An Event-Related Potential Study of the Effects of Semantic Deviations: An Application of a Method of Sequential-Part Presentation

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of semantic deviations of picture stimuli by applying a method of sequential-part presentations. S1 stimuli were 10 pictures of animals which were divided into 7 × 7 portions and successively presented in random order. S2 stimuli were three types of pictures (A, the same as S1; B, semantically the same but physically different from S1; and C, both semantically and physically different from S1). Subjects were required to name S1 verbally after seeing S2. The largest N400 components of the event-related potential were elicited for Category C of S2, whereas large LPCs were elicited for Categories B and C. This suggests that a method of sequential-part presentations is effective for eliciting the N400 component of the event-related potential for picture stimuli.

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Unitization could facilitate item recognition but inhibit verbatim recognition for picture stimuli: behavioral and event-related potential study

Psychological Research ◽

10.1007/s00426-020-01442-w ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Zejun Liu ◽

Chunyan Guo

Keyword(s):

Item Recognition ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Potential Study ◽

Picture Stimuli

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Processing pronominal pointing signs in German Sign Language: Neurophysiological evidence for the first mention effect

10.31219/osf.io/z7j3n ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anne Wienholz ◽

Derya Nuhbalaoglu ◽

Nivedita Mani ◽

Annika Herrmann ◽

Edgar Onea ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sign Language ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Sign Languages ◽

Pronoun Resolution ◽

Potential Study ◽

N400 Component ◽

German Sign Language ◽

Present Event

While the first mention bias has been well investigated in spoken languages, little is known about the presence of a similar bias in sign languages. In sign languages, pronominal pointing signs are directed towards referential locations in the ipsilateral and contralateral area of the signing space usually associated with referents in previous contexts. The present event-related potential study investigates the presence of a first mention effect during pronoun resolution in German Sign Language. We present participants with sentence sets containing two referents in the first sentence and a pronominal sign at the beginning of the second sentence directed to the ipsilateral or contralateral area of the signing space. Results show an N400 component for contralateral compared to ipsilateral pronominal signs suggesting increased processing costs associated with the second referent assigned to the contralateral area. Thus, the current study provides evidence for a first mention effect highlighting its modality independent nature.

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