The Role of the Anterior Attention System in Semantic Processing of both Foveal and Parafoveal Words

1994 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis J. Fuentes ◽  
Encarna Carmona ◽  
Inmaculada F. Agis ◽  
Andrés Catena
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Attention System ◽  
Nonword Target ◽  
High Level

This research takes advantage of combined cognitive and anatomical studies to ask whether attention is necessary for high-level word processing to occur. In Experiment 1 we used a lexical decision task in which two prime words, one in the fovea and the other in the parafovea, appeared simultaneously for 150 msec, followed by a foveal target (word/nonword). Target words were semantically related either to the foveal or to the parafoveal word, or unrelated to them. In one block of trials subjects were also required to perform an auditory shadowing task. From PET studies we know that shadowing activates the anterior cingulate cortex, involved in selective attention. If the anterior attention system is always involved in semantic processing, shadowing should reduce semantic priming obtained from both foveal and parafoveal words. In contrast, if semantic priming by parafoveal words is independent of activation in that attention area, priming will not be affected by shadowing. Our results supported the latter hypothesis. A large priming effect arose from foveal primes, which was reduced by shadowing. For parafoveal primes a smaller priming effect arose, which was not affected by shadowing. In Experiment 2 prime words were masked. Semantic priming was reliable for both foveal and parafoveal words but there were then no differences between them. Most important, the size of priming was similar to that obtained from parafoveal words in Experiment 1. We conclude that the anterior attention system increases the potency of processing of consciously perceived stimuli, but there is a component of semantic priming that occurs without both focusing of attention and awareness, involving different cerebral areas to those involved in attention to language.

scholarly journals Studies on semantic priming effects in right hemisphere stroke: A systematic review

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-163
Author(s):  
Juliana de Lima Müller ◽  
Jerusa Fumagalli de Salles
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Cerebral Hemisphere ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Right Cerebral Hemisphere ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Hemisphere Stroke

ABSTRACT The role of the right cerebral hemisphere (RH) associated with semantic priming effects (SPEs) must be better understood, since the consequences of RH damage on SPE are not yet well established. Objective: The aim of this article was to investigate studies analyzing SPEs in patients affected by stroke in the RH through a systematic review, verifying whether there are deficits in SPEs, and whether performance varies depending on the type of semantic processing evaluated or stimulus in the task. Methods: A search was conducted on the LILACS, PUBMED and PSYCINFO databases. Results: Out of the initial 27 studies identified, 11 remained in the review. Difficulties in SPEs were shown in five studies. Performance does not seem to vary depending on the type of processing, but on the type of stimulus used. Conclusion: This ability should be evaluated in individuals that have suffered a stroke in the RH in order to provide treatments that will contribute to their recovery.

Lateralised semantic and indirect semantic priming effects in people with schizophrenia

1998 ◽  
Vol 172 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Weisbrod ◽  
Sabine Maier ◽  
Sabine Harig ◽  
Ulrike Himmelsbach ◽  
Manfred Spitzer
Keyword(s):  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Striking Difference ◽  
Semantic Associations ◽  
The Right

BackgroundIn schizophrenia, disturbances in the development of physiological hemisphere asymmetry are assumed to play a pathogenetic role. The most striking difference between hemispheres is in language processing. The left hemisphere is superior in the use of syntactic or semantic information, whereas the right hemisphere uses contextual information more effectively.MethodUsing psycholinguistic experimental techniques, semantic associations were examined in 38 control subjects, 24 non-thought-disordered and 16 thought-disordered people with schizophrenia, for both hemispheres separately.ResultsDirect semantic priming did not differ between the hemispheres in any of the groups. Only thought-disordered people showed significant indirect semantic priming in the left hemisphere.ConclusionsThe results support: (a) a prominent role of the right hemisphere for remote associations; (b) enhanced spreading of semantic associations in thought-disordered subjects; and (c) disorganisation of the functional asymmetry of semantic processing in thought-disordered subjects.

scholarly journals The Mechanism Underlying Backward Priming in a Lexical Decision Task: Spreading Activation versus Semantic Matching

1998 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothee J. Chwilla ◽  
Peter Hagoort ◽  
C.M. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Spreading Activation ◽  
Semantic Matching ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Manipulation Experiment

Koriat (1981) demonstrated that an association from the target to a preceding prime, in the absence of an association from the prime to the target, facilitates lexical decision and referred to this effect as “backward priming”. Backward priming is of relevance, because it can provide information about the mechanism underlying semantic priming effects. Following Neely (1991), we distinguish three mechanisms of priming: spreading activation, expectancy, and semantic matching/ integration. The goal was to determine which of these mechanisms causes backward priming, by assessing effects of backward priming on a language-relevant ERP component, the N400, and reaction time (RT). Based on previous work, we propose that the N400 priming effect reflects expectancy and semantic matching/ integration, but in contrast with RT does not reflect spreading activation. Experiment 1 shows a backward priming effect that is qualitatively similar for the N400 and RT in a lexical decision task. This effect was not modulated by an ISI manipulation. Experiment 2 clarifies that the N400 backward priming effect reflects genuine changes in N400 amplitude and cannot be ascribed to other factors. We will argue that these backward priming effects cannot be due to expectancy but are best accounted for in terms of semantic matching/integration.

scholarly journals Heterogeneity in semantic priming effect with a lexical decision task in patients after left hemisphere stroke

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-97
Author(s):  
Candice Steffen Holderbaum ◽  
Letícia Lessa Mansur ◽  
Jerusa Fumagalli de Salles
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Semantic Priming Effect ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Left Hemisphere Stroke

ABSTRACT Investigations on the semantic priming effect (SPE) in patients after left hemisphere (LH) lesions have shown disparities that may be explained by the variability in performance found among patients. The aim of the present study was to verify the existence of subgroups of patients after LH stroke by searching for dissociations between performance on the lexical decision task based on the semantic priming paradigm and performance on direct memory, semantic association and language tasks. All 17 patients with LH lesions after stroke (ten non-fluent aphasics and seven non aphasics) were analyzed individually. Results indicated the presence of three groups of patients according to SPE: one exhibiting SPE at both stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs), one with SPE only at long SOA, and another, larger group with no SPE.

scholarly journals An insula-driven network computes decision uncertainty and promotes abstinence in chronic cocaine users

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ju-Chi Yu ◽  
Vincenzo G. Fiore ◽  
Richard W. Briggs ◽  
Jacquelyn Braud ◽  
Katya Rubia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ventral Striatum ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Excitatory Connection ◽  
Chronic Cocaine

AbstractThe anterior insular cortex (AIC) and its interconnected brain regions have been associated with both addiction and decision-making under uncertainty. However, the causal interactions in this uncertainty-encoding neurocircuitry and how these neural dynamics impact relapse remain elusive. Here, we used model-based fMRI to measure choice uncertainty in a motor decision task in 61 individuals with cocaine use disorder (CUD) and 25 healthy controls. CUD participants were assessed before discharge from a residential treatment program and followed for up to 24 weeks. We found that choice uncertainty was tracked by the AIC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), and ventral striatum (VS), across participants. Stronger activations in these regions measured pre-discharge predicted longer abstinence after discharge in individuals with CUD. Dynamic causal modelling revealed an AIC-to-dACC directed connectivity modulated by uncertainty in controls, but a dACC-to-AIC connectivity in CUD participants. This reversal was mostly driven by early-relapsers (<30 days). Furthermore, CUD individuals who displayed a stronger AIC-to-dACC excitatory connection during uncertainty encoding remained abstinent for longer periods. These findings reveal a critical role of an AIC-driven, uncertainty-encoding neurocircuitry in protecting against relapse and promoting abstinence.

scholarly journals Getting a Grip on Sensorimotor Effects in Lexical-Semantic Processing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Heard ◽  
Christopher R Madan ◽  
Andrea Protzner ◽  
Penny M. Pexman
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Human Body ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Semantic Categorization ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Object Interaction ◽  
Sensorimotor Information ◽  
Theoretical Import

One of the strategies that researchers have used to investigate the role of sensorimotor information in lexical-semantic processing is to examine effects of words’ rated body-object interaction (BOI; the ease with which the human body can interact with a word’s referent). Processing tends to be facilitated for words with high BOI compared to words with low BOI, across a wide variety of tasks. Such effects have been referenced in debates over the nature of semantic representations, but their theoretical import has been limited by the fact that BOI is a fairly coarse measure of sensorimotor experience with words’ referents. In the present study we collected ratings for 621 words on seven semantic dimensions (graspability, ease of pantomime, number of actions, animacy, size, danger, and usefulness) in order to investigate which attributes are most strongly related to BOI ratings, and to lexical-semantic processing. BOI ratings were obtained from previous norming studies (Bennett, Burnett, Siakaluk, &amp; Pexman, 2011; Tillotson, Siakaluk, &amp; Pexman, 2008) and measures of lexical-semantic processing were obtained from previous behavioural megastudies involving the semantic categorization task (concrete/abstract decision; Pexman, Heard, Lloyd, &amp; Yap, 2017) and the lexical decision task (Balota et al., 2007). Results showed that the motor dimension of graspability, ease of pantomime, and number of actions were all related to BOI and that these dimensions together explained more variance in semantic processing than did BOI ratings alone. These ratings will be useful for researchers who wish to study how different kinds of bodily interactions influence lexical-semantic processing and cognition.

scholarly journals Semantic Priming Effects in a Lexical Decision Task: Comparing third Graders and College Students in two Different Stimulus Onset Asynchronies

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 589-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candice Steffen Holderbaum ◽  
Jerusa Fumagalli de Salles
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Third Graders ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Adult Performance ◽  
Semantic Priming Effect ◽  
Onset Asynchrony

Differences in the semantic priming effect comparing child and adult performance have been found by some studies. However, these differences are not well established, mostly because of the variety of methods used by researchers around the world. One of the main issues concerns the absence of semantic priming effects on children at stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) smaller than 300ms. The aim of this study was to compare the semantic priming effect between third graders and college students at two different SOAs: 250ms and 500ms. Participants performed lexical decisions to targets which were preceded by semantic related or unrelated primes. Semantic priming effects were found at both SOAs in the third graders' group and in college students. Despite the fact that there was no difference between groups in the magnitude of semantic priming effects when SOA was 250ms, at the 500ms SOA their magnitude was bigger in children, corroborating previous studies. Hypotheses which could explain the presence of semantic priming effects in children's performance when SOA was 250ms are discussed, as well as hypotheses for the larger magnitude of semantic priming effects in children when SOA was 500ms.

Unconscious semantic priming from pictures under backward masking and continuous flash suppression

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Stein ◽  
Vanessa Utz ◽  
Filip Van Opstal
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Priming ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Conscious Awareness ◽  
Backward Masking ◽  
Unconscious Processing ◽  
Continuous Flash Suppression ◽  
Sufficient Statistical Power ◽  
Target Words

It is debated which perceptual functions can take place unconsciously and which depend on conscious awareness. Here, we tested whether the meaning of invisible pictures can be processed unconsciously, and whether this would depend on the psychophysical technique used to render these images invisible. We measured whether pictures of animals or objects presented under backward masking or continuous flash suppression could prime the subsequent categorization of target words into animal or non-animal. The backward masking experiment failed to replicate the priming effect reported in two previous studies, despite sufficient statistical power. Similarly, the continuous flash suppression experiment provided no evidence for a priming effect. Thus, our experiments failed to demonstrate unconscious semantic processing of pictures. These results support the emerging view that unconscious processing is rather limited in scope.

scholarly journals Reading in a Regular Orthography: An fMRI Study Investigating the Role of Visual Familiarity

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 727-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Ischebeck ◽  
Peter Indefrey ◽  
Nobuo Usui ◽  
Izuru Nose ◽  
Frauke Hellwig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Phonological Encoding ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Dual Route Model ◽  
Japanese Kana ◽  
Familiar Form

In order to separate the cognitive processes associated with phonological encoding and the use of a visual word form lexicon in reading, it is desirable to compare the processing of words presented in a visually familiar form with words in a visually unfamiliar form. Japanese Kana orthography offers this possibility. Two phonologically equivalent but visually dissimilar syllabaries allow the writing of, for example, foreign loanwords in two ways, only one of which is visually familiar. Familiarly written words, unfamiliarly written words, and pseudowords were presented in both Kana syllabaries (yielding six conditions in total) to participants during an fMRI measurement with a silent articulation task (Experiment 1) and a phonological lexical decision task (Experiment 2) using an event-related design. Consistent over two experimental tasks, the three different stimulus types (familiar, unfamiliar, and pseudoword) were found to activate selectively different brain regions previously associated with phonological encoding and word retrieval or meaning. Compatible with the predictions of the dual-route model for reading, pseudowords and visually unfamiliar words, which have to be read using phonological assembly, caused an increase in brain activity in left inferior frontal regions (BA 44/47), as compared to visually familiar words. Visually familiar and unfamiliar words were found to activate a range of areas associated with lexico-semantic processing more strongly than pseudowords, such as the left and right temporo-parietal region (BA 39/40), a region in the left middle/inferior temporal gyrus (BA 20/21), and the posterior cingulate (BA 31).

scholarly journals MEG Theta during Lexico-Semantic and Executive Processing Is Altered in High-Functioning Adolescents with Autism

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuqi You ◽  
Angeles Correas ◽  
R Joanne Jao Keehn ◽  
Laura C Wagner ◽  
Burke Q Rosen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Response Selection ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Late Response ◽  
Semantic Retrieval ◽  
High Functioning

Abstract Neuroimaging studies have revealed atypical activation during language and executive tasks in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the spatiotemporal stages of processing associated with these dysfunctions remain poorly understood. Using an anatomically constrained magnetoencephalography approach, we examined event-related theta oscillations during a double-duty lexical decision task that combined demands on lexico-semantic processing and executive functions. Relative to typically developing peers, high-functioning adolescents with ASD had lower performance accuracy on trials engaging selective semantic retrieval and cognitive control. They showed an early overall theta increase in the left fusiform cortex followed by greater activity in the left-lateralized temporal (starting at ~250 ms) and frontal cortical areas (after ~450 ms) known to contribute to language processing. During response preparation and execution, the ASD group exhibited elevated theta in the anterior cingulate cortex, indicative of greater engagement of cognitive control. Simultaneously increased activity in the ipsilateral motor cortex may reflect a less lateralized and suboptimally organized motor circuitry. Spanning early sensory-specific and late response selection stages, the higher event-related theta responsivity in ASD may indicate compensatory recruitment to offset inefficient lexico-semantic retrieval under cognitively demanding conditions. Together, these findings provide further support for atypical language and executive functions in high-functioning ASD.

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