Auditory Lexical Processing Research Articles

Semantic richness effects in isolated spoken word recognition: Evidence from massive auditory lexical decision.

While known to influence visual lexical processing, the semantic information we associate with words has recently been found to influence auditory lexical processing as well. The present work explored the influence of semantic richness in auditory lexical decision. Study 1 recreated an experiment investigating semantic richness effects in concrete nouns (Goh et al., 2016). In Study 2, we expanded the stimulus set from 442 to 8,626 items, exploring the robustness of effects observed in Study 1 against a larger data set with increased diversity in both word class and other characteristics of interest. We also utilized generalized additive mixed models to investigate potential nonlinear effects. Results indicate that semantic richness effects become more nuanced and detectable when a wider set of items belonging to different parts of speech is examined. Findings are discussed in the context of models of spoken word recognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The activation of embedded (pseudo-)stems in auditory lexical processing: implications for models of spoken word recognition

ABSTRACT A large literature on visual word recognition has examined the role of (apparent) morphological structure by comparing suffixed (such as treatment), pseudo-suffixed (pigment), and non-suffixed (dogma) words with respect to their embeddings (treat, pig, dog). We examined the processing of these word types, as well as semantic controls, in an auditory primed lexical decision paradigm. The results show significant priming in all conditions relative to an unrelated baseline, with larger priming effects for truly suffixed words than for pseudo-suffixed and non-suffixed words. The results suggest that initial embeddings are activated in spoken word processing, and remain active in ways that do not depend on (apparent) morphological structure. We discuss the implications of these findings for models of lexical access that predict inhibition of disfavoured competitors and models that hold that attempted decomposition is driven by meaning relatedness between the carrier word and its possible embedded stem(s).

Multilingual spoken word recognition: A megastudy approach

Bilingualism research has primarily focused on the perception and processing of individual sounds or word learning. Many studies have investigated how bilingual listeners perceive sound contrasts that don't create lexical distinctions in their native language. There is substantially less research that has investigated how word-level properties impact L2 auditory processing. The present study examines how auditory lexical processing differs between monolingual and bilingual listeners with different language backgrounds. We collected lexical decision accuracies and latencies for 26,793 words and 9600 pseudowords from the Massive Auditory Lexical Decision database from native and non-native listener responses. We compare the language backgrounds of our 1028 listeners and group them into four groups: native speakers, early, early-late, and late bilinguals. We report the findings of an analysis investigating how language background and proficiency modulate lexical effects to understand how language background influences spoken word recognition. We find differences in the effects of lexical frequency, phonological neighborhood density, and phonological uniqueness point between the different listener groups. We discuss the impact of bilingualism in a word recognition task and how these results inform models of spoken word recognition and second language acquisition.

Retrieving stem meanings in opaque words during auditory lexical processing

ABSTRACT Recent constituent priming experiments show that Dutch and German prefixed verbs prime their stem, regardless of semantic transparency (e.g. Smolka et al. [(2014). ‘Verstehen’ (‘understand’) primes ‘stehen’ (‘stand’): Morphological structure overrides semantic compositionality in the lexical representation of German complex verbs. Journal of Memory and Language, 72, 16–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2013.12.002]). We examine whether the processing of opaque verbs (e.g. herhalen “repeat”) involves the retrieval of only the whole-word meaning, or whether the lexical-semantic meaning of the stem (halen as “take/get”) is retrieved as well. We report the results of an auditory semantic priming experiment with Dutch prefixed verbs, testing whether the recognition of a semantic associate to the stem (BRENGEN “bring”) is facilitated by the presentation of an opaque prefixed verb. In contrast to prior visual studies, significant facilitation after semantically opaque primes is found, which suggests that the lexical-semantic meaning of stems in opaque words is retrieved. We examine the implications that these findings have for auditory word recognition, and for the way in which different types of meanings are represented and processed.

Dynamic effect of tonal similarity in bilingual auditory lexical processing

ABSTRACTPhonological similarity affects bilingual lexical access of etymologically-related translation equivalents (ETEs). Jinan Mandarin (JM) and Standard Chinese (SC) are closely related and share many ETEs, which are usually orthographically and segmentally identical but vary in tonal similarity. Using an auditory lexical decision experiment and Generalised Additive Modelling, the present study investigates how cross-linguistic tonal similarity interacts with language of operation and how the switching of language across blocks influences SC-JM bilinguals’ auditory lexical processing of ETEs. Bilinguals showed a language dominance effect, indicating that ETEs are specified with separated word-form representations. Compared with SC tonal monolinguals, bilinguals showed a discontinuous bilingual auditory lexical advantage, instead of a classical bilingual lexical disadvantage. The dynamic role of cross-linguistic tonal similarity in auditory word processing is discussed in light of the bilinguals’ attentional shift with the change of language mode at the pre-lexical and lexical stages.

Unstressed Vowel Reduction Across Majorcan Catalan Dialects: Production and Spoken Word Recognition.

This study investigates the production and auditory lexical processing of words involved in a patterned phonological alternation in two dialects of Catalan spoken on the island of Majorca, Spain. One of these dialects, that of Palma, merges /ɔ/ and /o/ as [o] in unstressed position, and it maintains /u/ as an independent category, [u]. In the dialect of Sóller, a small village, speakers merge unstressed /ɔ/, /o/, and /u/ to [u]. First, a production study asks whether the discrete, rule-based descriptions of the vowel alternations provided in the dialectological literature are able to account adequately for these processes: are mergers complete? Results show that mergers are complete with regards to the main acoustic cue to these vowel contrasts, that is, F1. However, minor differences are maintained for F2 and vowel duration. Second, a lexical decision task using cross-modal priming investigates the strength with which words produced in the phonetic form of the neighboring (versus one's own) dialect activate the listeners' lexical representations during spoken word recognition: are words within and across dialects accessed efficiently? The study finds that listeners from one of these dialects, Sóller, process their own and the neighboring forms equally efficiently, while listeners from the other one, Palma, process their own forms more efficiently than those of the neighboring dialect. This study has implications for our understanding of the role of lifelong linguistic experience on speech performance.

Early processing of auditory lexical predictions revealed by ERPs

Auditory lexical processing starts within 200ms after onset of the critical stimulus. Here, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate whether (1) the so-called N200 effect can be triggered by single-item lexical context, and (2) such effects are robust against temporal violations of the signal. We presented items in which lexical status (i.e., is the stimulus a word or a pseudoword?) was determined at third syllable onset. The critical syllable could be naturally timed or delayed (by ∼440 or ∼800ms). Across all conditions, we observed an effect of lexicality that started ∼200ms after third syllable onset (i.e., an N200 effect in naturally timed items and a similar effect superimposed on the P2 for the delayed items). The results indicate that early lexical processes are robust against violations of temporal coherence.

Danger and usefulness are detected early in auditory lexical processing: Evidence from electroencephalography

Visual emotionally charged stimuli have been shown to elicit early electrophysiological responses (e.g., Ihssen, Heim, & Keil, 2007; Schupp, Junghöfer, Weike, & Hamm, 2003; Stolarova, Keil, & Moratti, 2006). We presented isolated words to listeners, and observed, using generalized additive modeling, oscillations in the upper part of the delta range, the theta range (Bastiaansen & Hagoort, 2003), and the lower part of the alpha range related to degree of (rated) danger and usefulness (Wurm, 2007) starting around 150ms and continuing to 350ms post stimulus onset. A negative deflection in the oscillations tied to danger around 250–300ms fits well with a similar negativity observed in the same time interval for visual emotion processing. Frequency and competitor effects emerged or reached maximal amplitude later, around or following the uniqueness point. The early effect of danger, long before the words’ uniqueness points, is interpreted as evidence for the dual pathway theory of LeDoux (1996).

Spectral–temporal analysis of cortical oscillations during lexical processing

We investigated the oscillatory neural correlates of auditory lexical processing in healthy adults. Synthetic aperture magnetometry was used to characterize the timing of event-related desynchronization (ERD)/event-related synchronization (ERS) in superior temporal gyri following low-frequency and high-frequency words in contrast to nonwords. ERS and ERD responses were found with both word and nonword stimuli. Analysis of power revealed significantly elevated θ-α range (6-14 Hz) ERD in response to words compared with nonwords (left hemisphere: 390-945 ms poststimulus). Furthermore, a burst of ERS in the γ band (40-50 Hz, centered at 410 ms poststimulus) distinguished high-frequency and low-frequency words, and also displayed left-hemispheric enhancement following words. Results demonstrate a clear neural correlate of lexical access and provide a basis for further study of spectral-temporal brain activity during language processing.

Lexical Processing in Illiteracy: Effect of Literacy or Education?

Difficulties in phonological processing in illiterates have been attributed to their limited phonological awareness, a consequence of their lack of literacy. We sought to explore the potential influence of education on auditory lexical processing above and beyond literacy per se. In order to achieve this goal, we compared a lexical decision making paradigm with a repetition paradigm using words and pseudo-words. We based this choice of tasks on previous research, which has shown that pseudo-word repetition is dependent on the phonological loop; such studies have thus demonstrated a literacy effect on repetition. Instead, lexical decision making is known to depend on the size of one's vocabulary, which is influenced by the level of education attained. Our sample comprised three groups: illiterate no education, literate/low education and literate/high education, individuals. The pattern of our findings confirmed that literacy has an effect on the capacity of the phonological loop, as our illiterate group alone had difficulty with repetition, as compared with both literate/educated groups. Also, our findings suggested an education effect on lexical decision making, as we found a gradation in the performance of the three groups. Therefore, we succeeded in dissecting the effect of literacy and education on auditory lexical processing through the application and comparison of two simple paradigms.

Lexical competition effects in aphasia: Deactivation of lexical candidates in spoken word processing

Research has shown that Broca’s and Wernicke’s aphasic patients show different impairments in auditory lexical processing. The results of an experiment with form-overlapping primes showed an inhibitory effect of form-overlap for control adults and a weak inhibition trend for Broca’s aphasic patients, but a facilitatory effect of form-overlap was found for Wernicke’s aphasic participants. This suggests that Wernicke’s aphasic patients are mainly impaired in suppression of once-activated word candidates and selection of one winning candidate, which may be related to their problems in auditory language comprehension.

Hidden Markov event sequence models: Toward unsupervised functional MRI brain mapping 1

Most methods used in functional MRI (fMRI) brain mapping require restrictive assumptions about the shape and timing of the fMRI signal in activated voxels. Consequently, fMRI data may be partially and misleadingly characterized, leading to suboptimal or invalid inference. To limit these assumptions and to capture the broad range of possible activation patterns, a novel statistical fMRI brain mapping method is proposed. It relies on hidden semi-Markov event sequence models (HSMESMs), a special class of hidden Markov models (HMMs) dedicated to the modeling and analysis of event-based random processes. Activation detection is formulated in terms of time coupling between (1) the observed sequence of hemodynamic response onset (HRO) events detected in the voxel's fMRI signal and (2) the "hidden" sequence of task-induced neural activation onset (NAO) events underlying the HROs. Both event sequences are modeled within a single HSMESM. The resulting brain activation model is trained to automatically detect neural activity embedded in the input fMRI data set under analysis. The data sets considered in this article are threefold: synthetic epoch-related, real epoch-related (auditory lexical processing task), and real event-related (oddball detection task) fMRI data sets. Synthetic data: Activation detection results demonstrate the superiority of the HSMESM mapping method with respect to a standard implementation of the statistical parametric mapping (SPM) approach. They are also very close, sometimes equivalent, to those obtained with an "ideal" implementation of SPM in which the activation patterns synthesized are reused for analysis. The HSMESM method appears clearly insensitive to timing variations of the hemodynamic response and exhibits low sensitivity to fluctuations of its shape (unsustained activation during task). Real epoch-related data: HSMESM activation detection results compete with those obtained with SPM, without requiring any prior definition of the expected activation patterns thanks to the unsupervised character of the HSMESM mapping approach. Along with activation maps, the method offers a wide range of additional fMRI analysis functionalities, including activation lag mapping, activation mode visualization, and hemodynamic response function analysis. Real event-related data: Activation detection results confirm and validate the overall strategy that consists in focusing the analysis on the transients, time-localized events that are the HROs. All the experiments performed on synthetic and real fMRI data demonstrate the relevance of HSMESMs in fMRI brain mapping. In particular, the statistical character of these models, along with their learning and generalizing abilities are of particular interest when dealing with strong variabilities of the active fMRI signal across time, space, experiments, and subjects.

The Subjects as a Simple Random Effect Fallacy: Subject Variability and Morphological Family Effects in the Mental Lexicon

This is a methodological study addressing the appropriateness of standard by-subject and by-item averaging procedures for the analysis of repeated-measures designs. By means of a reanalysis of published data (Schreuder & Baayen, 1997), using random regression models, we present a proof of existence of systematic variability between participants that is ignored in the standard psycholinguistic analytical procedures. By applying linear mixed effects modeling (Pinheiro & Bates, 2000), we call attention to the potential lack of power of the by-subject and by-item analyses, which in this case study fail to reveal the coexistence of a facilitatory family size effect and an inhibitory family frequency effect in visual and auditory lexical processing.

Lexical access codes in visual and auditory word recognition

Abstract Lexical access takes place when sensory information is matched to lexical information. The nature of the code in which this match takes place was examined in two experiments. The first experiment looked at auditory lexical processing and found that nonwords took longer to classify as nonwords if they formed the beginnings of real words, regardless of syllable structure. This was in contrast to a second experiment which employed a visual lexical decision task, where nonwords took longer to classify only if they formed the first syllable of a word. It was concluded that the access code that activates lexical information in spoken word recognition is the first few phonemes regardless of syllable structure, whereas in printed word recognition the access code is the first (orthographically defined) syllable.