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Xu S, Wang H, Li S, Ouyang G. Neural manifestation of L2 novel concept acquisition from multi-contexts via both episodic memory and semantic memory systems. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1320675. [PMID: 38384355 PMCID: PMC10879312 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1320675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
This study aims to examine the process of L2 novel word learning through the combination of episodic and semantic memory, and how the process differs between the formation of thematic and taxonomic relations. The major approach adopted was observing the neural effects of word learning, which is manifested in the N400 from event-related potentials (ERPs). Eighty-eight participants were recruited for the experiment. In the learning session, L2 contextual discourses related to novel words were learned by participants. In the testing session, discourses embedded with incongruous and congruous novel words in the final position were used for participants to judge the congruency which affected the N400 neural activity. The results showed that both recurrent and new-theme discourses elicited significant N400 effects, while taxonomic sentences did not. These results confirmed the formation of episodic and semantic memory during L2 new word learning, in which semantic memory was mainly supported by thematic relations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Xu
- Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Hailing Wang
- School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
| | - Shouxin Li
- School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China
| | - Guang Ouyang
- Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
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2
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Ding J, Liang P, Guo X, Yang Y. The influence of conceptual concreteness on the reading acquisition and integration of novel words into semantic memory via thematic relations. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1132039. [PMID: 37251046 PMCID: PMC10211391 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1132039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Plenty of studies have been conducted to reveal neurocognitive underpinnings of conceptual representation. Compared with that of concrete concepts, the neurocognitive correlates of abstract concepts remain elusive. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of conceptual concreteness on the reading acquisition and integration of novel words into semantic memory. We constructed two-sentence contexts in which two-character pseudowords were embedded as novel words. Participants read the contexts to infer the meaning of novel words which were either concrete or abstract, and then performed a lexical decision task and a cued-recall memory task. In lexical decision task, primed by the learned novel words, their corresponding concepts, thematically related or unrelated words as well as unlearned pseudowords were judged whether they were words or not. In memory task, participants were presented with the novel words and asked to write down their meaning. The contextual reading and memory test can demonstrate the modulation of conceptual concreteness on novel word learning and the lexical decision task can reveal whether concrete and abstract novel words are integrated into semantic memory similarly or not. During contextual reading, abstract novel words presented for the first time elicited a larger N400 than concrete ones. In memory task, the meaning of concrete novel words was recollected better than abstract novel words. These results indicate that abstract novel words are more difficult to acquire during contextual reading, and to retain afterwards. For lexical decision task behavioral and ERPs were graded, with the longest reaction time, the lowest accuracy and the largest N400s for the unrelated words, then the thematically related words and finally the corresponding concepts of the novel words, regardless of conceptual concreteness. The results suggest that both concrete and abstract novel words can be integrated into semantic memory via thematic relations. These findings are discussed in terms of differential representational framework which posits that concrete words connect with each other via semantic similarities, and abstract ones via thematic relations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinfeng Ding
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Panpan Liang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyu Guo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yufang Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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3
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Huang Y, Deng Y, Jiang X, Chen Y, Mao T, Xu Y, Jiang C, Rao H. Resting-state occipito-frontal alpha connectome is linked to differential word learning ability in adult learners. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:953315. [PMID: 36188469 PMCID: PMC9521374 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.953315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Adult language learners show distinct abilities in acquiring a new language, yet the underlying neural mechanisms remain elusive. Previous studies suggested that resting-state brain connectome may contribute to individual differences in learning ability. Here, we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) in a large cohort of 106 healthy young adults (50 males) and examined the associations between resting-state alpha band (8–12 Hz) connectome and individual learning ability during novel word learning, a key component of new language acquisition. Behavioral data revealed robust individual differences in the performance of the novel word learning task, which correlated with their performance in the language aptitude test. EEG data showed that individual resting-state alpha band coherence between occipital and frontal regions positively correlated with differential word learning performance (p = 0.001). The significant positive correlations between resting-state occipito-frontal alpha connectome and differential world learning ability were replicated in an independent cohort of 35 healthy adults. These findings support the key role of occipito-frontal network in novel word learning and suggest that resting-state EEG connectome may be a reliable marker for individual ability during new language learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Huang
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research, Key Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
- School of Foreign Languages, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yao Deng
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research, Key Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaoming Jiang
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yiyuan Chen
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research, Key Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
| | - Tianxin Mao
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research, Key Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yong Xu
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research, Key Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
| | - Caihong Jiang
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research, Key Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hengyi Rao
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research, Key Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
- Center for Functional Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- *Correspondence: Hengyi Rao,
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4
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Angwin AJ, Armstrong SR, Fisher C, Escudero P. Acquisition of novel word meaning via cross situational word learning: An event-related potential study. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2022; 229:105111. [PMID: 35367812 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Cross-situational statistical word learning (CSWL) refers to the process whereby participants learn new words by tracking ambiguous word-object co-occurrences across time. This study used event-related potentials to explore the acquisition of novel word meanings via CSWL in healthy adults. After learning to associate novel auditory words (e.g., 'ket') with familiar objects (e.g., sword), participants performed a semantic judgement task where the learned novel words were paired with a familiar word belonging to either the same (e.g., dagger) or a different (e.g., harp) semantic category. As a comparison, the task also included word pairs comprising two familiar words. The analyses revealed that the unrelated novel word pairs elicited a similar N400 to that of the unrelated familiar word pairs, but with a different hemispheric distribution (left hemisphere for novel words, right hemisphere for familiar words). These findings demonstrate rapid meaning acquisition via CSWL, which is reflected at a neurophysiological level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony J Angwin
- University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Brisbane, Australia.
| | - Samuel R Armstrong
- University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Courtney Fisher
- University of Queensland, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Paola Escudero
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
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5
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Razorenova AM, Chernyshev BV, Nikolaeva AY, Butorina AV, Prokofyev AO, Tyulenev NB, Stroganova TA. Rapid Cortical Plasticity Induced by Active Associative Learning of Novel Words in Human Adults. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:895. [PMID: 33013296 PMCID: PMC7516206 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Human speech requires that new words are routinely memorized, yet neurocognitive mechanisms of such acquisition of memory remain highly debatable. Major controversy concerns the question whether cortical plasticity related to word learning occurs in neocortical speech-related areas immediately after learning, or neocortical plasticity emerges only on the second day after a prolonged time required for consolidation after learning. The functional spatiotemporal pattern of cortical activity related to such learning also remains largely unknown. In order to address these questions, we examined magnetoencephalographic responses elicited in the cerebral cortex by passive presentations of eight novel pseudowords before and immediately after an operant conditioning task. This associative procedure forced participants to perform an active search for unique meaning of four pseudowords that referred to movements of left and right hands and feet. The other four pseudowords did not require any movement and thus were not associated with any meaning. Familiarization with novel pseudowords led to a bilateral repetition suppression of cortical responses to them; the effect started before or around the uniqueness point and lasted for more than 500 ms. After learning, response amplitude to pseudowords that acquired meaning was greater compared with response amplitude to pseudowords that were not assigned meaning; the effect was significant within 144-362 ms after the uniqueness point, and it was found only in the left hemisphere. Within this time interval, a learning-related selective response initially emerged in cortical areas surrounding the Sylvian fissure: anterior superior temporal sulcus, ventral premotor cortex, the anterior part of intraparietal sulcus and insula. Later within this interval, activation additionally spread to more anterior higher-tier brain regions, and reached the left temporal pole and the triangular part of the left inferior frontal gyrus extending to its orbital part. Altogether, current findings evidence rapid plastic changes in cortical representations of meaningful auditory word-forms occurring almost immediately after learning. Additionally, our results suggest that familiarization resulting from stimulus repetition and semantic acquisition resulting from an active learning procedure have separable effects on cortical activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M Razorenova
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia
- Center for Computational and Data-Intensive Science and Engineering (CDISE), Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Boris V Chernyshev
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia
- Department of Psychology, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
- Department of Higher Nervous Activity, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anastasia Yu Nikolaeva
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anna V Butorina
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia
- Center for Computational and Data-Intensive Science and Engineering (CDISE), Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Andrey O Prokofyev
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia
| | - Nikita B Tyulenev
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia
| | - Tatiana A Stroganova
- Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia
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6
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Abel AD, Sharp BJ, Konja C. Investigating Implicit and Explicit Word Learning in School-age Children Using a Combined Behavioral-Event Related Potential (ERP) Approach. Dev Neuropsychol 2020; 45:27-38. [PMID: 31893945 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2019.1709465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
One challenge in word learning research is how to operationalize learning. We combined behavioral measures with EEG to examine implicit and explicit recognition of words previously introduced with or without meaning in an incidental learning task. Participants (8-11-year-old children) were not able to recognize previously introduced nonsense words and better performance on the learning task resulted in poorer word recognition. The N400 amplitude differed between nonsense words with meaning versus nonsense words no meaning and novel nonsense words. Results indicate that introducing a nonsense word with meaning does not aid in explicit word learning but improves implicit word learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyson D Abel
- School of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Brittany J Sharp
- School of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Chanel Konja
- School of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
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7
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Ralph YK, Schneider JM, Abel AD, Maguire MJ. Using the N400 event-related potential to study word learning from context in children from low- and higher-socioeconomic status homes. J Exp Child Psychol 2019; 191:104758. [PMID: 31855830 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Revised: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Children from low-socioeconomic status (SES) homes have significantly smaller vocabularies than their higher-SES peers, a gap that increases over the course of the school years. One reason for the increase in this vocabulary gap during the school years is that children from low-SES homes learn fewer words from context than their higher-SES peers. To better understand how the process of word learning from context might differ in children related to SES, we investigated changes in the N400 event-related potential (ERP) as children from low- and higher-SES homes learned new words using only the surrounding linguistic context. There were no differences in the N400 response to known words related to SES. In response to the target word being learned, children from higher-SES homes, like adults in previous studies, exhibited an attenuation of the N400 across exposures as they attached meaning to it. Children from low-SES homes did not show this same attenuation. These findings support previous work showing that children from low-SES homes may have differences or more variability in the neural components supporting language processing, and they extend previous work to illustrate how this variability may relate to word learning and, ultimately, vocabulary growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yvonne K Ralph
- Callier Center for Communication Disorders, The University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75235, USA.
| | - Julie M Schneider
- Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science, The University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Alyson D Abel
- School of Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
| | - Mandy J Maguire
- Callier Center for Communication Disorders, The University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX 75235, USA
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8
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Guo J, Zou T, Peng D. Dynamic Influence of Emotional States on Novel Word Learning. Front Psychol 2018; 9:537. [PMID: 29695994 PMCID: PMC5904499 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Many researchers realize that it's unrealistic to isolate language learning and processing from emotions. However, few studies on language learning have taken emotions into consideration so far, so that the probable influences of emotions on language learning are unclear. The current study thereby aimed to examine the effects of emotional states on novel word learning and their dynamic changes with learning continuing and task varying. Positive, negative or neutral pictures were employed to induce a given emotional state, and then participants learned the novel words through association with line-drawing pictures in four successive learning phases. At the end of each learning phase, participants were instructed to fulfill a semantic category judgment task (in Experiment 1) or a word-picture semantic consistency judgment task (in Experiment 2) to explore the effects of emotional states on different depths of word learning. Converging results demonstrated that negative emotional state led to worse performance compared with neutral condition; however, how positive emotional state affected learning varied with learning task. Specifically, a facilitative role of positive emotional state in semantic category learning was observed but disappeared in word specific meaning learning. Moreover, the emotional modulation on novel word learning was quite dynamic and changeable with learning continuing, and the final attainment of the learned words tended to be similar under different emotional states. The findings suggest that the impact of emotion can be offset when novel words became more and more familiar and a part of existent lexicon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Guo
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Tiantian Zou
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China
| | - Danling Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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9
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Ding J, Liu W, Yang Y. The Influence of Concreteness of Concepts on the Integration of Novel Words into the Semantic Network. Front Psychol 2017; 8:2111. [PMID: 29255440 PMCID: PMC5723054 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
On the basis of previous studies revealing a processing advantage of concrete words over abstract words, the current study aimed to further explore the influence of concreteness on the integration of novel words into semantic memory with the event related potential (ERP) technique. In the experiment during the learning phase participants read two-sentence contexts and inferred the meaning of novel words. The novel words were two-character non-words in Chinese language. Their meaning was either a concrete or abstract known concept which could be inferred from the contexts. During the testing phase participants performed a lexical decision task in which the learned novel words served as primes for either their corresponding concepts, semantically related or unrelated targets. For the concrete novel words, the semantically related words belonged to the same semantic categories with their corresponding concepts. For the abstract novel words, the semantically related words were synonyms of their corresponding concepts. The unrelated targets were real words which were concrete or abstract for the concrete or abstract novel words respectively. The ERP results showed that the corresponding concepts and the semantically related words elicited smaller N400s than the unrelated words. The N400 effect was not modulated by the concreteness of the concepts. In addition, the concrete corresponding concepts elicited a smaller late positive component (LPC) than the concrete unrelated words. This LPC effect was absent for the abstract words. The results indicate that although both concrete and abstract novel words can be acquired and linked to their related words in the semantic network after a short learning phase, the concrete novel words are learned better. Our findings support the (extended) dual coding theory and broaden our understanding of adult word learning and changes in concept organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinfeng Ding
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wenjuan Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yufang Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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10
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Hussey EK, Christianson K, Treiman DM, Smith KA, Steinmetz PN. Single neuron recordings of bilinguals performing in a continuous recognition memory task. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0181850. [PMID: 28832639 PMCID: PMC5568109 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2016] [Accepted: 07/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
We report the results of a bilingual continuous recognition memory task during which single- and multi-neuron activity was recorded in human subjects with intracranial microwire implants. Subjects (n = 5) were right-handed Spanish-English bilinguals who were undergoing evaluation prior to surgery for severe epilepsy. Subjects were presented with Spanish and English words and the task was to determine whether any given word had been seen earlier in the testing session, irrespective of the language in which it had appeared. Recordings in the left and right hippocampus revealed notable laterality, whereby both Spanish and English items that had been seen previously in the other language (switch trials) triggered increased neural firing in the left hippocampus. Items that had been seen previously in the same language (repeat trials) triggered increased neural firings in the right hippocampus. These results are consistent with theories that propose roles of both the left- and right-hemisphere in real-time linguistic processing. Importantly, this experiment presents the first instance of intracranial recordings in bilinguals performing a task with switching demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika K. Hussey
- Cognitive Science Team, U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, Natick, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Center for Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Kiel Christianson
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, United States of America
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America
| | - David M. Treiman
- Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Kris A. Smith
- Department of Neurosurgery, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Peter N. Steinmetz
- Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America
- Department of Neurosurgery, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America
- Nakamoto Brain Research Institute, Tempe, Arizona, United States of America
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11
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Lowell R, Morris RK. Impact of contextual constraint on vocabulary acquisition in reading. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2017.1299155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Randy Lowell
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina Union, Union, SC, USA
| | - Robin K. Morris
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
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12
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Elgort I, Perfetti CA, Rickles B, Stafura JZ. Contextual learning of L2 word meanings: Second language proficiency modulates behavioural and ERP indicators of learning. LANGUAGE, COGNITION AND NEUROSCIENCE 2015; 30:506-528. [PMID: 25984550 PMCID: PMC4428693 DOI: 10.1080/23273798.2014.942673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
New word learning occurs incidentally through exposure to language. Hypothesizing that effectiveness of contextual word learning in a second language (L2) depends on the quality of existing lexical semantic knowledge, we tested more and less proficient adult bilinguals in an incidental word learning task. One day after being exposed to rare words in an L2 (English) reading task, the bilinguals read sentences with the newly-learned words in the sentence-final position, followed by related or unrelated meaning probes. Both proficiency groups showed some learning through faster responses on related trials and a frontal N400 effect observed during probe word reading. However, word learning was more robust for the higher-proficiency group, who showed a larger semantic relatedness effect in unfamiliar contexts and a canonical N400 (central-parietal). The results suggest that the ability to learn the meanings of new words from context depends on the L2 lexical semantic knowledge of the reader.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irina Elgort
- Victoria University of Wellington, 6140, New Zealand
| | | | - Ben Rickles
- University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260
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13
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ERP correlates of priming in language and stimulus equivalence: Evidence of similar N400 effects in absence of semantic content. Int J Psychophysiol 2015; 96:74-83. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2014] [Revised: 02/11/2015] [Accepted: 03/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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14
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Gradients versus dichotomies: how strength of semantic context influences event-related potentials and lexical decision times. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2015; 14:1086-103. [PMID: 24310943 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-013-0223-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In experiments devoted to word recognition and/or language comprehension, reaction time in the lexical decision task is perhaps the most commonly used behavioral dependent measure, and the amplitude of the N400 component of the event-related potential (ERP) is the most common neural measure. Both are sensitive to multiple factors, including frequency of usage, orthographic similarity to other words, concreteness of word meaning, and preceding semantic context. All of these factors vary continuously. Published results have shown that both lexical decision times and N400 amplitudes show graded responses to graded changes of word frequency and orthographic similarity, but a puzzling discrepancy in their responsivity to the strength of a semantic context has received little attention. In three experiments, we presented pairs of words varying in the strengths of their semantic relationships, as well as unrelated pairs. In all three experiments, N400 amplitudes showed a gradient from unrelated to weakly associated to strongly associated target words, whereas lexical decision times showed a binary division rather than a gradient across strengths of relationship. This pattern of results suggests that semantic context effects in lexical decision and ERP measures arise from fundamentally different processes.
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15
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Lin CC, Yang CM. Evidence of sleep-facilitating effect on formation of novel semantic associations: An event-related potential (ERP) study. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2014; 116:69-78. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2014.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2014] [Revised: 08/18/2014] [Accepted: 08/20/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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16
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Chen S, Wang L, Yang Y. Acquiring concepts and features of novel words by two types of learning: direct mapping and inference. Neuropsychologia 2014; 56:204-18. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2013] [Revised: 12/18/2013] [Accepted: 01/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Brown TT, Erhart M, Avesar D, Dale AM, Halgren E, Evans JL. Atypical right hemisphere specialization for object representations in an adolescent with specific language impairment. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:82. [PMID: 24592231 PMCID: PMC3924145 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2013] [Accepted: 02/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with a diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI) show abnormal spoken language occurring alongside normal non-verbal abilities. Behaviorally, people with SLI exhibit diverse profiles of impairment involving phonological, grammatical, syntactic, and semantic aspects of language. In this study, we used a multimodal neuroimaging technique called anatomically constrained magnetoencephalography (aMEG) to measure the dynamic functional brain organization of an adolescent with SLI. Using single-subject statistical maps of cortical activity, we compared this patient to a sibling and to a cohort of typically developing subjects during the performance of tasks designed to evoke semantic representations of concrete objects. Localized patterns of brain activity within the language impaired patient showed marked differences from the typical functional organization, with significant engagement of right hemisphere heteromodal cortical regions generally homotopic to the left hemisphere areas that usually show the greatest activity for such tasks. Functional neuroanatomical differences were evident at early sensoriperceptual processing stages and continued through later cognitive stages, observed specifically at latencies typically associated with semantic encoding operations. Our findings show with real-time temporal specificity evidence for an atypical right hemisphere specialization for the representation of concrete entities, independent of verbal motor demands. More broadly, our results demonstrate the feasibility and potential utility of using aMEG to characterize individual patient differences in the dynamic functional organization of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy T Brown
- Multimodal Imaging Laboratory, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA ; Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA ; Center for Human Development, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA
| | - Matthew Erhart
- Multimodal Imaging Laboratory, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA ; Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA
| | - Daniel Avesar
- Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School , Hanover, NH , USA
| | - Anders M Dale
- Multimodal Imaging Laboratory, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA ; Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA ; Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA
| | - Eric Halgren
- Multimodal Imaging Laboratory, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA ; Department of Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA ; Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA
| | - Julia L Evans
- Center for Research in Language, University of California San Diego , La Jolla, CA , USA ; School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas Dallas , Dallas, TX , USA
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Perrone-Bertolotti M, Lemonnier S, Baciu M. Behavioral evidence for inter-hemispheric cooperation during a lexical decision task: a divided visual field experiment. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:316. [PMID: 23818879 PMCID: PMC3694293 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2013] [Accepted: 06/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
HIGHLIGHTSThe redundant bilateral visual presentation of verbal stimuli decreases asymmetry and increases the cooperation between the two hemispheres. The increased cooperation between the hemispheres is related to semantic information during lexical processing. The inter-hemispheric interaction is represented by both inhibition and cooperation.
This study explores inter-hemispheric interaction (IHI) during a lexical decision task by using a behavioral approach, the bilateral presentation of stimuli within a divided visual field experiment. Previous studies have shown that compared to unilateral presentation, the bilateral redundant (BR) presentation decreases the inter-hemispheric asymmetry and facilitates the cooperation between hemispheres. However, it is still poorly understood which type of information facilitates this cooperation. In the present study, verbal stimuli were presented unilaterally (left or right visual hemi-field successively) and bilaterally (left and right visual hemi-field simultaneously). Moreover, during the bilateral presentation of stimuli, we manipulated the relationship between target and distractors in order to specify the type of information which modulates the IHI. Thus, three types of information were manipulated: perceptual, semantic, and decisional, respectively named pre-lexical, lexical and post-lexical processing. Our results revealed left hemisphere (LH) lateralization during the lexical decision task. In terms of inter-hemisphere interaction, the perceptual and decision-making information increased the inter-hemispheric asymmetry, suggesting the inhibition of one hemisphere upon the other. In contrast, semantic information decreased the inter-hemispheric asymmetry, suggesting cooperation between the hemispheres. We discussed our results according to current models of IHI and concluded that cerebral hemispheres interact and communicate according to various excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms, all which depend on specific processes and various levels of word processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Perrone-Bertolotti
- INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Lyon, France
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