event-related potential was used to investigate spoken sentence understanding in Broca's and Wernicke's aphasics. The aim of the study was to determine whether spoken sentence comprehension problems in these patients might result from a deficit in the on-line integration of lexical information. Subjects listened to sentences spoken at a normal rate. In half of these sentences, the meaning of the final word of the sentence matched the semantic specifications of the preceding sentence context. In the other half of the sentences, the sentence-final word was anomalous with respect to the preceding sentence context. The N400 was measured to the sentence-final words in both conditions. The results for the aphasic patients (n = 14) were analyzed according to the severity of their comprehension deficit and compared to a group of 12 neurologically unimpaired age-matched controls, as well as a group of 6 nonaphasic patients with a lesion in the right hemisphere. The nonaphasic brain damaged patients and the aphasic patients with a light comprehension deficit (high comprehenders, n = 7) showed an N400 effect that was comparable to that of the neurologically unimpaired subjects. In the aphasic patients with a moderate to severe comprehension deficit (low comprehenders, n = 7), a reduction and delay of the N400 effect was obtained. In addition, the P300 component was measured in a classical oddball paradigm, in which subjects were asked to count infrequent low tones in a random series of high and low tones. No correlation was found between the occurrence of N400 and P300 effects, indicating that changes in the N400 results were related to the patients' language deficit. Overall, the pattern of results was compatible with the idea that aphasic patients with moderate to severe comprehension problems are impaired in the integration of lexical information into a higher order representation of the preceding sentence context.

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