scholarly journals Evidence of Semantic Processing in Parafoveal Reading: A Rapid Parallel Visual Presentation (Rpvp) Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Danila Rusich ◽  
Lisa S. Arduino ◽  
Marika Mauti ◽  
Marialuisa Martelli ◽  
Silvia Primativo
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Semantic Relation ◽  
Facilitatory Effect ◽  
Written Word ◽  
Stimulus Length

This study explores whether semantic processing in parafoveal reading in the Italian language is modulated by the perceptual and lexical features of stimuli by analyzing the results of the rapid parallel visual presentation (RPVP) paradigm experiment, which simultaneously presented two words, with one in the fovea and one in the parafovea. The words were randomly sampled from a set of semantically related and semantically unrelated pairs. The accuracy and reaction times in reading the words were measured as a function of the stimulus length and written word frequency. Fewer errors were observed in reading parafoveal words when they were semantically related to the foveal ones, and a larger semantic facilitatory effect was observed when the foveal word was highly frequent and the parafoveal word was short. Analysis of the reaction times suggests that the semantic relation between the two words sped up the naming of the foveal word when both words were short and highly frequent. Altogether, these results add further evidence in favor of the semantic processing of words in the parafovea during reading, modulated by the orthographic and lexical features of the stimuli. The results are discussed within the context of the most prominent models of word processing and eye movement controls in reading.

Lexical Processing as Revealed by Lateralized Event-Related Brain Potentials

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Koppehele-Gossel ◽  
Robert Schnuerch ◽  
Henning Gibbons
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Time Range ◽  
Processing Negativity ◽  
Written Word ◽  
Single Word Reading

Abstract. Neurocognitive models of written-word processing from low-level perceptual up to semantic analysis include the notion of a strongly left-lateralized posterior-to-anterior stream of activation. Two left-lateralized components in the event-related brain potential (ERP), N170 and temporo-parietal PSA (posterior semantic asymmetry; peak at 300 ms), have been suggested to reflect sublexical analysis and semantic processing, respectively. However, for intermediate processing steps, such as lexical access, no posterior left-lateralized ERP signature has yet been observed under single-word reading conditions. In combination with a recognition task, lexicality and depth of processing were varied. Left-minus-right difference ERPs optimally suited to accentuate left-lateralized language processes revealed an occipito-temporal processing negativity (210–270 ms) for all stimuli except alphanumerical strings. This asymmetry showed greater sensitivity to the combined effects of attention and lexicality than other ERPs in this time range (i.e., N170, P1, and P2). It is therefore introduced as “lexical asymmetry.”

Acquisition of Finnish derivational morphology: School-age children and young adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seppo Vainio ◽  
Anneli Pajunen ◽  
Tuomo Häikiö
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Derivational Morphology ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Children And Young Adults

The current study examined how morpho-semantic processing of derivational morphology develops from later childhood through adolescence to adulthood in Finnish. Finnish is a synthetic language rich both in derivation and inflection. It has been suggested that children gradually acquire the ability to process morphologically complex word structures. However, this development could be delayed because of the complex derivational morphology in Finnish. To assess this, three age groups of Finnish native speakers participated in a priming study, in which they made a visual lexical decision for the target words. There were three types of primes: morphologically related words, pseudowords, and unrelated words. The reaction times results showed a significant difference between all the groups, which implies that the word processing is still developing in adolescence. The error rates unveiled a similar pattern to reaction times. The prime type affected the recognition: words with morphological primes were processed faster than words with pseudoword primes, which in turn were processed faster than words with unrelated primes. Moreover, males made significantly more errors than females with morphological and pseudoword prime conditions.

scholarly journals Rapid acquisition of novel written word-forms: ERP evidence

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Bermúdez-Margaretto ◽  
Yury Shtyrov ◽  
David Beltrán ◽  
Fernando Cuetos ◽  
Alberto Domínguez
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Random Permutation ◽  
Rapid Acquisition ◽  
Memory Traces ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Written Word

Abstract Background Novel word acquisition is generally believed to be a rapid process, essential for ensuring a flexible and efficient communication system; at least in spoken language, learners are able to construct memory traces for new linguistic stimuli after just a few exposures. However, such rapid word learning has not been systematically found in visual domain, with different confounding factors obscuring the orthographic learning of novel words. This study explored the changes in human brain activity occurring online, during a brief training with novel written word-forms using a silent reading task Results Single-trial, cluster-based random permutation analysis revealed that training caused an extremely fast (after just one repetition) and stable facilitation in novel word processing, reflected in the modulation of P200 and N400 components, possibly indicating rapid dynamics at early and late stages of the lexical processing. Furthermore, neural source estimation of these effects revealed the recruitment of brain areas involved in orthographic and lexico-semantic processing, respectively. Conclusions These results suggest the formation of neural memory traces for novel written word-forms after a minimal exposure to them even in the absence of a semantic reference, resembling the rapid learning processes known to occur in spoken language.

Rapid Serial Auditory Presentation

2015 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 346-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Franco ◽  
Julia Eberlen ◽  
Arnaud Destrebecqz ◽  
Axel Cleeremans ◽  
Julie Bertels
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Detection Task ◽  
Speech Segmentation ◽  
Auditory Presentation ◽  
Indirect Measure ◽  
Speech Stream ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Presentation Procedure

Abstract. The Rapid Serial Visual Presentation procedure is a method widely used in visual perception research. In this paper we propose an adaptation of this method which can be used with auditory material and enables assessment of statistical learning in speech segmentation. Adult participants were exposed to an artificial speech stream composed of statistically defined trisyllabic nonsense words. They were subsequently instructed to perform a detection task in a Rapid Serial Auditory Presentation (RSAP) stream in which they had to detect a syllable in a short speech stream. Results showed that reaction times varied as a function of the statistical predictability of the syllable: second and third syllables of each word were responded to faster than first syllables. This result suggests that the RSAP procedure provides a reliable and sensitive indirect measure of auditory statistical learning.

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.

scholarly journals Corroborating behavioral evidence for the interplay of representational richness and semantic control in semantic word processing

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Bechtold ◽  
Christian Bellebaum ◽  
Paul Hoffman ◽  
Marta Ghio
Keyword(s):  
Word Processing ◽  
Context Effects ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Abstract Word ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Semantic Judgment ◽  
Behavioral Evidence

AbstractThis study aimed to replicate and validate concreteness and context effects on semantic word processing. In Experiment 1, we replicated the behavioral findings of Hoffman et al. (Cortex 63,250–266, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2014.09.001, 2015) by applying their cueing paradigm with their original stimuli translated into German. We found concreteness and contextual cues to facilitate word processing in a semantic judgment task with 55 healthy adults. The two factors interacted in their effect on reaction times: abstract word processing profited more strongly from a contextual cue, while the concrete words’ processing advantage was reduced but still present. For accuracy, the descriptive pattern of results suggested an interaction, which was, however, not significant. In Experiment 2, we reformulated the contextual cues to avoid repetition of the to-be-processed word. In 83 healthy adults, the same pattern of results emerged, further validating the findings. Our corroborating evidence supports theories integrating representational richness and semantic control mechanisms as complementary mechanisms in semantic word processing.

scholarly journals N170 reflects visual familiarity and automatic sublexical phonological access in L2 written word processing

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Yen Na Yum ◽  
Sam-Po Law
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Word Processing ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Mixed Effects Models ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects Models ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
Repetition Detection ◽  
Korean Chinese ◽  
Written Word ◽  
Bilingual Readers

Abstract The literature has mixed reports on whether the N170, an early visual ERP response to words, signifies orthographic and/or phonological processing, and whether these effects are moderated by script and language expertise. In this study, native Chinese readers, Japanese–Chinese, and Korean–Chinese bilingual readers performed a one-back repetition detection task with single Chinese characters that differed in phonological regularity status. Results using linear mixed effects models showed that Korean–Chinese readers had bilateral N170 response, while native Chinese and Japanese–Chinese groups had left-lateralized N170, with stronger left lateralization in native Chinese than Japanese–Chinese readers. Additionally, across groups, irregular characters had bilateral increase in N170 amplitudes compared to regular characters. These results suggested that visual familiarity to a script rather than orthography-phonology mapping determined the left lateralization of the N170 response, while there was automatic access to sublexical phonology in the N170 time window in native and non-native readers alike.

scholarly journals Cultural variations in global and local attention and eye-movement patterns during the perception of complex visual scenes: Comparison of Czech and Taiwanese university students

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0242501
Author(s):  
Jiří Čeněk ◽  
Jie-Li Tsai ◽  
Čeněk Šašinka
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Scene Perception ◽  
Cognitive Styles ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Global And Local

Previous research on cross-cultural differences in visual attention has been inconclusive. Some studies have suggested the existence of systematic differences in global and local attention and context sensitivity, while others have produced negative or mixed results. The objective in this study was to examine the similarities and differences in holistic and analytic cognitive styles in a sample of Czech and Taiwanese university students. Two cognitive tasks were conducted: a Compound Figures Test and a free-viewing scene perception task which manipulated several focal objects and measured eye-movement patterns. An analysis of the reaction times in the Compound Figures Test showed no clear differences between either sample. An analysis of eye-movement metrics showed certain differences between the samples. While Czechs tended to focus relatively more on the focal objects measured by the number of fixations, the Taiwanese subjects spent more time fixating on the background. The results were consistent for scenes with one or two focal objects. The results of a correlation analysis of both tasks showed that they were unrelated. These results showed certain differences between the samples in visual perception but were not as systematic as the theory of holistic and analytic cognitive styles would suggest. An alternative model of cross-cultural differences in cognition and perception is discussed.

scholarly journals Reading sentences of words with rotated letters: An eye movement study

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (7) ◽  
pp. 1790-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hazel I Blythe ◽  
Barbara J Juhasz ◽  
Lee W Tbaily ◽  
Keith Rayner ◽  
Simon P Liversedge
Keyword(s):  
Target Word ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Systematic Change ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Total Fixation ◽  
Movement Study

Participants’ eye movements were measured as they read sentences in which individual letters within words were rotated. Both the consistency of direction and the magnitude of rotation were manipulated (letters rotated all in the same direction, or alternately clockwise and anti-clockwise, by 30° or 60°). Each sentence included a target word that was manipulated for frequency of occurrence. Our objectives were threefold: To quantify how change in the visual presentation of individual letters disrupted word identification, and whether disruption was consistent with systematic change in visual presentation; to determine whether inconsistent letter transformation caused more disruption than consistent letter transformation; and to determine whether such effects were comparable for words that were high and low frequency to explore the extent to which they were visually or linguistically mediated. We found that disruption to reading was greater as the magnitude of letter rotation increased, although even small rotations affected processing. The data also showed that alternating letter rotations were significantly more disruptive than consistent rotations; this result is consistent with models of lexical identification in which encoding occurs over units of more than one adjacent letter. These rotation manipulations also showed significant interactions with word frequency on the target word: Gaze durations and total fixation duration times increased disproportionately for low-frequency words when they were presented at more extreme rotations. These data provide a first step towards quantifying the relative contribution of the spatial relationships between individual letters to word recognition and eye movement control in reading.

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