Abstract
The present article reviews experimental data obtained with behavioral methods (reaction times) and event-related potentials on the processing of syllables and prefixes. Syllables are used in Spanish as a mechanism of word pre-activation in the lexical memory and require inhibition of lexical selection. In contrast, prefixes, as a morphological unit — although they are also syllables — produce a facilitating effect on word meaning, this process being free of inhibitory processes. We conclude that the two units employ dissimilar routes and activate a different time-course process. Hypotheses relating these basic discoveries in adults with the child population are tentatively proposed, since these units — syllables and morphemes — constitute basic prelexical units in the acquisition of reading abilities.
Published Version
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