The N400 ERP component reflects a learning signal during language comprehension

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.1101/2021.03.25.436922 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alice Hodapp ◽

Milena Rabovsky

Keyword(s):

Implicit Memory ◽

Language Processing ◽

Network Modeling ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Neural Network Modeling ◽

Perceptual Identification ◽

Probabilistic Representation ◽

Identification Task ◽

Sentence Reading ◽

N400 Component

The functional significance of the N400 ERP component is still actively debated. Based on neural network modeling it was recently proposed that the N400 component can be interpreted as the change in a probabilistic representation corresponding to an internal temporal-difference prediction error at the level of meaning that drives adaptation in language processing. These computational modeling results imply that increased N400 amplitudes should correspond to greater adaptation. To investigate this model derived hypothesis, the current study manipulated expectancy in a sentence reading task, which influenced N400 amplitudes, and critically also later implicit memory for the manipulated word: reaction times in a perceptual identification task were significantly faster for previously unexpected words. Additionally, it could be demonstrated that this adaptation seems to specifically depend on the process underlying N400 amplitudes, as participants with larger N400 differences also exhibited a larger implicit memory benefit. These findings support the interpretation of the N400 as an implicit learning signal in language processing.

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Perceptual identification task points to continuity between implicit memory and recall

Cognition ◽

10.1016/j.cognition.2019.104168 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 197 ◽

pp. 104168

Author(s):

Audrey Mazancieux ◽

Tifany Pandiani ◽

Chris J.A. Moulin

Keyword(s):

Implicit Memory ◽

Perceptual Identification ◽

Identification Task ◽

Memory And Recall

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I like coffee with cream anddog?Change in an implicit probabilistic representation captures meaning processing in the brain

10.1101/138149 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Milena Rabovsky ◽

Steven S. Hansen ◽

James L. McClelland

Keyword(s):

Language Processing ◽

Sentence Comprehension ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Activation Pattern ◽

Probabilistic Representation ◽

Underlying Process ◽

Sentence Meaning ◽

Incoming Stimulus ◽

N400 Component ◽

The Brain

AbstractThe N400 component of the event-related brain potential has aroused much interest because it is thought to provide an online measure of meaning processing in the brain. Yet, the underlying process remains incompletely understood and actively debated. Here, we present a computationally explicit account of this process and the emerging representation of sentence meaning. We simulate N400 amplitudes as the change induced by an incoming stimulus in an implicit and probabilistic representation of meaning captured by the hidden unit activation pattern in a neural network model of sentence comprehension, and we propose that the process underlying the N400 also drives implicit learning in the network. The model provides a unified account of 16 distinct findings from the N400 literature and connects human language processing with successful deep learning approaches to language processing.

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Perceptual identification task points to continuity between implicit memory and recall

10.31234/osf.io/g7r2z ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Audrey Mazancieux ◽

Tifany Pandiani ◽

Chris Moulin

Keyword(s):

Implicit Memory ◽

Explicit Memory ◽

Recognition Task ◽

Perceptual Identification ◽

Study Phase ◽

Identification Task ◽

Subjective Report ◽

The Face ◽

Trace Strength ◽

Implicit And Explicit Memory

Adopting a continuous identification task (CID-R) with embedded questions about prior occurrence, recent research has proposed that implicit and explicit memory are underpinned by a single memory system, since there is a systematic relationship between implicit memory (measured by identification) and explicit memory (measured subjective report of recognition; for an example, see Berry et al., 2008). We were interested whether this pattern would extend to recall of information from a study phase (Experiment 1) or semantic memory (Experiment 2). We developed a degraded face identification version of the CID-R task using Gaussian blur. We reproduced previous results regarding the relationship between explicit responses on the recognition task (old/new) and stimuli identification, pointing to a continuity between explicit and implicit memory. Critically, we also found that the strength of the implicit effect (i.e., stimuli identification) was predicted by the accuracy in recall (retrieval of context in Experiment 1 and correct responses to general knowledge questions about the face in Experiment 2). Our results support the idea that memory is unidimentional and related to memory trace strength; both for recall and recognition, and interestingly, for semantic and episodic recall.

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ERP priming studies of bilingual language processing

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728917000700 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 462-470 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

SINA BOSCH ◽

ALINA LEMINEN

Keyword(s):

Implicit Memory ◽

Memory Effect ◽

Language Processing ◽

Experimental Research ◽

Time Resolution ◽

Language Comprehension ◽

Time Course ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Brain Potential ◽

Neural Processes

The aim of this review is to provide a selective overview of priming studies which have employed the event-related brain potential (ERP) technique in order to investigate bilingual language processing. The priming technique can reveal an implicit memory effect in which exposure to one stimulus influences the processing of another stimulus. Behavioral approaches, such as measuring reaction times, may not always be enough for providing a full view on the exact mechanisms and the time-course of language comprehension. Instead, ERPs have a time-resolution of a millisecond and hence they offer a precise temporal overview of the underlying neural processes involved in language processing. In our review, we summarize experimental research that has combined priming with ERP measurements, thus creating a valuable tool for examining the neurophysiological correlates of language processing in the bilingual brain.

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Combining the Post-Cue Task and the Perceptual Identification Task to Assess Parallel Activation and Mutual Facilitation of Related Primes and Targets

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000396 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 65 (2) ◽

pp. 84-97 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Demian Scherer ◽

Dirk Wentura

Keyword(s):

Semantic Priming ◽

Stimulus Onset ◽

The Other ◽

Perceptual Identification ◽

Identification Task ◽

Priming Effects ◽

Priming Paradigm ◽

Parallel Activation ◽

Prime Target

Abstract. Recent theories assume a mutual facilitation in case of semantic overlap for concepts being activated simultaneously. We provide evidence for this claim using a semantic priming paradigm. To test for mutual facilitation of related concepts, a perceptual identification task was employed, presenting prime-target pairs briefly and masked, with an SOA of 0 ms (i.e., prime and target were presented concurrently, one above the other). Participants were instructed to identify the target. In Experiment 1, a cue defining the target was presented at stimulus onset, whereas in Experiment 2 the cue was not presented before the offset of stimuli. Accordingly, in Experiment 2, a post-cue task was merged with the perceptual identification task. We obtained significant semantic priming effects in both experiments. This result is compatible with the view that two concepts can both be activated in parallel and can mutually facilitate each other if they are related.

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