scholarly journals Neural Correlates of Semantic Competition during Processing of Ambiguous Words

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 960-975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Y. Bilenko ◽  
Christopher M. Grindrod ◽  
Emily B. Myers ◽  
Sheila E. Blumstein
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Semantic Content ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Semantic Competition ◽  
Subordinate Meaning ◽  
Prime Target ◽  
Selection Of

The current study investigated the neural correlates that underlie the processing of ambiguous words and the potential effects of semantic competition on that processing. Participants performed speeded lexical decisions on semantically related and unrelated prime–target pairs presented in the auditory modality. The primes were either ambiguous words (e.g., ball) or unambiguous words (e.g., athlete), and targets were either semantically related to the dominant (i.e., most frequent) meaning of the ambiguous prime word (e.g., soccer) or to the subordinate (i.e., less frequent) meaning (e.g., dance). Results showed increased activation in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) for ambiguous-related compared to unambiguous-related stimulus pairs, demonstrating that prefrontal areas are activated even in an implicit task where participants are not required to explicitly analyze the semantic content of the stimuli and to make an overt selection of a particular meaning based on this analysis. Additionally, increased activation was found in the left IFG and the left cingulate gyrus for subordinate meaning compared to dominant meaning conditions, suggesting that additional resources are recruited in order to resolve increased competition demands in accessing the subordinate meaning of an ambiguous word.

Tolerating Ambiguity

2011 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian S. Hargreaves ◽  
Penny M. Pexman ◽  
Daniel J. Pittman ◽  
Bradley G. Goodyear
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Behavioral Effect ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Multiple Meanings ◽  
Ambiguity Effect ◽  
Activation Phase

Many models of word recognition predict a lexical ambiguity disadvantage in semantic categorization tasks (SCTs). However, recent evidence suggests that an ambiguity disadvantage in SCT results from a bias in the decision-making phase of the task and not in the meaning-activation phase: Behavioral effects of ambiguity disappear when these decision biases are controlled ( Pexman, Hino, & Lupker, 2004 ). The current study used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural correlates of ambiguity in a task that produced no behavioral ambiguity effect (i.e., SCT with a well-defined decision category). Twenty healthy adults participated. Results showed that despite producing no behavioral effect of ambiguity, ambiguous words were associated with the recruitment of cortical structures implicated in top-down modulation of noisy activity (e.g., left inferior frontal gyrus) when compared to unambiguous words. These results are interpreted as evidence that multiple meanings are activated for ambiguous words in SCT.

The Effect of Meaning Frequency on Processing Lexically Ambiguous Words: Evidence from Eye Fixations

1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 296-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara C Sereno ◽  
Jeremy M Pacht ◽  
Keith Rayner
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Frequency Control ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Prior Context ◽  
Eye Fixations ◽  
Lexical Ambiguity Resolution ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Subordinate Meaning ◽  
Meaning Frequency

Subjects read sentences containing lexically ambiguous words while their eye movements were monitored Biased ambiguous words (those that have one highly dominant sense) were used in sentences containing a prior context that instantiated their subordinate sense Control words were matched in frequency both to the dominant and to the subordinate meaning of the ambiguous word (high- and low-frequency controls) Subjects fixated longer on both the ambiguous word and the low-frequency control than on the high-frequency control When the target was ambiguous, however, the duration of posttarget fixations was longer and the likelihood of making a regression to the target was greater than when the target was an unambiguous control The results are discussed in relation to current models of lexical ambiguity resolution

Influence of Context on the Activation and Selection of Ambiguous Word Senses

1983 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregg C. Oden ◽  
James L. Spira
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Accurate Determination ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Word Sense ◽  
Semantic Constraints ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Word Senses ◽  
Selection Of

The activation of ambiguous word senses was investigated by measuring the amount of interference in naming the ink color of a word that was either related or unrelated to one of the meanings of a preceding ambiguous word. In agreement with previous results obtained using this procedure (Conrad, 1974), evidence was obtained that both meanings of the ambiguous words are activated even in the presence of biasing context. However, contrary to previous findings, the degree of activation of each word sense depended on its degree of compatibility with the context. These results are consistent with a language processing system in which all interpretations of an ambiguity are accessed and then processed until an accurate determination has been made of which interpretation best satisfies the syntactic and semantic constraints that govern it.

Please Get to the Point! A Cortical Correlate of Linguistic Informativeness

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 2211-2222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Marini ◽  
Cosimo Urgesi
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Healthy Individuals ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Dorsal Aspect ◽  
Global Coherence ◽  
Message Production ◽  
Dorsal Portion ◽  
Selection Of

The production of informative messages is an effortful endeavor that relies on the interaction between microlinguistic (i.e., lexical and grammatical) and macrolinguistic (i.e., pragmatic and discourse) levels of processing. Although the neural correlates of microlinguistic processing have been extensively studied, investigation of the ability to organize the macrolinguistic aspects of message production is scanty. In this article, we show that repetitive TMS of the dorsal portion of the anterior left, but not right, inferior frontal gyrus reduces the levels of lexical informativeness and global coherence of narratives produced by healthy individuals. Interestingly, levels of productivity and microlinguistic processing were unaffected by the stimulation. These results suggest that the dorsal aspect of the anterior left inferior frontal gyrus is an epicenter of a wider neural network subserving the selection of contextually appropriate semantic representations.

scholarly journals The relationship between sentence comprehension and lexical-semantic retuning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Anne Gilbert ◽  
Matthew H. Davis ◽  
M. Gareth Gaskell ◽  
Jennifer M Rodd
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Subordinate Meaning ◽  
Final Interpretation ◽  
The Relationship

A single encounter with an ambiguous word (e.g. bark, ball) in the context of a less-frequent meaning (e.g. “Sally worried about how crowded the ball would be.”) can shift the later interpretation of the word toward the same subordinate meaning. This lexical-semantic retuning functions to improve future comprehension of ambiguous words. The present paper investigates the relationship between this form of learning and the specific processes that occur during sentence comprehension. One possibility is that lexical-semantic retuning occurs immediately upon hearing the ambiguous word, during initial meaning activation and selection, so priming should be strongest when the disambiguating context is provided before the ambiguous word (prior disambiguation). Alternatively, priming may relate to the degree of reinterpretation needed, which would predict maximal learning when the word is initially misunderstood because the critical context is given after the word (subsequent disambiguation, e.g. “Sally worried that the ball would be too crowded.”). In four experiments, adults listened to prior and subsequent disambiguation sentences, and were later tested on their interpretations of primed and unprimed ambiguous words. The results showed that lexical-semantic retuning can occur for both sentence types. Importantly, however, the emergence of priming for subsequent disambiguation sentences was sensitive to the prime conditions: when the task could potentially be performed without needing to re-analyse the ambiguity, then no significant priming was observed. This is consistent with the ‘good enough’ view of language processing which states that representations can remain as (im)precise as mandated by the situation, and that lexical-semantic retuning operates on the output of good-enough interpretation. More generally, our findings suggest that lexical-semantic retuning is driven by participants’ final interpretation of the word meanings during the prime encounter, regardless of initial meaning activation or misinterpretation.

scholarly journals The Neural Time Course of Semantic Ambiguity Resolution in Speech Comprehension

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy J. MacGregor ◽  
Jennifer M. Rodd ◽  
Rebecca A. Gilbert ◽  
Olaf Hauk ◽  
Ediz Sohoglu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ambiguity Resolution ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Neural Response ◽  
Semantic Integration ◽  
Speech Comprehension ◽  
Semantic Ambiguity ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Subordinate Meaning

Semantically ambiguous words challenge speech comprehension, particularly when listeners must select a less frequent (subordinate) meaning at disambiguation. Using combined magnetoencephalography (MEG) and EEG, we measured neural responses associated with distinct cognitive operations during semantic ambiguity resolution in spoken sentences: (i) initial activation and selection of meanings in response to an ambiguous word and (ii) sentence reinterpretation in response to subsequent disambiguation to a subordinate meaning. Ambiguous words elicited an increased neural response approximately 400–800 msec after their acoustic offset compared with unambiguous control words in left frontotemporal MEG sensors, corresponding to sources in bilateral frontotemporal brain regions. This response may reflect increased demands on processes by which multiple alternative meanings are activated and maintained until later selection. Disambiguating words heard after an ambiguous word were associated with marginally increased neural activity over bilateral temporal MEG sensors and a central cluster of EEG electrodes, which localized to similar bilateral frontal and left temporal regions. This later neural response may reflect effortful semantic integration or elicitation of prediction errors that guide reinterpretation of previously selected word meanings. Across participants, the amplitude of the ambiguity response showed a marginal positive correlation with comprehension scores, suggesting that sentence comprehension benefits from additional processing around the time of an ambiguous word. Better comprehenders may have increased availability of subordinate meanings, perhaps due to higher quality lexical representations and reflected in a positive correlation between vocabulary size and comprehension success.

scholarly journals Listeners and Readers Generalise Their Experience With Word Meanings Across Modalities

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Anne Gilbert ◽  
Matthew H. Davis ◽  
M. Gareth Gaskell ◽  
Jennifer M Rodd
Keyword(s):  
Priming Effect ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Semantic Relatedness ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Subordinate Meaning ◽  
Target Words

Research has shown that adults’ lexical-semantic representations are surprisingly malleable. For instance, the interpretation of ambiguous words (e.g. bark) is influenced by experience such that recently encountered meanings become more readily available (Rodd et al., 2016, 2013). However the mechanism underlying this word-meaning priming effect remains unclear, and competing accounts make different predictions about the extent to which information about word meanings that is gained within one modality (e.g. speech) is transferred to the other modality (e.g. reading) to aid comprehension. In two web-based experiments, ambiguous target words were primed with either written or spoken sentences that biased their interpretation toward a subordinate meaning, or were unprimed. About 20 minutes after the prime exposure, interpretation of these target words was tested by presenting them in either written or spoken form, using word association (Experiment 1, N=78) and speeded semantic relatedness decisions (Experiment 2, N=181). Both experiments replicated the auditory unimodal priming effect shown previously (Rodd et al., 2016, 2013) and revealed significant cross-modal priming: primed meanings were retrieved more frequently and swiftly across all primed conditions compared to the unprimed baseline. Furthermore, there were no reliable differences in priming levels between unimodal and cross-modal prime-test conditions. These results indicate that recent experience with ambiguous word meanings can bias the reader’s or listener’s later interpretation of these words in a modality-general way. We identify possible loci of this effect within the context of models of long-term priming and ambiguity resolution.

scholarly journals Contribution to Semantic Analysis of Arabic Language

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anis Zouaghi ◽  
Mounir Zrigui ◽  
Georges Antoniadis ◽  
Laroussi Merhbene
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
String Matching ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Matching Algorithm ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Lesk Algorithm ◽  
Context Of Use

We propose a new approach for determining the adequate sense of Arabic words. For that, we propose an algorithm based on information retrieval measures to identify the context of use that is the closest to the sentence containing the word to be disambiguated. The contexts of use represent a set of sentences that indicates a particular sense of the ambiguous word. These contexts are generated using the words that define the senses of the ambiguous words, the exact string-matching algorithm, and the corpus. We use the measures employed in the domain of information retrieval, Harman, Croft, and Okapi combined to the Lesk algorithm, to assign the correct sense of those proposed.

Emotionality effects in ambiguous word recognition: The crucial role of the affective congruence between distinct meanings of ambiguous words

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182199000
Author(s):  
Pilar Ferré ◽  
Juan Haro ◽  
Daniel Huete-Pérez ◽  
Isabel Fraga
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Ambiguous Word ◽  
Semantic Ambiguity ◽  
Negative Valence ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Positive Valence ◽  
Affective Meanings ◽  
Valence Effect ◽  
Affective Word

There is substantial evidence that affectively charged words (e.g., party or gun) are processed differently from neutral words (e.g., pen), although there are also inconsistent findings in the field. Some lexical or semantic variables might explain such inconsistencies, due to the possible modulation of affective word processing by these variables. The aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which affective word processing is modulated by semantic ambiguity. We conducted a large lexical decision study including semantically ambiguous words (e.g., cataract) and semantically unambiguous words (e.g., terrorism), analysing the extent to which reaction times (RTs) were influenced by their affective properties. The findings revealed a valence effect in which positive valence made RTs faster, whereas negative valence slowed them. The valence effect diminished as the semantic ambiguity of words increased. This decrease did not affect all ambiguous words, but was observed mainly in ambiguous words with incongruent affective meanings. These results highlight the need to consider the affective properties of the distinct meanings of ambiguous words in research on affective word processing.

Neural correlates of intra-sentential code-switching in the auditory modality

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 17-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla B. Fernandez ◽  
Kaitlyn A. Litcofsky ◽  
Janet G. van Hell
Keyword(s):  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Auditory Modality
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document