Early neuro-electric indication of lexical match in English spoken-word recognition

We investigated early electrophysiological responses to spoken English words embedded in neutral sentence frames, using a lexical decision paradigm. As words unfold in time, similar-sounding lexical items compete for recognition within 200 milliseconds after word onset. A small number of studies have previously investigated event-related potentials in this time window in English and French, with results differing in direction of effects as well as component scalp distribution. Investigations of spoken-word recognition in Swedish have reported an early left-frontally distributed event-related potential that increases in amplitude as a function of the probability of a successful lexical match as the word unfolds. Results from the present study indicate that the same process may occur in English: we propose that increased certainty of a 'word' response in a lexical decision task is reflected in the amplitude of an early left-anterior brain potential beginning around 150 milliseconds after word onset. This in turn is proposed to be connected to the probabilistically driven activation of possible upcoming word forms.

Automated summary

In this study, the researchers examined early electrophysiological responses to spoken English words in neutral sentence frames using a lexical decision paradigm. Similar-sounding lexical items competed for recognition within 200 milliseconds after word onset. Previous studies investigating event-related potentials during this time window in English and French showed varying results in terms of effects and scalp distribution. The findings from this study suggest that there may be a similar process occurring in English, where increased certainty of a 'word' response in a lexical decision task is reflected in the amplitude of an early left-anterior brain potential beginning around 150 milliseconds after word onset. This is proposed to be connected to the probabilistically driven activation of possible upcoming word forms.