scholarly journals Frequency Sensitivity of Neural Responses to English Verb Argument Structure Violations

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jona Sassenhagen ◽  
Ryan Blything ◽  
Elena V. M. Lieven ◽  
Ben Ambridge
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Learning ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Online Processing ◽  
Verb Argument Structure ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Intransitive Verbs

How are verb-argument structure preferences acquired? Children typically receive very little negative evidence, raising the question of how they come to understand the restrictions on grammatical constructions. Statistical learning theories propose stochastic patterns in the input contain sufficient clues. For example, if a verb is very common, but never observed in transitive constructions, this would indicate that transitive usage of that verb is illegal. Ambridge et al. (2008) have shown that in offline grammaticality judgements of intransitive verbs used in transitive constructions, low-frequency verbs elicit higher acceptability ratings than high-frequency verbs, as predicted if relative frequency is a cue during statistical learning. Here, we investigate if the same pattern also emerges in on-line processing of English sentences. EEG was recorded while healthy adults listened to sentences featuring transitive uses of semantically matched verb pairs of differing frequencies. We replicate the finding of higher acceptabilities of transitive uses of low- vs. high-frequency intransitive verbs. Event-Related Potentials indicate a similar result: early electrophysiological signals distinguish between misuse of high- vs low-frequency verbs. This indicates online processing shows a similar sensitivity to frequency as off-line judgements, consistent with a parser that reflects an original acquisition of grammatical constructions via statistical cues. However, the nature of the observed neural responses was not of the expected, or an easily interpretable, form, motivating further work into neural correlates of online processing of syntactic constructions.

Event-Related Potentials and Recognition Memory for Low- and High-Frequency Words

1992 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Rugg ◽  
Michael C. Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Recognition Memory ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Recognition Performance ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Process Models ◽  
New Words ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
The Right

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while subjects made recognition judgments on high- and low-frequency words, half of which had previously been presented in an incidental study task. Compared to high-frequency items, low-frequency words were associated with superior recognition performance, and attracted a higher proportion of confident judgments. In the case of the low-frequency words only, the region of the ERPs post-500 msec evoked by correctly classified, previously studied (old) words was more positive-going than was the same region of the EWs to nonstudied (new) words. These “old/new” ERP differences were larger from electrodes over the left than over the right hemisphere. This old/new by frequency interaction held when EWs were formed only from words that attracted confident judgments. It is argued that these data are consistent with the ideas that (1) post-500 msec “old/ new” EW differences in recognition memory tasks reflect differences in old and new words' levels of relative familiarity, and (2) the recognition memory advantage for low-frequency words results, at least in part, from the higher level of relative familiarity engendered at test by previously studied low-frequency items. The data are interpreted as providing support for “two-process” models of recognition memory.

scholarly journals Age-Related Differences in Auditory Statistical Learning of Complex Speech Streams: Evidence From ERPs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Soares ◽  
Francisco-Javier Gutiérrez-Domínguez ◽  
Alexandrina Lages ◽  
Helena M. Oliveira ◽  
Margarida Vasconcelos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Learning ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Children And Young Adults ◽  
Transitional Probabilities

Abstract Statistical learning (SL), the ability to pick up regularities in the sensory environment, is a fundamental skill that allows us to structure the world in a regular and predictable way. Although extensive evidence has been gathered from children and adults, the changes that SL might undergo throughout development remain contentious, particularly in the auditory modality (aSL) with linguistic materials. Here, we collected Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) while 5 years-old children and young adults (university students) were exposed to a complex speech stream in which eight three-syllable nonsense words - four with high (1.0) and four with low (.50) transitional probabilities were embedded to further examine how aSL works under less predictable conditions and to enhance age-related differences in the neural correlates of aSL. Moreover, to ascertain how previous knowledge of the to-be-learned regularities might also affect the results, participants performed the aSL task, firstly, under implicit and, subsequently, under explicit conditions. Although behavioral signs of aSL were observed only for adult participants, ERP data showed evidence of aSL in both groups, as indexed by modulations in the N100 and N400 components. A detailed analysis of the neural responses suggests, however, that adults and children rely on different mechanisms to assist aSL.

Auditory Imagery Modulates Frequency-specific Areas in the Human Auditory Cortex

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jihoon Oh ◽  
Jae Hyung Kwon ◽  
Po Song Yang ◽  
Jaeseung Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Auditory Imagery ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Control Functional ◽  
Response Area

Neural responses in early sensory areas are influenced by top–down processing. In the visual system, early visual areas have been shown to actively participate in top–down processing based on their topographical properties. Although it has been suggested that the auditory cortex is involved in top–down control, functional evidence of topographic modulation is still lacking. Here, we show that mental auditory imagery for familiar melodies induces significant activation in the frequency-responsive areas of the primary auditory cortex (PAC). This activation is related to the characteristics of the imagery: when subjects were asked to imagine high-frequency melodies, we observed increased activation in the high- versus low-frequency response area; when the subjects were asked to imagine low-frequency melodies, the opposite was observed. Furthermore, we found that A1 is more closely related to the observed frequency-related modulation than R in tonotopic subfields of the PAC. Our findings suggest that top–down processing in the auditory cortex relies on a mechanism similar to that used in the perception of external auditory stimuli, which is comparable to early visual systems.

scholarly journals Depressive rumination is correlated with brain responses during self-related processing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tzu-Yu Hsu ◽  
Tzu-Ling Liu ◽  
Paul Z. Cheng ◽  
Hsin-Chien Lee ◽  
Timothy J. Lane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Unipolar Depression ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Late Event ◽  
Oscillatory Power ◽  
Related Aspect ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Central Symptom

AbstractBackgroundRumination, a tendency to focus on negative self-related thoughts, is a central symptom of depression. Studying the self-related aspect of such symptoms is challenging due to the need to distinguish self effects per se from the emotional content of task stimuli. This study employs an emotionally neutral self-related paradigm to investigate possible altered self processing in depression and its link to rumination.MethodsPeople with unipolar depression (MDD; n = 25) and controls (n = 25) underwent task-based EEG recording. Late event-related potentials were studied along with low frequency oscillatory power. EEG metrics were compared between groups and correlated with depressive symptoms and reported rumination.ResultsThe MDD group displayed a difference in late potentials across fronto-central electrodes between self-related and non-self-related conditions. No such difference was seen in controls. The magnitude of this difference was positively related with depressive symptoms and reported rumination. MDD also had elevated theta oscillation power at central electrodes in self-related conditions, which was not seen in controls.ConclusionsRumination appears linked to altered self-related processing in depression, independently of stimuli-related emotional confounds. This connection between self-related processing and depression may point to self-disorder being a core component of the condition.

Language background affects online word order processing in a second language but not offline

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (04) ◽  
pp. 802-825 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNIKA ANDERSSON ◽  
SUSAN SAYEHLI ◽  
MARIANNE GULLBERG
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Order ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Order Processing ◽  
Online Processing ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Crosslinguistic Influence

This study examines possible crosslinguistic influence on basic word order processing in a second language (L2). Targeting Swedish V2 word order we investigate adult German learners (+V2 in the L1) and English learners (-V2 in the L1) of Swedish who are matched for proficiency. We report results from two offline behavioural tasks (written production, metalinguistic judgements), and online processing as measured by event-related potentials (ERPs). All groups showed sensitivity to word order violations behaviourally and neurocognitively. Behaviourally, the learners differed from the native speakers only on judgements. Crucially, they did not differ from each other. Neurocognitively, all groups showed a similar increased centro-parietal P600 ERP-effect, but German learners (+V2) displayed more nativelike anterior ERP-effects than English learners (-V2). The results suggest crosslinguistic influence in that the presence of a similar word order in the L1 can facilitate online processing in an L2 – even if no offline behavioural effects are discerned.

scholarly journals Reduced influence of perceptual context in schizophrenia: behavioral and neurophysiological evidence

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor J. Pokorny ◽  
Timothy J. Lano ◽  
Michael-Paul Schallmo ◽  
Cheryl A. Olman ◽  
Scott R. Sponheim
Keyword(s):  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Contour Integration ◽  
Contour Detection ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Contour Perception ◽  
Accurate Perception ◽  
Visual Contour ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Intermediate Performance

Abstract Background Accurate perception of visual contours is essential for seeing and differentiating objects in the environment. Both the ability to detect visual contours and the influence of perceptual context created by surrounding stimuli are diminished in people with schizophrenia (SCZ). The central aim of the present study was to better understand the biological underpinnings of impaired contour integration and weakened effects of perceptual context. Additionally, we sought to determine whether visual perceptual abnormalities reflect genetic factors in SCZ and are present in other severe mental disorders. Methods We examined behavioral data and event-related potentials (ERPs) collected during the perception of simple linear contours embedded in similar background stimuli in 27 patients with SCZ, 23 patients with bipolar disorder (BP), 23 first-degree relatives of SCZ, and 37 controls. Results SCZ exhibited impaired visual contour detection while BP exhibited intermediate performance. The orientation of neighboring stimuli (i.e. flankers) relative to the contour modulated perception across all groups, but SCZ exhibited weakened suppression by the perceptual context created by flankers. Late visual (occipital P2) and cognitive (centroparietal P3) neural responses showed group differences and flanker orientation effects, unlike earlier ERPs (occipital P1 and N1). Moreover, behavioral effects of flanker context on contour perception were correlated with modulation in P2 & P3 amplitudes. Conclusion In addition to replicating and extending findings of abnormal contour integration and visual context modulation in SCZ, we provide novel evidence that the abnormal use of perceptual context is associated with higher-order sensory and cognitive processes.

scholarly journals Risk and Resilience in an Acute Stress Paradigm: Evidence From Salivary Cortisol and Time-Frequency Analysis of the Reward Positivity

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 872-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paige Ethridge ◽  
Nida Ali ◽  
Sarah E. Racine ◽  
Jens C. Pruessner ◽  
Anna Weinberg
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Band ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Reward Positivity ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Reward Responsivity

Both abnormal stress and reward responsivity are consistently linked to multiple forms of psychopathology; however, the nature of the associations between stress and reward sensitivity remains poorly understood. In the present study, we examined associations between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis stress response and event-related potentials sensitive to the receipt of reward-related feedback in a pre–post experimental paradigm. Neural responses were recorded while male participants completed a simple monetary-reward guessing task before and after the Montreal Imaging Stress Task. Results demonstrated that acute psychosocial stress significantly reduced the magnitude of neural responses to feedback in the reward-sensitive delta-frequency band but not the loss-sensitive theta-frequency band. In addition, a larger delta-frequency response to rewards at baseline predicted reduced overall cortisol response in the stress condition. These findings suggest, therefore, that neural reward circuitry may be associated with both risk for and resilience to stress-related psychopathology.

Brainstem Frequency-Following Responses and Cortical Event-Related Potentials during Attention

1993 ◽  
Vol 76 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1231-1241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary C. Galbraith ◽  
John M. Kane
Keyword(s):  
Selective Attention ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Specific Task ◽  
Directed Attention ◽  
Auditory Evoked Response ◽  
Cortical Responses ◽  
Task Requirements ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response

Human brainstem frequency-following responses (FFRs) and cortical event-related potentials (ERPs) were evoked by a low-frequency (230 Hz) tone during directed attention. ERPs showed significant amplitude differences consistent with expected attention effects, viz., largest to attended stimuli and smallest to ignored stimuli. The ERP data thereby confirm that attention effectively modulated cortical responses. The FFR, however, did not differ between conditions. The present results agree with one earlier FFR study and a majority of studies using click stimuli to elicit the brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER). However, several BAER studies and two recent FFR studies have shown that attention can influence human brainstem responses. The present results are therefore interpreted in the context of specific task requirements that optimize early selective attention effects.

scholarly journals How Social Power Affects the Processing of Angry Expressions: Evidence From Behavioral and Electrophysiological Data

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Entao Zhang ◽  
Xueling Ma ◽  
Ruiwen Tao ◽  
Tao Suo ◽  
Huang Gu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Power ◽  
High Power ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Oddball Paradigm ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Target Power ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Electroencephalogram Eeg

With the help of event-related potentials (ERPs), the present study used an oddball paradigm to investigate how both individual and target power modulate neural responses to angry expressions. Specifically, participants were assigned into a high-power or low-power condition. Then, they were asked to detect a deviant angry expression from a high-power or low-power target among a series of neutral expressions, while behavioral responses and electroencephalogram (EEG) were recorded. The behavioral results showed that high-power individuals responded faster to detect angry expressions than low-power individuals. The ERP analysis showed that high-power individuals showed larger P3 amplitudes in response to angry expressions than low-power individuals did. Target power increased the amplitudes of the P1, VPP, N3, and P3 in response to angry expressions did, but decreased the amplitudes of the N1 and N170 in response to angry expressions. The present study extended previous studies by showing that having more power could enhance individuals’ neural responses to angry expressions in the late-stage processes, and individuals could show stronger neural responses to angry expressions from high-power persons in both the early‐ and late-stage processes.

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