Work

Neural signatures of perceptual closure and top-down feedback in lexical access: an ERP study

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Perceptual Closure, the ability to recognise incomplete stimuli by integrating prior knowledge, has been well-studied in object perception but remains largely unexplored in language research. We examined how lexical feedback (word frequency) interacts with bottom-up visual processing when word stimuli are incomplete. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), participants performed a lexical decision task with high – and low-frequency words in complete or incomplete (top-only) formats. Behavioural results showed additive effects of word frequency and completeness. ERP analyses revealed that completeness affected early perceptual components (P100, N170) and closure-related responses (VAN, P300), while word frequency modulated later lexical-semantic processing (N400). Crucially, word frequency effects emerged earlier for incomplete (350–450 ms) than complete words (450–600 ms), suggesting lexical feedback helps disambiguate perceptually difficult stimuli. Overall, these findings provide insights into the interplay between visual and linguistic information, linking models of word recognition and reading with broader cognitive and neural mechanisms of perception.

Source: Language Cognition and Neuroscience

DOI: 10.1080/23273798.2025.2601156

Authors: Teresa Civera, Manuel Perea, Montserrat Comesaña, Eva Gutierrez-Sigut, Marta Vergara-Martínez

Institutions: Universitat de València, Universidad Nebrija, University of Minho, University of Essex

Language: English

Topic: Reading and Literacy Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades

Awards: G1336728166, G6379903527, G7135979891