Abstract
While previous studies separately demonstrate EEG spectral modulations during speech preparation and ERP responses to the listened speech, it is unclear whether these responses are related on a trial-by-trial basis between a speaker and listener. In order to determine whether these responses are related in real-time, Electroencephalography (EEG) responses were measured simultaneously within a speaker and listener using a 24 electrode Mobile EEG system (18 participants; 9 pairs) during a sentence completion task. Each trial consisted of a sentence prompt with an incomplete ending (e.g. “I took my dog for a ____”). The speaker was instructed to fill in the ending with something expected (e.g. “walk”) (40 trials) or unexpected (e.g. “drink”) (40 trials). The other participant listened to the speaker throughout the block. We found that lower alpha band activity was reduced when individuals prepared unexpected sentence endings compared to expected sentence endings. Greater reductions in the speaker’s lower alpha activity during response preparation were correlated with a more negative N400 response in the listener to the unexpected word. These findings demonstrate that alpha suppression and the N400 ERP effect are present within a hyperscanning context and they are correlated between the speaker and listener during sentence completion.
Highlights
During communication, the speaker is tasked with generating a sequence of words which are semantically logical and which follow syntactic structure
The N400 effect is present when anomalies appear at a broader level of discourse than a single sentence[16], and the effect is modulated by the social context of having another listener present[17]. Since these event-related potential (ERP) effects have been primarily studied with words presented visually on a computer screen or aurally through speakers, their presence has yet to be examined in the natural communicative context of listening to a speaker constructing semantic violations in real time
We demonstrate that decreases in the speaker’s lower alpha band responses during speech preparation are related to more negative listener N400 responses to the spoken word
Summary
The speaker is tasked with generating a sequence of words which are semantically logical and which follow syntactic structure. In order to accomplish these tasks, the listener appears to track these speech features, generate predictions for upcoming speech, and engage in further processing when predictions are violated[2,3,4,5] These aspects of speech processing are likely supported by the series of cortical oscillatory and event-related potential (ERP) responses that appear during speech, illuminating the neural mechanisms that likely support speech and language comprehension. The N400 effect is present when anomalies appear at a broader level of discourse than a single sentence[16], and the effect is modulated by the social context of having another listener present[17] Since these ERP effects have been primarily studied with words presented visually on a computer screen or aurally through speakers, their presence has yet to be examined in the natural communicative context of listening to a speaker constructing semantic violations in real time. Measuring EEG responses within the speaker and listener simultaneously will help identify the subset of language ERP effects and speaker EEG effects that may be related within a more natural speaking-listening context
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
