scholarly journals Age-related dissociation of N400 effect and lexical priming

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes O. Tiedt ◽  
Felicitas Ehlen ◽  
Fabian Klostermann
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Word Priming ◽  
Age Related

AbstractThe use of contextual information is an important capability to facilitate language comprehension. This can be shown by studying behavioral and neurophysiological measures of accelerated word recognition when semantically or phonemically related information is provided in advance, resulting in accompanying attenuation of the respective event-related potential, i.e. the N400 effect. Against the background of age-dependent changes in a broad variety of lexical capacities, we aimed to study whether word priming is accomplished differently in elderly compared to young persons. 19 young (29.9 ± 5.6 years) and 15 older (69.0 ± 7.2 years) healthy adults participated in a primed lexical decision task that required the classification of target stimuli (words or pseudo-words) following related or unrelated prime words. We assessed reaction time, task accuracy and N400 responses. Acceleration of word recognition by semantic and phonemic priming was significant in both groups, but resulted in overall larger priming effects in the older participants. Compared with young adults, the older participants were slower and less accurate in responding to unrelated word-pairs. The expected N400 effect was smaller in older than young adults, particularly during phonemic word and pseudo-word priming, with a rather similar N400 amplitude reduction by semantic relatedness. The observed pattern of results is consistent with preserved or even enhanced lexical context sensitivity in older compared to young adults. This, however, appears to involve compensatory cognitive strategies with higher lexical processing costs during phonological processing in particular, suggested by a reduced N400 effect in the elderly.

The Impact of Reader Skill on Phonological processing in visual Word Recognition

2003 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara J. Unsworth ◽  
Penny M. Pexman
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Skilled Readers ◽  
Phonological Activation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Do So

There has been much debate about the role of phonology in reading. This debate has been fuelled, in part, by mixed findings for phonological effects in lexical decision tasks. In the present research we investigated the impact of reader skill on three phonological effects (homophone, homograph, and regularity effects) in a lexical decision task and in a phonological lexical decision task. In both tasks, the more skilled readers showed different patterns of phonological effects from those of the less skilled readers; in particular, less skilled readers showed regularity effects in both tasks whereas more skilled readers did not. We concluded that more skilled readers activate phonology in these tasks but do so more efficiently, with less spurious phonological activation.

Dichotic Word Recognition in Young and Older Adults

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (04) ◽  
pp. 230-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina M. Roup ◽  
Terry L. Wiley ◽  
Richard H. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Recognition Performance ◽  
Directed Attention ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Group A ◽  
Right Ear Advantage

Dichotic word recognition was evaluated in free-recall, directed-attention right, and directed-attention left response conditions. All participants were right-handed and included a group of young adults with normal hearing and two groups of older adults with sensorineural hearing loss. Dichotic word recognition performance was best for young adults and decreased for each older group. A right-ear advantage (REA) was observed for all groups. REAs observed in the older groups were larger than those for the young adults, resulting from a greater deficit in dichotic word recognition performance for words presented to the left ear. A subset of older adults exhibited few to no responses (≤3/100) for the left ear for all response conditions, which may relate to a compromise in auditory processing. The results support an age-related disadvantage in recognition performance for dichotic stimuli presented to the left ear not entirely accounted for by differences in hearing sensitivity between subject groups.

scholarly journals High-Variability Phonetic Training enhances second language lexical processing: evidence from online training of French learners of English

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Gerda Ana Melnik ◽  
Sharon Peperkamp
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Online Training ◽  
English Word ◽  
High Variability ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Level Of Processing

Abstract High-Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) has been shown to be effective in improving the perception of the hardest non-native sounds. However, it remains unclear whether such training can enhance phonological processing at the lexical level. The present study tested whether HVPT also improves word recognition. Late French learners of English completed eight online sessions of HVPT on the perception of English word-initial /h/. This sound does not exist in French and has been shown to cause difficulty both at the prelexical (Mah, Goad & Steinhauer, 2016) and the lexical level of processing (Melnik & Peperkamp, 2019). In pretest and posttest participants were administered a prelexical identification task and a lexical decision task. Results demonstrate that after training the learners’ accuracy improved in both tasks. Moreover, these improvements were retained four months after posttest. This is the first evidence that short training can enhance not only prelexical perception, but also word recognition.

Auditory Lexical Decisions in Children and Adults

1993 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 996-1003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Edwards ◽  
Margaret Lahey
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Reaction Time Task ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Real Word ◽  
Response Factors ◽  
Lexical Decisions ◽  
Age Related

This study examined the influence of nonlexical response factors on the speed of auditory lexical decisions in children and adults. Two groups of children (6- and 7-year-olds, 8- and 9-year-olds) and adults participated in three tasks: a real-word lexical decision task in which subjects were asked to say "yes" as quickly as possible to real words; a nonword lexical decision task in which subjects were asked to say "no" as quickly as possible to nonwords; and an auditory-vocal reaction time task in which subjects were asked to say "yes" or "no" to a tone. Response times on all tasks decreased with age. However, the age-related differences on the real-word lexical decision task disappeared when differences in auditory-vocal reaction times were taken into account. This result suggests that a large part of developmental differences in the speed of lexical processing may be due to nonlexical response factors.

scholarly journals Metaphors are like lenses: Electrophysiological correlates of novel meaning processing in bilingualism

2021 ◽  
pp. 136700692199682
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Jankowiak ◽  
Marcin Naranowicz ◽  
Karolina Rataj
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Late Time ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
L1 And L2

Aims and objectives: The study provides new insights into how bilingual speakers process semantically complex novel meanings in their native (L1) and non-native language (L2). Methodology: The study employs an EEG method with a semantic decision task to novel nominal metaphors, novel similes, as well as literal and anomalous sentences presented in participants’ L1 and L2. Data and analysis: In total, 29 native speakers of Polish (L1) who were highly proficient in English (L2) took part in the study. The collected EEG signal was analyzed in terms of an event-related potential analysis. The statistical analyses were based on behavioral data (reaction times and accuracy rates) as well as mean amplitudes for the four conditions in the two languages within the N400 and LPC time windows. Findings: The results revealed the N400 effect of utterance type modulated by language nativeness, where the brainwaves for anomalous sentences, novel nominal metaphors, and novel similes converged in L2, while in L1 a graded effect was observed from anomalous sentences to novel nominal metaphors, novel similes and literal sentences. In contrast, within the late time window, a more pronounced sustained negativity to novel nominal metaphors than novel similes was observed in both languages, thus indicating that meaning integration mechanisms might be of similar automaticity in L1 and L2 when bilingual speakers are highly proficient in their L2. Altogether, the present results point to a more taxing mechanisms involved in lexico-semantic access in L2 than L1, yet such an increased effort seems to be resolved within the meaning integration phase. Originality: The findings present novel insights into how bilinguals construct new unfamiliar meanings and show how and when cognitive mechanisms engaged in this process are modulated by language nativeness. Significance: The study might provide crucial implications for further research on bilingual semantic processing as well as human creativity.

scholarly journals Are Vowels and Consonants Processed Differently? Event-related Potential Evidence with a Delayed Letter Paradigm

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Carreiras ◽  
Margaret Gillon-Dowens ◽  
Marta Vergara ◽  
Manuel Perea
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Simultaneous Presentation ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Baseline Condition ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Processing Event

To investigate the neural bases of consonant and vowel processing, event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants read words and pseudowords in a lexical decision task. The stimuli were displayed in three different conditions: (i) simultaneous presentation of all letters (baseline condition); (ii) presentation of all letters, except that two internal consonants were delayed for 50 msec (consonants-delayed condition); and (iii) presentation of all letters, except that two internal vowels were delayed for 50 msec (vowels-delayed condition). The behavioral results showed that, for words, response times in the consonants-delayed condition were longer than in the vowels-delayed condition, which, in turn, were longer than in the baseline condition. The ERPs showed that, starting as early as 150 msec, words in the consonants-delayed condition produced a larger negativity than words in vowels-delayed condition. In addition, there were peak latency differences and amplitude differences in the P150, N250, P325, and N400 components between the baseline and the two letter-delayed conditions. We examine the implications of these findings for models of visual-word recognition and reading.

scholarly journals Implicit and Explicit Mechanisms of Word Learning in a Narrative Context: An Event-related Potential Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 3181-3196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Batterink ◽  
Helen Neville
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Recognition Performance ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Word Meanings

The vast majority of word meanings are learned simply by extracting them from context rather than by rote memorization or explicit instruction. Although this skill is remarkable, little is known about the brain mechanisms involved. In the present study, ERPs were recorded as participants read stories in which pseudowords were presented multiple times, embedded in consistent, meaningful contexts (referred to as meaning condition, M+) or inconsistent, meaningless contexts (M−). Word learning was then assessed implicitly using a lexical decision task and explicitly through recall and recognition tasks. Overall, during story reading, M− words elicited a larger N400 than M+ words, suggesting that participants were better able to semantically integrate M+ words than M− words throughout the story. In addition, M+ words whose meanings were subsequently correctly recognized and recalled elicited a more positive ERP in a later time window compared with M+ words whose meanings were incorrectly remembered, consistent with the idea that the late positive component is an index of encoding processes. In the lexical decision task, no behavioral or electrophysiological evidence for implicit priming was found for M+ words. In contrast, during the explicit recognition task, M+ words showed a robust N400 effect. The N400 effect was dependent upon recognition performance, such that only correctly recognized M+ words elicited an N400. This pattern of results provides evidence that the explicit representations of word meanings can develop rapidly, whereas implicit representations may require more extensive exposure or more time to emerge.

scholarly journals Age-related Neural Reorganization during Spoken Word Recognition: The Interaction of Form and Meaning

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1434-1446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith Shafto ◽  
Billi Randall ◽  
Emmanuel A. Stamatakis ◽  
Paul Wright ◽  
L. K. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Life Span ◽  
Spoken Word Recognition ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Spoken Word ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Behavioral Sensitivity

Research on language and aging typically shows that language comprehension is preserved across the life span. Recent neuroimaging results suggest that this good performance is underpinned by age-related neural reorganization [e.g., Tyler, L. K., Shafto, M. A., Randall, B., Wright, P., Marslen-Wilson, W. D., & Stamatakis, E. A. Preserving syntactic processing across the adult life span: The modulation of the frontotemporal language system in the context of age-related atrophy. Cerebral Cortex, 20, 352–364, 2010]. The current study examines how age-related reorganization affects the balance between component linguistic processes by manipulating semantic and phonological factors during spoken word recognition in younger and older adults. Participants in an fMRI study performed an auditory lexical decision task where words varied in their phonological and semantic properties as measured by degree of phonological competition and imageability. Older adults had a preserved lexicality effect, but compared with younger people, their behavioral sensitivity to phonological competition was reduced, as was competition-related activity in left inferior frontal gyrus. This was accompanied by increases in behavioral sensitivity to imageability and imageability-related activity in left middle temporal gyrus. These results support previous findings that neural compensation underpins preserved comprehension in aging and demonstrate that neural reorganization can affect the balance between semantic and phonological processing.

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