Delayed Naming Task Research Articles

Behavioural and EEG evidence for inter-individual variability in late encoding stages of word production

ABSTRACT Individuals differ in the time needed to name a picture. This contribution asks whether this inter-individual variability emerges in earlier stages of word production (e.g. lexical selection) or later stages (e.g. articulation) and examines the consequences of this variability for EEG group results. We measured participants’ (N = 45) naming latencies and continuous EEG in a picture-word interference task and naming latencies in a delayed naming task. Inter-individual variability in naming latencies in immediate naming (in contrast with inter-item variability) was not larger than the variability in the delayed task, suggesting that some variability in immediate naming originates in later stages of word production. EEG data complemented this interpretation: Differences between relatively fast vs. slow speakers emerged in response-aligned analyses in a time window close to the vocal response. We additionally present a method to assess the generalisability of the timing of effects across participants based on random sampling.

The dynamics of reading complex words: evidence from steady-state visual evoked potentials

The present study used steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) to examine the spatio-temporal dynamics of reading morphologically complex words and test the neurophysiological activation pattern elicited by stems and suffixes. Three different types of target words were presented to proficient readers in a delayed naming task: truly suffixed words (e.g., farmer), pseudo-suffixed words (e.g., corner), and non-suffixed words (e.g., cashew). Embedded stems and affixes were flickered at two different frequencies (18.75 Hz and 12.50 Hz, respectively). The stem data revealed an earlier SSVEP peak in the truly suffixed and pseudo-suffixed conditions compared to the non-suffixed condition, thus providing evidence for the form-based activation of embedded stems during reading. The suffix data also showed a dissociation in the SSVEP response between suffixes and non-suffixes with an additional activation boost for truly suffixed words. The observed differences are discussed in the context of current models of complex word recognition.

Picture naming yields highly consistent cortical activation patterns: Test–retest reliability of magnetoencephalography recordings

Reliable paradigms and imaging measures of individual-level brain activity are paramount when reaching from group-level research studies to clinical assessment of individual patients. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) provides a direct, non-invasive measure of cortical processing with high spatiotemporal accuracy, and is thus well suited for assessment of functional brain damage in patients with language difficulties. This MEG study aimed to identify, in a delayed picture naming paradigm, source-localized evoked activity and modulations of cortical oscillations that show high test–retest reliability across measurement days in healthy individuals, demonstrating their applicability in clinical settings. For patients with a language disorder picture naming can be a challenging task. Therefore, we also determined whether a semantic judgment task (‘Is this item living?’) with a spoken response (“yes”/“no”) would suffice to induce comparably consistent activity within brain regions related to language production. The MEG data was collected from 19 healthy participants on two separate days. In picture naming, evoked activity was consistent across measurement days (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)>0.4) in the left frontal (400–800 ms after image onset), sensorimotor (200–800 ms), parietal (200–600 ms), temporal (200–800 ms), occipital (400–800 ms) and cingulate (600–800 ms) regions, as well as the right temporal (600–800 ms) region. In the semantic judgment task, consistent evoked activity was spatially more limited, occurring in the left temporal (200–800 ms), sensorimotor (400–800 ms), occipital (400–600 ms) and subparietal (600–800 ms) regions, and the right supramarginal cortex (600–800 ms). The delayed naming task showed typical beta oscillatory suppression in premotor and sensorimotor regions (800–1200 ms) but other consistent modulations of oscillatory activity were mostly observed in posterior cortical regions that have not typically been associated with language processing. The high test–retest consistency of MEG evoked activity in the picture naming task testifies to its applicability in clinical evaluations of language function, as well as in longitudinal MEG studies of language production in clinical and healthy populations.

Frequency-tagged visual evoked responses track syllable effects in visual word recognition

The processing of syllables in visual word recognition was investigated using a novel paradigm based on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs). French words were presented to proficient readers in a delayed naming task. Words were split into two segments, the first of which was flickered at 18.75 Hz and the second at 25 Hz. The first segment either matched (congruent condition) or did not match (incongruent condition) the first syllable. The SSVEP responses in the congruent condition showed increased power compared to the responses in the incongruent condition, providing new evidence that syllables are important sublexical units in visual word recognition and reading aloud. With respect to the neural correlates of the effect, syllables elicited an early activation of a right hemisphere network. This network is typically associated with the programming of complex motor sequences, cognitive control and timing. Subsequently, responses were obtained in left hemisphere areas related to phonological processing.

Interactions of age of acquisition and lexical frequency effects with phonological regularity: An ERP study.

Across languages, lexical frequency and age of acquisition (AoA) are important predictors of word reading that are naturally correlated, and both variables have been shown to interact with phonological regularity. Previous behavioral findings in Chinese have shown stronger regularity effects in low frequency relative to high frequency characters. Meanwhile, the arbitrary mapping hypothesis predicts stronger interference effects in late-acquired irregular words. This study examined the neural bases of these phenomena in Chinese using a delayed naming task with 480 single characters. Single-trial ERP analyses were conducted to contrast the interactions of frequency or AoA effects with phonological regularity, while controlling for the other factor. Results showed differential and significant effects of AoA and frequency at the N400 and late positive component (LPC), respectively, indicating their independence. ERP interaction patterns of frequency and regularity in Chinese were observed for the first time in the LPC time window and suggested semantic interference from sublexical units during character reading. Interaction of AoA and regularity at the N400 could be explained by the semantic hypothesis but appeared inconsistent with the arbitrary mapping hypothesis.

The Delayed Naming Task, Phonological Preparation Time, and the Three-syllable Stress Window in Spanish

The current study presents the delayed naming task as an effective tool for testing the robustness of phonotactic constraints. A delayed naming task was employed to test for quantity sensitivity among nonwords in Spanish. Results reveal a robust effect of stress modulation by syllable weight as evidenced by differential rates of error between penultimate diphthongs and monophthongs in nonwords marked for antepenultimate stress. Items containing phonotactically illicit diphthong/stress combinations were also shown to improve significantly over time, showing that the cognitive constraints on proscription can be overcome with sufficient preparation time. Rising and falling diphthongs were also shown to restrict antepenultimate stress differentially, replicating the findings of Shelton, Gerfen, and Gutiérrez Palma (2012) and revealing sensitivity to gradient weight distinctions in the lexicon. These findings offer further evidence in favor of nuanced quantity sensitivity in Spanish and demonstrate the utility of the delayed naming task to view phonotactic processing over time.

Semantic Interference in a Delayed Naming Task : Evidence for Competition-by-Activation Hypothesis

In recent years, Janssen, Schirm, Mahon, and Caramazza (2008) observed a significant semantic interference effect in the task-switching version of the picture-word delayed naming paradigm. They argued that the semantic effect originates from the post-lexical level of speech processing. The present study conducted two experiments to test the reliability of such a finding using the pictureword delayed naming paradigm. In Experiment 1, a standard delayed naming task was used where participants engaged in the delayed naming of the picture regardless of the distractor word that appeared after the picture. In Experiment 2, a task-switching version of the same task was used where participants engaged in the delayed naming according to the color of the distractor word. The results of both Experiment 1 and 2 revealed no significant semantic interference effect, which supports the claim that the semantic effect originates from lexical competition rather than post-lexical level processing during speech production.

The Impact of Phonological Similarity between First and Second Language on Lexical Access during Overt Speech Production: an ERP Study

Event Abstract Back to Event The Impact of Phonological Similarity between First and Second Language on Lexical Access during Overt Speech Production: an ERP Study Manfred Gugler1, Jana Aurig1, Hellmuth Obrig1, 2 and Sonja Rossi1, 3* 1 Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany 2 Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Germany 3 Medical University Innsbruck, Austria Background Lexical access is usually relatively effortless. However, late second language (L2) learners with low and medium L2 proficiency often experience difficulties in accessing the L2-lexicon leading to a major impediment of fluent language production. The aim of the present study was to explore which role phonological similarity between the native language (L1) and L2 plays during lexical access in language production. Methods German native speakers with intermediate L2 proficiency were asked to name pictures in German (L1) and English (L2). Since ERPs during speech production are contaminated by articulatory movement artifacts, we chose a delayed naming task. Pictures varied with regard to the phonological similarity of the corresponding words in L1 and L2 (high vs. medium vs. no similarity). The subjective ease of lexical access was rated by participants after each overt word production. ERPs were recorded from 64 electrodes equally distributed on the scalp. Results and Conclusions When different levels of subjective ease of retrieval were considered, ERPs during L2-retrieval were clearly modulated by lexical access demands. For immediate retrieval of L2-words, a larger negativity was seen for words with high when compared to medium similarity between L1 and L2. Similar effects were demonstrated for short and tip-of-the-tongue retrieval. Notably the effect was absent when lexical retrieval failed. Interestingly for words with no L1/L2-similarity the negativity was also larger when compared to medium-similarity words. These results show that the degree of similarity between the highly over-learned L1 and the weaker L2 entry in the lexicon modulates lexical retrieval in L2 (no effects were seen in L1). While substantial overlap in high-similarity entries may ease L2-entry access no-overlap entries may strongly reduce inhibition demands for the L1 entry, which is necessary to retrieve the weaker L2 entry. Keywords: lexical access, Language production, event-related brain potentials (ERPs), phonological similarity, Second language learners Conference: XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 27 Jul - 31 Jul, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Topic: Language Citation: Gugler M, Aurig J, Obrig H and Rossi S (2015). The Impact of Phonological Similarity between First and Second Language on Lexical Access during Overt Speech Production: an ERP Study. Conference Abstract: XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00113 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 19 Feb 2015; Published Online: 24 Apr 2015. * Correspondence: Dr. Sonja Rossi, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany, sonja.rossi@i-med.ac.at Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Manfred Gugler Jana Aurig Hellmuth Obrig Sonja Rossi Google Manfred Gugler Jana Aurig Hellmuth Obrig Sonja Rossi Google Scholar Manfred Gugler Jana Aurig Hellmuth Obrig Sonja Rossi PubMed Manfred Gugler Jana Aurig Hellmuth Obrig Sonja Rossi Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

An ERP study of effects of regularity and consistency in delayed naming and lexicality judgment in a logographic writing system.

Phonological access is an important component in theories and models of word reading. However, phonological regularity and consistency effects are not clearly separable in alphabetic writing systems. We investigated these effects in Chinese, where the two variables are operationally distinct. In this orthographic system, regularity is defined as the congruence between the pronunciation of a complex character (or phonogram), and that of its phonetic radical, while phonological consistency indexes the proportion of orthographic neighbors that share the same pronunciation as the phonogram. In the current investigation, regularity and consistency were contrasted in an event-related potential (ERP) study using a lexical decision (LD) task and a delayed naming (DN) task with native Chinese readers. ERP results showed that effects of regularity occurred early after stimulus onset and were long-lasting. Regular characters elicited larger N170, smaller P200, and larger N400 compared to irregular characters. In contrast, significant effects of consistency were only seen at the P200 and consistent characters showed a greater P200 than inconsistent characters. Thus, both the time course and the direction of the effects indicated that regularity and consistency operated under different mechanisms and were distinct constructs. Additionally, both of these phonological effects were only found in the DN task and absent in LD, suggesting that phonological access was non-obligatory for LD. The study demonstrated cross-language variability in how phonological information was accessed from print and how task demands could influence this process.

Age-of-acquisition effects in delayed picture-naming tasks

We report two experiments that explored the linguistic locus of age-of-acquisition effects in picture naming by using a delayed naming task that involved only a low proportion of trials (25 %) while, for the large majority of the trials (75 %), participants performed another task-that is, the prevalent task. The prevalent tasks were semantic categorization in Experiment 1a and grammatical-gender decision in Experiments 1b and 2. In Experiment 1a, in which participants were biased to retrieve semantic information in order to perform the semantic categorization task, delayed naming times were affected by age of acquisition, reflecting a postsemantic locus of the effect. In Experiments 1b and 2, in which participants were biased to retrieve lexical information in order to perform the grammatical gender decision task, there was also an age-of-acquisition effect. These results suggest that part of the age-of-acquisition effect in picture naming occurs at the level at which the phonological properties of words are retrieved.

Examining Semantic Priming in a Delayed Naming Task

Semantic priming refers to the finding that a word response is facilitated if it is preceded by a related wordcompared to when it is preceded by an unrelated word. Research has shown that semantic priming effects stilloccur under task conditions which would permit ample time for the completion of word recognition processesprior to response production. This study sought to examine the impact of a related prime-target context on wordproduction. Participants completed an immediate word naming task and a delayed word naming task. There wasa semantic priming effect for the immediate naming task. For the delayed naming task semantic priming wasonly evident at the 500 ms cue delay. This suggests a limited time frame in which a semantic context is able tofacilitate word production.

Planning time effects of phonological competition: Articulatory and acoustic data.

One major cause for speech production variability and errors is competition between phonologically similar sequences in an utterance. Since one recent model of speech production planning [Nam (2004)] also posits a systematic relation between planning time and kinematic variability, we decided to directly investigate whether competition increases planning time, i.e., whether it takes longer to initiate a sequence such as “tape cape” compared with “tape tape.” Effects of competition in the onset were compared to competition in the coda (e.g., “tape take”). Results from two studies are reported: articulatory latencies from a delayed naming task recorded using EMA (four speakers), and acoustic latencies from a delayed naming task, a simple naming task, and a picture naming task (ten speakers). Latencies were significantly affected by competition, i.e., latencies were longer for items like “tape cape” and “tape take” than for “tape tape.” However, no significant differences were found in competition effects between onset and coda positions. Apart from latency, overall duration increased and clusters formed across words showed less overlap. Observed effects on latency were largest for picture naming, followed by simple naming and least for delayed naming. [Work supported by NIH DC008780.]

Effects of syllable structure on reaction times in a delayed naming task

Syllable complexity has been found to affect the time the speaker needs for planning and initiating utterance production. Shorter latencies for complex onsets (CCV) as compared to simple onsets (CV) have been explained by effects of segment‐specific biomechanical constraints at the level of motor execution, and by neighborhood density at the planning level. Within the framework of Articulatory Phonology, shorter planning latencies for CV syllables (compared to VC) have been attributed to quicker stabilization for tighter gestural coupling hypothesized for in‐phase coupling of the onset consonant and release with the vowel. We attempted to test both onset complexity (C vs CC) and coda complexity (open vs. closed syllables) within a single experiment, so that we could evaluate the relative magnitudes of these effects and uncover potential interactions. To do so, American English monosyllabic words varying in syllable structure were presented using a delayed naming paradigm. The results replicated both effects, showing additive effects of roughly comparable magnitudes. Whether these effects are due to planning or motor execution will be tested by further simple naming and picture naming experiments.

Semantic interference in a delayed naming task: Evidence for the response exclusion hypothesis.

In 2 experiments participants named pictures of common objects with superimposed distractor words. In one naming condition, the pictures and words were presented simultaneously on every trial, and participants produced the target response immediately. In the other naming condition, the presentation of the picture preceded the presentation of the distractor by 1,000 ms, and participants delayed production of their naming response until distractor word presentation. Within each naming condition, the distractor words were either semantic category coordinates of the target pictures or unrelated. Orthogonal to this manipulation of semantic relatedness, the frequency of the pictures' names was manipulated. The authors observed semantic interference effects in both the immediate and delayed naming conditions but a frequency effect only in the immediate naming condition. These data indicate that semantic interference can be observed when target picture naming latencies do not reflect the bottleneck at the level of lexical selection. In the context of other findings from the picture-word interference paradigm, the authors interpret these data as supporting the view that the semantic interference effect arises at a postlexical level of processing.

Articulatory preparation in the delayed naming task

The assumptions that acoustic onset must follow articulatory onset by a fixed delay and that response execution level processes are always effectively isolated in the delayed naming task were investigated with respect to the issue of articulatory preparation in three experiments. The results of these experiments showed that for the delayed naming task with the standard instructions (1) there was differential preparation across the different delays, with articulatory preparation being initiated earlier relative to the signal to respond in the longer delays (in some cases, even before the signal to respond was given); (2) the articulatory onset to acoustic onset interval (AAI) was variable across the different delays as a direct consequence of differential preparation; and (3) preparation included the building up of pressure for word-initial plosives when it was possible. However, when explicit instructions were given to minimize articulatory preparation in advance, an acoustic latency difference between plosives and nasals was found even with long delays. Moreover, comparison of the delayed naming task under different instructions and the standard naming task showed that execution of a response, in terms of acoustic latency and segment duration, can vary systematically across instructions and tasks. Methodological and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.

Age of acquisition and typicality effects in three object processing tasks

Eight experiments are reported that investigate the effects of age of acquisition (AoA) and typicality in three object processing tasks—object naming, object decision, and category verification. AoA influenced object naming under standard, immediate naming conditions and when participants had been pretrained on the pictures and their names, but there was no effect in a delayed naming task (Experiments 1, 5, and 6). Late acquired items of high typicality were named faster than those of low typicality when naming was unprimed but not when primed by pre-exposure to the items. Object decision speed (Is this a real object or not?) was faster to early than to late acquired items (Experiments 2, 3, and 7). That effect was reduced but not eliminated by articulatory suppression (Experiment 7). RTs were also faster to typical than to atypical items. That effect also interacted with AoA but was unaffected by suppression (Experiment 7). Category verification (Is this object a member of a named category?) showed an effect of AoA on positive but not negative decisions when typicality was not controlled (Experiment 4) but that effect disappeared once AoA was controlled (Experiment 8). Category verification was faster for typical than atypical items (Experiment 8). The findings are discussed in terms of theories of the influence of AoA and typicality on object recognition and naming.

Temporal Dissociation of Early Lexical Access and Articulation Using a Delayed Naming Task — An fMRI Study

Neuroimaging studies of overt speech hold an important practical advantage allowing monitoring of subject performance, particularly valuable in disorders like aphasia. However, speech production is not a monotonic process but a complex sequence of stages. Levelt and colleagues have described these as roughly corresponding to two originally independent systems--conceptual and sensorimotor--that are linked in the formulation and expression of spoken language. In the initial stages a word is chosen to match a concept (lexical selection); in the later stages the sound and motor patterns are encoded and the word is uttered (articulation). It has been difficult to discriminate these stages using conventional neuroimaging techniques. We designed a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in an attempt to do this, by introducing a latency into a conventional naming paradigm, delaying the articulated response. Our results showed that left hemisphere perisylvian areas were active throughout, interacting with visual and heteromodal areas during early lexical access and with motor and auditory areas during overt articulation. These results are consistent with the broadest version of the Levelt model and with that derived from Chomsky's minimalist program in which a core language system interacts with conceptual-intentional systems and articulatory-perceptual systems during the early and late stages of lexical access respectively.

Compound word effects differ in reading, on-line naming, and delayed naming tasks.

Bimorphemic compound words (e.g., blueberry), bimorphemic suffixed words (e.g., ceaseless), and monomorphemic controls (e.g., arthritis) were read in neutral sentence contexts in Experiment 1. The main result revealed longer first fixation durations on compound words than on control and suffixed words. Different effects emerged when naming tasks were used. An on-line naming task revealed substantially shorter naming latencies for compound words than for control and suffixed words. Naming latencies for compound and control words were equivalent in a delayed naming task. These results indicate that on-line naming latencies and word-viewing durations may yield diverging results. They also suggest that activation of constituent words of compound words occurs independently from the specification of conventional word meanings.

Lexical stress effect and its interaction with frequency in word pronunciation.

Stress assignment in reading words aloud is investigated. Three-syllable Italian words with regular or irregular stress, and high or low frequencies were presented in a naming task and in a lexical decision task. With low-frequency words, naming times for regularly stressed words were faster than for words with irregular stress, whereas no difference was found for high-frequency words, Instead, in the lexical decision task the interaction between stress and frequency was significant for errors but not for reaction times. Experiments 4 and 5 investigated the effect of neighborhood in pronouncing words and nonwords. In Experiment 6, words were presented in a delayed naming task to investigate the effects of stress and frequency on the implementation of the motor program for production