Individual differences in language proficiency shape the neural plasticity of language control in bilingual language production
Publication date: May 2020Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics, Volume 54Author(s): Mo Chen, Fengyang Ma, Junjie Wu, Shuhua Li, Zhaoqi Zhang, Yongben Fu, Chunming Lu, Taomei GuoAbstractThe present study investigated the effect of language-switching training on the neural correlates of both reactive and proactive control in bilingual language production, as well as the modulating role of the proficiency level of the second language (L2). During the pre-test, Chinese-English bilinguals performed a picture-naming task while being scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants then took part in an 8-day...
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - January 18, 2020 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
The ERP correlates of thematic role assignment for passive versus active sentences
This study uses ERPs to investigate how English speakers assign thematic roles while building the structure and meaning of grammatical passive versus active sentences, in which both nouns are equally plausible agents and patients. In two separate experiments, participants exhibited a frontal positivity in response to passive versus active sentences at the point they encountered the past participle form of the lexical verb (e.g., The policeman was tackling the robber/tackled by the robber …). Such frontal positivities have previously been associated with processing grammatical sentences that involve increased syntactic or...
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - January 11, 2020 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
An audiovisual integration deficit underlies reading failure in nontransparent writing systems: An fMRI study of Chinese children with dyslexia
This study, for the first time, illustrates the neural mechanisms of the audiovisual integration deficit in dyslexia in a nontransparent logographic writing system, extending our understanding of the neural basis of dyslexia. (Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics)
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - December 2, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
Editorial Board
Publication date: February 2020Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics, Volume 53Author(s): (Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics)
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - November 9, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
Embedding (im)plausible clauses in propositional attitude contexts: Modulatory effects on the N400 and late components
Publication date: February 2020Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics, Volume 53Author(s): Lia Călinescu, Anna Giskes, Mila Vulchanova, Giosuè BaggioAbstractHow do comprehenders track dependencies between the plausibility of embedded clauses and of the sentences in which they occur? We investigated processing of Norwegian propositional attitude sentences with plausible or implausible complement clauses (‘Magnus {knows/believes/dreams/doubts/imagines} that mosquitos live off {blood/vodka}’). Using ERPs, we tested the hypothesis that the amplitude of the N400 component is sensitive to the plausibility of the attitude sent...
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - November 3, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
Male fashionistas and female football fans: Gender stereotypes affect neurophysiological correlates of semantic processing during speech comprehension
Publication date: February 2020Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics, Volume 53Author(s): Angela Grant, Sarah Grey, Janet G. van HellAbstractRecent studies have shown that pre-existing contextual information, such as gender stereotypes, is incorporated online during comprehension (e.g., Van Berkum, van den Brink, Tesink, Kos, & Hagoort, 2008). Stereotypes, however, are not static entities, and social role theory suggests that they may be influenced by the behavior of members of the group (Eagly, 1987). Consequently, our study examines how gender stereotypes affect the semantic processing of statements from both a male and a ...
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - October 20, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
A critical review of the behavioral, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological studies of co-activation of representations during word production
Publication date: February 2020Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics, Volume 53Author(s): Nazbanou Nozari, Svetlana PinetAbstractA large body of behavioral, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological studies have investigated the consequences of co-activation of representations during word production. Despite such an amazing body of empirical data, it remains unclear how the production system handles co-activated items. In this paper, we review this evidence in a systematic way, and point out three common problems in the interpretations attached to these data. We then discuss alternative approaches which might be more fruitful i...
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - October 15, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
On the interplay between motor sequencing and linguistic syntax: Electrophysiological evidence
In this study, we used a paradigm combining two different sequential motor tasks, namely linear vs. non-linear self-administration of sentences, with correctness judgment of the sentences (half of them could include a morphosyntactic violation) while recording event-related potentials, ERPs. The sentences could be of either three types: subject-relative sentences, embedded PP sentences -with a displaced prepositional phrase between the subject and the verb-, or coordinate subject sentences - with two conjoined noun phrases as subject. Overall, results revealed significant modulations in the ERP components, connected to the...
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - October 12, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
Grey matter reduction in the occipitotemporal cortex in Spanish children with dyslexia: A voxel-based morphometry study
In this study, we used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to investigate brain differences in grey matter volume associated with a transparent language in a sample of 25 native Spanish participants (13 dyslexic and 12 non-dyslexic children). Results revealed a volume reduction in the left occipitotemporal cortex and right cerebellum in dyslexics. Significantly, the reduction in occipitotemporal areas has been previously linked to reading in transparent languages. Our results support previous studies and are consistent with the idea that reading problems in languages with a shallow orthography are related to the ventral reading ...
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - September 30, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
Time reference in aphasia: Evidence from Greek
This study presents a review of the literature and addresses the question of dissociation between the past and the non-past in aphasia in Greek, a language which distinguishes among three past forms. A mixed group of eight individuals with aphasia and a group of 10 non-brain-damaged speakers performed the two tasks of the Greek version of the Test for Assessing Reference of Time (Bastiaanse, Jonkers, & Thompson, 2008): a sentence completion task (primed by pictures) and a sentence-picture matching task. The sentence completion task tested the present, future and three past tenses: past perfective, past imperfective and pre...
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - September 28, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
Effects of encoding modes on memory of naturalistic events
This study reports both behavioral and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data on whether memory advantage of bimodal encoding exists for retrieval of naturalistic events. In Experiment 1, participants took memory tests after learning naturalistic events via three different encoding modes: (1) text reading, (2) story listening, and (3) video watching. The results showed that, at immediate recall, participants made few errors in the text reading and video watching conditions than the story listening condition; at delayed recall, these differences disappeared. In Experiment 2, participants similarly read texts, lis...
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - August 22, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
Editorial Board
Publication date: November 2019Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics, Volume 52Author(s): (Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics)
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - August 15, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
Publisher's Note
Publication date: November 2019Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics, Volume 52Author(s): (Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics)
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - August 15, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
Transcranial direct current stimulation improves novel word recall in healthy adults
This study contributes important information on healthy language processing and highlights the efficacy of atDCS in improvement of language recovery in clinical domains. (Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics)
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - August 14, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
Neural correlates for nouns and verbs in phrases during syntactic and semantic processing: An fMRI study
This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare the neural correlates for nouns and verbs in syntactic and semantic processing, which is a major dispute in word categorization, with combinational linguistics rules. The results showed that under both conditions, verbs involved more brain activation in the left prefrontal lobe and the superior temporal gyrus (STG) than did nouns. We found that verbs in syntactic processing elicited higher activation in the middle and inferior frontal gyri (IFG) than nouns, which is consistent with the findings in Indo-European languages. However, Chinese verbs compared with ...
Source: Journal of Neurolinguistics - August 11, 2019 Category: Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: research
