scholarly journals Abstract Action Language Processing in Eleven-Year-Old Children: Influence of Upper Limb Movement on Sentence Comprehension

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 162
Author(s):  
Larissa S. Balduin-Philipps ◽  
Sabine Weiss ◽  
Franziska Schaller ◽  
Horst M. Müller
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Arm Movement ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Action Language ◽  
Semantic Plausibility ◽  
Action Verbs ◽  
Decision Times

Regarding the embodiment of language processing in adults, there is evidence of a close connection between sensorimotor brain areas and brain areas relevant to the processing of action verbs. This thesis is hotly debated and has therefore been thoroughly studied in adults. However, there are still questions concerning its development in children. The present study deals with the processing of action verbs in concrete and abstract sentences in 60 eleven-year-olds using a decision time paradigm. Sixty-five children mirrored arm movements or sat still and rated the semantic plausibility of sentences. The data of the current study suggest that eleven-year-olds are likely to misunderstand the meaning of action verbs in abstract contexts. Their decision times were faster and their error rates for action verbs in concrete sentences were lower. However, the gender of the children had a significant influence on the decision time and the number of errors, especially when processing abstract sentences. Females were more likely to benefit from an arm movement before the decision, while males were better if they sat still beforehand. Overall, children made quite a few errors when assessing the plausibility of sentences, but the female participants more often gave plausibility assessments that deviated from our expectations, especially when processing abstract sentences. It can be assumed that the embodiment of language processing plays some role in 11-year-old children, but is not yet as mature as it is in adults. Especially with regard to the processing of abstract language, the embodied system still has to change and mature in the course of child development.

scholarly journals The motor cortex wants the full story: The influence of sentence context on corticospinal excitability in action language processing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Dupont ◽  
F Lebon ◽  
C Papaxanthis ◽  
C Madden-Lombardi
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Context ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
General Increase ◽  
Embodied Language ◽  
Action Language ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Motor Representations ◽  
Action Verbs

According to the embodied language framework, reading action verbs leads to a mental representation involving motor cortex activation. As sentence context has been shown to greatly influence the meaning of words, the present study aimed at better understanding its role in motor representations. We manipulated the presence of manual actions and sentence context. We hypothesized that context would serve to focus the representation of the described actions in the motor cortex, reflected in context-specific modulation of corticospinal excitability.Participants read manual action verbs and non-manual verbs, preceded by a full sentence (rich context) or not (minimal context). We assessed the level of corticospinal excitability by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation pulses delivered at rest or shortly after verb presentation. The coil was positioned over the cortical representation of right first dorsal interosseous (pointer finger).We observed a general increase of corticospinal excitability while reading both verb types in minimal context, whereas the modulation was action-specific in rich context: corticospinal excitability increased while reading manual verbs, but did not differ from baseline for non-manual verbs. These findings suggest that the context sharpens motor representations, activating the motor cortex when relevant and eliminating any residual motor activation when no action is present.

Race and Gender

2020 ◽  
pp. 251-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timnit Gebru
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Recidivism Rates ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Decision Tools ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Technical Solutions

This chapter discusses the role of race and gender in artificial intelligence (AI). The rapid permeation of AI into society has not been accompanied by a thorough investigation of the sociopolitical issues that cause certain groups of people to be harmed rather than advantaged by it. For instance, recent studies have shown that commercial automated facial analysis systems have much higher error rates for dark-skinned women, while having minimal errors on light-skinned men. Moreover, a 2016 ProPublica investigation uncovered that machine learning–based tools that assess crime recidivism rates in the United States are biased against African Americans. Other studies show that natural language–processing tools trained on news articles exhibit societal biases. While many technical solutions have been proposed to alleviate bias in machine learning systems, a holistic and multifaceted approach must be taken. This includes standardization bodies determining what types of systems can be used in which scenarios, making sure that automated decision tools are created by people from diverse backgrounds, and understanding the historical and political factors that disadvantage certain groups who are subjected to these tools.

EXPRESS: Selective adaptation in sentence comprehension: Evidence from event-related brain potentials

2020 ◽  
pp. 174702182098462
Author(s):  
Masataka Yano ◽  
Shugo Suwazono ◽  
Hiroshi Arao ◽  
Daichi Yasunaga ◽  
Hiroaki Oishi
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Selective Adaptation ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Equal Probability ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Processing Cost ◽  
Low Probability

The present study conducted two event-related potential experiments to investigate whether readers adapt their expectations to morphosyntactically (Experiment 1) or semantically (Experiment 2) anomalous sentences when they are repeatedly exposed to them. To address this issue, we manipulated the probability of morphosyntactically/semantically grammatical and anomalous sentence occurrence through experiments. For the low probability block, anomalous sentences were presented less frequently than grammatical sentences (with a ratio of 1 to 4), while they were presented as frequently as grammatical sentences in the equal probability block. Experiment 1 revealed a smaller P600 effect for morphosyntactic violations in the equal probability block than in the low probability block. Linear mixed-effect models were used to examine how the size of the P600 effect changed as the experiment went along. The results showed that the smaller P600 effect of the equal probability block resulted from an amplitude’s decline in morphosyntactically violated sentences over the course of the experiment, suggesting an adaptation to morphosyntactic violations. In Experiment 2, semantically anomalous sentences elicited a larger N400 effect than their semantically natural counterparts regardless of probability manipulation. No evidence was found in favor of adaptation to semantic violations in that the processing cost of semantic violations did not decrease over the course of the experiment. Therefore, the present study demonstrated a dynamic aspect of language-processing system. We will discuss why the language-processing system shows a selective adaptation to morphosyntactic violations.

Category Accessibility, Ratings of Prototypicality, and Perceptions of Managerial Role Attributes

1988 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce J. Avolio ◽  
Karl Galen Kroeck ◽  
Barry R. Nathan
Keyword(s):  
Women Students ◽  
Processing Time ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Performance Information ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
University Employees ◽  
Managerial Role ◽  
Female Managers ◽  
Decision Times ◽  
Differential Access

The hypothesis that people have differential access (as measured by decision-processing time) to descriptive categories of what is applicable to male and female managers, who were effective or ineffective, was tested. A list of adjectives was presented sequentially on a CRT screen to 96 participants (48 men and 48 women, students and university employees), who evaluated each item as to “how characteristic” or “how uncharacteristic” the adjective was in describing a male or female effective (ineffective) manager. “How characteristic,” or rated prototypicality and decision-time were dependent measures. Analysis indicated that sex of target had little influence on either rated prototypicality or decision times when performance information was presented. Differences in correlations between decision times and prototypicality ratings varied primarily with the manipulation of effectiveness.

scholarly journals Speed, Accuracy, and the Optimal Timing of Choices

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 (12) ◽  
pp. 3651-3684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew Fudenberg ◽  
Philipp Strack ◽  
Tomasz Strzalecki
Keyword(s):  
Sequential Sampling ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Optimal Timing ◽  
Drift Diffusion Model ◽  
Drift Diffusion ◽  
Prior Beliefs ◽  
Constant Cost ◽  
Speed Accuracy ◽  
Decision Times ◽  
Choice Probabilities

We model the joint distribution of choice probabilities and decision times in binary decisions as the solution to a problem of optimal sequential sampling, where the agent is uncertain of the utility of each action and pays a constant cost per unit time for gathering information. We show that choices are more likely to be correct when the agent chooses to decide quickly, provided the agent’s prior beliefs are correct. This better matches the observed correlation between decision time and choice probability than does the classical drift-diffusion model (DDM), where the agent knows the utility difference between the choices. (JEL C41, D11, D12, D83)

scholarly journals Some Regions within Broca's Area Do Respond More Strongly to Sentences than to Linguistically Degraded Stimuli: A Comment on Rogalsky and Hickok ()

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 2632-2635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelina Fedorenko ◽  
Nancy Kanwisher
Keyword(s):  
Random Effects ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Broca’S Area ◽  
Broca's Area ◽  
Review Of The Literature

On the basis of their review of the literature, Rogalsky and Hickok [Rogalsky, C., & Hickok, G. The role of Broca's area in sentence comprehension. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 23, 1664–1680, 2011] conclude that there is currently no strong evidence for the existence of “sentence-specific processing regions within Broca's area” (p. 1664). Their argument is based, in part, on the observation that many previous studies have failed to detect an effect in the left inferior frontal regions for contrasts between sentences and linguistically degraded control conditions (e.g., lists of unconnected words, lists of nonwords, or acoustically degraded sentence stimuli). Our data largely replicate this lack of activation in inferior frontal regions when traditional random-effects group analyses are conducted but crucially show robust activations in the same data for the same contrasts in almost every subject individually. Thus, it is the use of group analyses in studies of language processing, not the idea that sentences robustly activate frontal regions, that needs to be reconsidered. This reconsideration has important methodological and theoretical implications.

The Limits of Defaults: The Influence of Decision Time on Default Effects

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 543-569
Author(s):  
Benjamin X. White ◽  
Duo Jiang ◽  
Dolores Albarracín
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Contextual Factor ◽  
Time Constraints ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Psychological Science ◽  
Health Finance ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Decision Times

The stability of default effects to contextual features is critical to their use in policy. In this paper, decision time was investigated as a contextual factor that may pose limits on the efficacy of defaults. Consistent with the hypothesis that time constraints may increase reliance on contextual cues, four experiments, including a preregistered one of a nationally representative sample, and a meta-analysis that included four additional pilot experiments, indicated that short decision times increased the advantage of action defaults (i.e., the default option automatically endorsed the desired behavior) and that the default advantage was trivial or nonexistent when decision times were longer. These effects replicated for naturalistic as well as externally induced decision times and were present even when participants were unaware that time was limited. This research has critical implications for psychological science and allied disciplines concerned with policy in the domains of public health, finance and economics, marketing, and environmental sciences.

Functional MRI in Pediatric Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Disorders

2018 ◽  
pp. 140-157
Author(s):  
John Vijay Sagar Kommu ◽  
Sowmyashree Mayur Kaku
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Disorders ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Affective Response ◽  
Resting State Fmri ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Gaze Aversion ◽  
Control Networks ◽  
Neurobiological Substrates

This chapter addresses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of brain in children with neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders. Common challenges of pediatric fMRI studies are related to acquisition and processing. In children with disruptive behavior disorders, deficits in affective response, empathy, and decision-making have been reported. Resting-state fMRI studies in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have shown altered activity in default mode and cognitive control networks. Task-based fMRI studies in ADHD have implicated frontoparietal cognitive and attentional networks. The role of stimulants in restoring the altered brain function has been examined using fMRI studies. In children with autism spectrum disorder, fMRI studies using face-processing tasks, theory-of-mind tasks, imitation, and language processing (e.g., sentence comprehension), as well as studies of gaze aversion, interest in social faces, and faces with emotions have implicated cerebellum, amygdala, hippocampus, insula, fusiform gyrus, superior temporal sulcus, planum temporale, inferior frontal gyrus, basal ganglia, thalamus, cingulate cortex, corpus callosum, and brainstem. In addition, fMRI has been a valuable research tool for understanding neurobiological substrates in children with psychiatric disorders (e.g., psychosis, posttraumatic stress disorder, and anxiety disorders).

scholarly journals Sex Difference in Language Processing in Patients With Malignant Brain Tumors

Neurosurgery ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun Yao ◽  
Einat Liebenthal ◽  
Parikshit Juvekar ◽  
Adomas Bunevicius ◽  
Matthew Vera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Brain Tumors ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Precentral Gyrus ◽  
Language Function ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Malignant Brain Tumors ◽  
Parietal Lobule

Abstract INTRODUCTION Numerous differences between males and females in brain organization have been described including in the development, performance, and lateralization of language function. However, there is very limited knowledge of whether language processing differs across sex in patients with brain lesions. In particular, malignant brain tumors (MBT) demonstrate significant sex differences in incidence and long-term survival. Given the importance of brain organization and planning surgical treatment for patients with brain tumors, we investigated the effect of sex on the organization of language in a cohort of patients with MBT. METHODS In the current study, we carried out a retrospective analysis in 47 patients with MBT (22 females, 25 males), retrieving their clinical characteristics and task-based and resting-state functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) data from our clinical database. General Linear Model (GLM) and region-of-interest (ROI) based resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analyses were applied to explore the effect of sex on language tasks associated activations and functional connectivity. RESULTS Across the Sentence Completion task and Antonym Generation task, female patients showed greater activation volumes in the left inferior frontal gyrus, right precuneus, and left superior parietal lobule, while male patients showed larger clusters of activation of the left supplemental motor area (SMA), left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), left precuneus, bilateral precentral gyrus, and right supramarginal gyrus (SMG). Furthermore, the left SMA was a highly sex-specific brain area during the language performance, and it showed stronger resting-state correlations with brain areas within the intrinsic language network in females, while it showed stronger resting-state connections with brain areas involving the visuomotor/higher level cognitive functions in males. CONCLUSION These findings enhance our understanding of the role of sex in language organization in patients with MBT, helping neurosurgeons assess surgical risk and plan surgery in patients with MBT to best preserve language function.

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