Work

Additive Effects of Repetition and Predictability during Comprehension: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: Previous research has shown that neural responses to words during sentence comprehension are sensitive to both lexical repetition and a word's predictability in context. While previous research has often contrasted the effects of these variables (e.g. by looking at cases in which word repetition violates sentence-level constraints), little is known about how they work in tandem. In the current study we examine how recent exposure to a word and its predictability in context combine to impact lexical semantic processing. We devise a novel paradigm that combines reading comprehension with a recognition memory task, allowing for an orthogonal manipulation of a word's predictability and its repetition status. Using event-related brain potentials (ERPs), we show that word repetition and predictability have qualitatively similar and additive effects on the N400 amplitude. We propose that prior exposure to a word and predictability impact lexical semantic processing in an additive and independent fashion.

Source: PLoS ONE

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099199

Authors: Wing-Yee Chow, Sol Lago, Shannon Barrios, Dan Parker, Giovanna Morini, Ellen Lau

Institutions: Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, University of Maryland, College Park, University of Utah

Language: English

Topic: Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,382

Funder: National Science Foundation