Behavioral and Electrophysiological Study of Phonological Priming between Bisyllabic Spoken Words

Phonological priming between bisyllabic (CV.CVC) spoken items was examined using both behavioral (reaction times, RTs) and electrophysiological (event-related potentials, ERPs) measures. Word and pseudoword targets were preceded by pseudoword primes. Different types of final phonological overlap between prime and target were compared. Critical pairs shared the last syllable, the rime or the coda, while unrelated pairs were used as controls. Participants performed a target shadowing task in Experiment 1 and a delayed lexical decision task in Experiment 2. RTs were measured in the first experiment and ERPs were recorded in the second experiment. The RT experiment was carried out under two presentation conditions. In Condition 1 both primes and targets were presented auditorily, while in Condition 2 the primes were presented visually and the targets auditorily. Priming effects were found in the unimodal condition only. RTs were fastest for syllable overlap, intermediate for rime overlap, and slowest for coda overlap and controls that did not differ from one another. ERPs were recorded under unimodal auditory presentation. ERP results showed that the amplitude of the auditory N400 component was smallest for syllable overlap, intermediate for rime overlap, and largest for coda overlap and controls that did not differ from one another. In both experiments, the priming effects were larger for word than for pseudoword targets. These results are best explained by the combined influences of nonlexical and lexical processes, and a comparison of the reported effects with those found in monosyllables suggests the involvement of rime and syllable representations.

Download Full-text

Modulation of Event-Related Potentials by Semantic Priming: Effects of Color-Cued Selective Attention

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.1996.8.2.155 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 155-173 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Marion L. Kellenbach ◽

Patricia T. Michie

Keyword(s):

Selective Attention ◽

Semantic Priming ◽

Semantic Processing ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Decision Task ◽

Priming Effects ◽

Attentional Processing ◽

Latency Range ◽

Related Potentials ◽

N400 Component

The processing nature of N400, an event-related brain potential (ERP) component associated with semantic processing, was investigated in a paradigm combining a semantic priming lexical decision task and color-cued selective attention. Semantic priming effects on ERPs and reaction time (RT) were examined when targets and preceding semantically related primes were either both attended or both unattended, and when only either the prime or target was the focus of attention. Priming effects were determined by comparing semantically primed target ERPs (and RTs when appropriate) to their prime (in those conditions where the prime and target had the same attentional status) and/or to an unprimed control target matched to the attentional status of the primed target. Control stimuli were examined for ERP effects of color-cued selective attention unconfounded by priming factors. Experiment 1 required overt responses to words and nonwords in a binary choice task, while Experiment 2 required response only to nonwords. RTs in Experiment 1 indicated facilitatory priming effects to all semantically primed attended targets. In Experiments 1 and 2 ERPs to primes and controls were consistently more negative than the primed target trace in the N400 latency range in conditions with attended primes, suggesting priming effects on N400 are contingent on attentional processing of the prime. Removal of the attention manipulation (Experiment 3) resulted in an N400 component with a well-defined peak not evident in the first two experiments, indicating modulation of N400 by overlapping effects of attention.

Download Full-text

Neurophysiological Manifestations of Phonological Processing: Latency Variation of a Negative ERP Component Timelocked to Phonological Mismatch

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.1994.6.3.204 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 204-219 ◽

Cited By ~ 102

Author(s):

Peter Praamstra ◽

Antje S. Meyer ◽

Willem J. M. Levelt

Keyword(s):

Reaction Times ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Error Rates ◽

Behavioral Data ◽

Decision Task ◽

Delayed Response ◽

Target Onset ◽

Brain Potentials ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Response Task

Two experiments examined phonological priming effects on reaction times, error rates, and event-related brain potential (ERP) measures in an auditory lexical decision task. In Experiment 1 related prime-target pairs rhymed, and in Experiment 2 they alliterated (i.e., shared the consonantal onset and vowel). Event-related potentials were recorded in a delayed response task. Reaction times and error rates were obtained both for the delayed and an immediate response task. The behavioral data of Experiment 1 provided evidence for phonological facilitation of word, but not of nonword decisions. The brain potentials were more negative to unrelated than to rhyming word-word pairs between 450 and 700 rnsec after target onset. This negative enhancement was not present for word-nonword pairs. Thus, the ERP results match the behavioral data. The behavioral data of Experiment 2 provided no evidence for phonological Facilitation. However, between 250 and 450 msec after target onset, i.e., considerably earlier than in Experiment 1, brain potentials were more negative for unrelated than for alliterating Word-word and word-nonword pairs. It is argued that the ERP effects in the two experiments could be modulations of the same underlying component, possibly the N400. The difference in the timing of the effects is likely to be due to the fact that the shared segments in related stimulus pairs appeared in different word positions in the two experiments.

Download Full-text

Language context effects on interlingual homograph recognition: evidence from event-related potentials and response times in semantic priming

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728901000256 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 155-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 49

Author(s):

Ellen R. A. de Bruijn ◽

Ton Dijkstra ◽

Dorothee J. Chwilla ◽

Herbert J. Schriefers

Keyword(s):

Semantic Priming ◽

Context Effects ◽

Response Times ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Semantic Integration ◽

Decision Task ◽

Priming Effects ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Related Potentials ◽

On Line

Dutch–English bilinguals performed a generalized lexical decision task on triplets of items, responding with “yes” if all three items were correct Dutch and/or English words, and with “no” if one or more of the items was not a word in either language. Sometimes the second item in a triplet was an interlingual homograph whose English meaning was semantically related to the third item of the triplet (e.g., HOUSE – ANGEL – HEAVEN, where ANGEL means “sting” in Dutch). In such cases, the first item was either an exclusively English (HOUSE) or an exclusively Dutch (ZAAK) word. Semantic priming effects were found in on-line response times. Event-related potentials that were recorded simultaneously showed N400 priming effects thought to reflect semantic integration processes. The response time and N400 priming effects were not affected by the language of the first item in the triplets, providing evidence in support of a strong bottom-up role with respect to bilingual word recognition. The results are interpreted in terms of the Bilingual Interactive Activation model, a language nonselective access model assuming bottom-up priority.

Download Full-text

Neuroplasticity in visual word recognition: An exploration of learning-related behavioural and neural changes

10.31234/osf.io/rk3dt ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kelsey Cnudde ◽

Sophia van Hees ◽

Sage Brown ◽

Gwen van der Wijk ◽

Penny M. Pexman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Word Recognition ◽

Visual Word Recognition ◽

Response Times ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Recognition System ◽

Visual Word ◽

Decision Task ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Signal Complexity ◽

Lexical Processes

Visual word recognition is perceived to remain relatively stable throughout adulthood, but recent research suggests the system involved is malleable, with evidence of behavioural changes after lexical decision task (LDT) practice. The potential for, and extent of, neural changes have yet to be elucidated in this context. If identified, these neural changes could be due to processes associated with learning, where performance that is initially effortful becomes efficient and supported by an optimized task network. Replicating the British Lexicon Project, participants completed 16 hours of LDT learning over several days. We recorded EEG at three intervals to track neural change during LDT learning and assessed event-related potentials and brain signal complexity. We found that response times decreased during LDT learning, and there was evidence of neural change through N170, P200, N400, and LPC amplitudes across the EEG sessions, suggesting alterations to both the general cognitive and specific lexical processes involved in LDT performance. We also found widespread complexity decreases alongside localized increases, suggesting that processing became more automatic with specific increases in processing flexibility. These findings suggest that the visual word recognition system is dynamic, and has the potential for plastic changes to support more efficient and automatic task performance.

Download Full-text

Masked Translation Priming With Concreteness of Cross-Script Cognates in Visual Word Recognition by Chinese Learners of English: An ERP Study

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.796700 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Shifa Chen ◽

Tingting Fu ◽

Minghui Zhao ◽

Yuqing Zhang ◽

Yule Peng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Time Window ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Decision Task ◽

Priming Effects ◽

Forward Translation ◽

Translation Priming ◽

Chinese Learners ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Masked Translation Priming ◽

Chinese Learners Of English

Translation equivalents for cognates in different script systems share the same meaning and phonological similarity but are different orthographically. Event-related potentials were recorded during the visual recognition of cross-script cognates and non-cognates together with concreteness factors while Chinese learners of English performed a lexical decision task with the masked translation priming paradigm in Experiment 1 (forward translation: L1–L2) and Experiment 2 (backward translation: L2–L1). N400 effect was found to be closely related to priming effects of cross-script cognate status and concreteness in Experiment 1; and in Experiment 2, N150 and N400 effects were related to priming effects of cross-script cognate status and concreteness, and greater priming effects of cross-script cognate status in cognates than in non-cognates for abstract words were found in the time window of 100–200 ms. Meanwhile, the asymmetry of translation directions was observed in smaller priming effects in forward translation than in backward translation in the time window of 100–200 ms for abstract cognates, and in larger priming effects in forward translation than in backward translation in the time window of 350–550 ms for each type of words. We discussed the roles of phonological activation and concreteness effects in view of the function of N150 and N400 components as well as the relevant models, mainly the Distributed Feature Model and Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA+) model.

Download Full-text

Face and Word Recognition in Patients with Left and Right Hemispheric Lesions: Evidence from Reaction Times and ERPs

Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie ◽

10.1024//1016-264x.13.1.69 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 69-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stefan R. Schweinberger ◽

Thomas Klos ◽

Werner Sommer

Keyword(s):

Slow Wave ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Memory Search ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Performance Deficits ◽

Set Size ◽

Left Brain ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Abstract Words ◽

Left Brain Damage

Abstract: We recorded reaction times (RTs) and event-related potentials (ERPs) in patients with unilateral lesions during a memory search task. Participants memorized faces or abstract words, which were then recognized among new ones. The RT deficit found in patients with left brain damage (LBD) for words increased with memory set size, suggesting that their problem relates to memory search. In contrast, the RT deficit found in patients with RBD for faces was apparently related to perceptual encoding, a conclusion also supported by their reduced P100 ERP component. A late slow wave (720-1720 ms) was enhanced in patients, particularly to words in patients with LBD, and to faces in patients with RBD. Thus, the slow wave was largest in the conditions with most pronounced performance deficits, suggesting that it reflects deficit-related resource recruitment.

Download Full-text

An ERP Investigation of Semantic Priming, Repetition Priming, and Negative Priming in Schizophrenic Patients

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803.20.3.195 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 195-211 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Michael Wagner ◽

Lioba Baving ◽

Patrick Berg ◽

Rudolf Cohen ◽

Brigitte Rockstroh

Keyword(s):

Negative Priming ◽

Repetition Priming ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Decision Task ◽

Positive Priming ◽

Retrieval Processes ◽

Schizophrenic Patients ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Late Positive Complex ◽

Automatic Memory

The processing of attended and nonattended stimuli in schizophrenic patients was examined with event-related potentials (ERPs) in a lexical decision task. In positive semantic and repetition priming the N400 amplitude did not differ between a group of 17 medicated schizophrenic patients and a group of 20 matched healthy controls. However, negative priming affected the N400 only in controls. Reaction time effects were dissociated from these ERP effects, with patients showing stronger positive priming than controls but identical negative priming. The semantic processes related to the N400 appear to be intact in schizophrenic patients, but patients seem to incorporate less context information (about the nonattended prime) in their episodic memory traces. A stronger increase of the posterior late positive complex in parallel to the stronger positive priming in schizophrenic patients may reflect relatively stronger automatic memory retrieval processes in patients.

Download Full-text

Consciousness of attention and expectancy as reflected in event-related potentials and reaction times.

Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition ◽

10.1037/0278-7393.16.5.902 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. 902-915 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Werner Sommer ◽

Juliana Matt ◽

Hartmut Leuthold

Keyword(s):

Reaction Times ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Related Potentials

Download Full-text

Increased Neural Efficiency in Visual Word Recognition: Evidence from Alterations in Event-Related Potentials and Multiscale Entropy

Entropy ◽

10.3390/e23030304 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 304

Author(s):

Kelsey Cnudde ◽

Sophia van Hees ◽

Sage Brown ◽

Gwen van der Wijk ◽

Penny M. Pexman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Word Recognition ◽

Visual Word Recognition ◽

Response Times ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Visual Word ◽

Multiscale Entropy ◽

Decision Task ◽

Late Positive Component ◽

Domain Specific ◽

Related Potentials

Visual word recognition is a relatively effortless process, but recent research suggests the system involved is malleable, with evidence of increases in behavioural efficiency after prolonged lexical decision task (LDT) performance. However, the extent of neural changes has yet to be characterized in this context. The neural changes that occur could be related to a shift from initially effortful performance that is supported by control-related processing, to efficient task performance that is supported by domain-specific processing. To investigate this, we replicated the British Lexicon Project, and had participants complete 16 h of LDT over several days. We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) at three intervals to track neural change during LDT performance and assessed event-related potentials and brain signal complexity. We found that response times decreased during LDT performance, and there was evidence of neural change through N170, P200, N400, and late positive component (LPC) amplitudes across the EEG sessions, which suggested a shift from control-related to domain-specific processing. We also found widespread complexity decreases alongside localized increases, suggesting that processing became more efficient with specific increases in processing flexibility. Together, these findings suggest that neural processing becomes more efficient and optimized to support prolonged LDT performance.

Download Full-text