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Effects of semantic and phonological training on visual word recognition in Arabic: An event-related potential analysis
Poster Session C, Thursday, October 1, 10:45 am - 12:45 pm, Wangari Maathai
Asaid Khateb1,2, Floreen Abu Rezeq1, Bahaa Madi-Tarabya1,2, Samer Andria1,2; 1The Unit for the study of Arabic language, Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities, 2Dept. of Learning Disabilities, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa
Previous studies have shown that familiarity with novel words, and their subsequent integration into memory, can be enhanced through repeated visual or phonological exposure, as well as through repeated associations with meaning. However, the contribution of these different linguistic manipulations to visual word recognition, and the extent to which specific training strategies facilitate lexicalization, remain insufficiently understood [1–5]. The present study examined the behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) correlates of phonologically and semantically oriented training on visual word recognition. In the absence of orthographic information during training, it was hypothesized that both semantic and phonological training would facilitate later visual word recognition. To this end, participants learned novel words (pseudowords) through their phonological forms, either paired with meaningful images (semantically trained pseudowords; StPW) or with scrambled, meaningless images (phonologically trained pseudowords; PhtPW). ERPs were recorded on the following day while adult participants performed a known–unknown decision task including real words, untrained pseudowords, StPW, and PhtPW. Behavioral results showed the fastest reaction times (RTs) for real words, followed by trained pseudowords, and then by untrained pseudowords. Accuracy was highest for real words, whereas no significant differences were observed among the other conditions. Spatio-temporal analyses of ERP map series, conducted to identify periods of stable topographic configurations, revealed that the early component complex (P100–N170–P2) did not differentiate between the four conditions. In contrast, differences emerged during the later ∼440–800 ms time window. Specifically, a map segment appearing around 600 ms showed a longer duration for real words compared to the other conditions, and its duration correlated negatively with participants’ RTs. This observation indicates clearly that words, pseudo-words and trained pseudowords processing induced similar electrophysiological signatures but with differing time dynamics. The significant negative correlation between the duration of this time segment in individual ERP map series and their RTs in each condition supports the view that time of processing in this period very significantly determines individual final speed of processing. These findings are discussed considering previous studies employing similar analytical approaches, as well as prior research on pseudoword learning and lexicalization. References: 1. Bermúdez-Margaretto, B., Beltrán, D., Domínguez, A., & Cuetos, F. (2015). Repeated exposure to “meaningless” pseudowords modulates LPC, but not N (FN) 400. Brain topography, 28(6), 838-851. 2. Bermúdez-Margaretto, B., Beltrán, D., Cuetos, F., & Domínguez, A. (2018). Brain signatures of new (Pseudo-) words: visual repetition in associative and non-associative contexts. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 12, 354. 3. Bermúdez-Margaretto, B., Beltrán, D., Cuetos, F., & Domínguez, A. (2019). Novel word learning: event-related brain potentials reflect pure lexical and task-related effects. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 13, 347. 4. Bermúdez-Margaretto, B., Beltrán, D., Shtyrov, Y., Dominguez, A., & Cuetos, F. (2020). Neurophysiological correlates of top-down phonological and semantic influence during the orthographic processing of novel visual word-forms. Brain sciences, 10(10), 717. 5. Bermúdez-Margaretto, B., Shtyrov, Y., Beltrán, D., Cuetos, F., & Domínguez, A. (2020). Rapid acquisition of novel written word-forms: ERP evidence. Behavioral and brain functions, 16(1), 1-17.
Topic Areas: Reading, Meaning: Lexical Semantics