Late Positive Component Research Articles

Neurophysiological measures of covert semantic processing in neurotypical adolescents actively ignoring spoken sentence inputs: A high-density event-related potential (ERP) study

Language comprehension requires semantic processing of individual words and their context within a sentence. Well-characterized event-related potential (ERP) components (the N400 and late positivity component (LPC/P600)) provide neuromarkers of semantic processing, and are robustly evoked when semantic errors are introduced into sentences. These measures are useful for evaluating semantic processing in clinical populations, but it is not known whether they can be evoked in more severe neurodevelopmental disorders where explicit attention to the sentence inputs cannot be objectively assessed (i.e., when sentences are passively listened to). We evaluated whether N400 and LPC/P600 could be detected in adolescents who were explicitly ignoring sentence inputs. Specifically, it was asked whether explicit attention to spoken inputs was required for semantic processing, or if a degree of automatic processing occurs when the focus of attention is directed elsewhere? High-density ERPs were acquired from twenty-two adolescents (12–17 years), under two experimental conditions: 1. individuals actively determined whether the final word in a sentence was congruent or incongruent with sentence context, or 2. passively listened to background sentences while watching a video. When sentences were ignored, N400 and LPC/P600 were robustly evoked to semantic errors, albeit with reduced amplitudes and protracted/delayed latencies. Statistically distinct topographic distributions during passive versus active paradigms pointed to distinct generator configurations for semantic processing as a function of attention. Covert semantic processing continues in neurotypical adolescents when explicit attention is withdrawn from sentence inputs. As such, this approach could be used to objectively investigate semantic processing in populations with communication deficits.

The neural mechanisms of the impact of emoji spatial metaphors on emotional perception

Metaphors play a crucial role in language, thinking, and communication. Emoji, as modern metaphors, carry rich meanings and significantly impact emotional expression. While spatial metaphors in emotional lexicons are confirmed, empirical evidence for spatial metaphors in emoji is scarce, and their neural mechanisms are largely unexplored. This study used a spatial Stroop task to investigate emoji spatial metaphors and their effects on emotional perception and neural mechanisms. The results showed that when the positive emoji were in the upper visual field, compared with the middle and lower visual field, the ability to perceive positive emotions was significantly enhanced; Conversely, when the negative emotion emoji was in the lower visual field, the perception of negative emotion was significantly enhanced compared to the middle visual field. EEG data indicate that inconsistencies between Emoji spatial positions and emotional valence lead to increased amplitudes of the Late Positive Component (LPC), revealing heightened neural activity.

Processing of Emotional Words in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties in understanding emotional language, but little research has discussed the developmental course of the processing of emotional words in the clinical population. Previous studies have revealed distinct processing for emotion-label (e.g., happiness) and emotion-laden (e.g., birthday) words in typically developing (TD) children and adolescents. Extending these findings, the study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to explore the processing of these two types of emotional words in children and adolescents with ASD. The stimuli included two-character Chinese words with factors of word type (emotion-label versus emotion-laden) and valence (positive versus negative). The participants were 11 to 14-year-old children and adolescents with ASD (N = 23) and age-matched TD peers (N = 23). They categorized emotion valence for words while their brain responses were recorded. Both the TD and the ASD groups exhibited emotional processing for all emotional words across the N400 and late positivity component (LPC). The emotional processing was modulated by word type but varied with group and valence. A trend for group differences was observed in processing positive words at 500-600ms. In particular, the emotion effects of positive emotion-label words were positively correlated with social dysfunction across all participants. These findings suggested that children and adolescents with ASD have a selective impairment in understanding emotional concepts from language. The ERP measurements may reflect atypical emotional word processing for individuals with higher autistic severity in positive valence contexts.

Interpersonal distance affects advisors’ responses to feedback on their advice: Evidence from event-related potentials

Advisors typically receive two types of feedback: whether their advice is accepted and benefits the advisee. However, the effect of interpersonal distance on advisors' feedback responses remains unexplored. Therefore, to examine this association, we used an advice-giving task in which participants acted as advisors to either friends or strangers through event-related potentials (ERP). Participants received feedback reflecting whether their advice was accepted or rejected and the advisee’s outcome (gains or losses). Participants’ electroencephalograms were recorded when receiving feedback. Results revealed that rejections from friends elicited stronger feedback-related negativity (FRN) than acceptances from friends. Furthermore, acceptances from friends triggered larger late positive components (LPCs) than rejections from friends. No such effects were observed when the advisee was a stranger. Moreover, a stronger FRN was observed for losses than gains when strangers accepted the advice; however, this difference was not observed when strangers rejected the advice. In addition, friends’ gains elicited a larger P300 than losses, regardless of whether friends accepted the advice; however, for strangers, this P300 difference was observed only when the advice was accepted. When strangers accepted the advice, gains elicited larger LPCs than losses; however, this difference was not observed when strangers rejected the advice. These results revealed that the interpersonal distance between people affected how they responded to feedback on advice. This was demonstrated by the neural responses related to expectations, motivational significance, and emotional arousal. It also suggests that the psychological processes by which interpersonal distance influences feedback processing change over the stages.

Bringing Patients Out of The Gloom: Examining The Effects of Patient Power and Affect Labeling on Emotional Experience Reflected in Emotional Judgement

ObjectiveNegative emotions are common among patients in medical settings. It is important to investigate impacts of patient power and affect labeling on emotional experience in patients. MethodsBehavioral judgments and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants with high or low patient power made emotional judgments (positive, negative) about neutral faces, as well as investigating how affect labeling (affect labeling, viewing) influenced emotional judgments about neutral faces in participants with low patient power. ResultsIndividuals with low patient power made more and faster negative emotion judgements. A larger late positive component (LPC) amplitude was found in negative emotion judgments for individuals with low patient power, a component related to allocation of attentional resources to motivationally salient stimuli. Affect labeling elicit less and slower negative emotion judgments in individuals with low patient power. ConclusionsThese results suggest that low patient power triggers negative emotion, which can be reduced by affect labeling. Practice implicationsThe current findings provide valuable insights into reducing negative emotions in patients, fostering promising targets for training for medical professionals and education for patients aiming to ensure more humanistic and higher-quality care delivery.

Effects of mindfulness-based music listening on conflict control in young adults with insomnia disorder: behavioral and event-related potential evidence.

Insomnia Disorder (ID) has become the second most prevalent mental disorder, with significant negative effects on daytime cognitive functions. Previous studies suggested that mindfulness-based music listening (MBML) can effectively improve conflict control and attentional processing in healthy adults. However, the behavioral and neurophysiological characteristics of MBML in young adults with ID remain unclear. To explore the behavioral and neurophysiological characteristics of MBML in regulating negative emotions among young Chinese adults with ID, 60 young adults with ID were asked to complete an emotion-word Stroop task under three mood states while recording event-related potentials (ERPs). Task and questionnaire results showed that (1) negative emotion induced by the negative simulated video significantly suppressed the attentional processing of emotional faces and words in the conflict control task among young people with ID, (2) MBML reduced cognitive and physical arousal levels, enhanced positive mood, and improved attentional control abilities in young adults with ID. The ERP results showed that a greater N3 effect and the smaller P3 and late positive component (LPC) effects reflected that MBML effectively regulated negative emotions induced by the negative simulated video and attentional processing abilities for conflict control in young adults with ID. Maintaining mindfulness while listening to music may enhance positive emotional experiences and improve cognitive ability, and exhibit larger N3 effects and smaller P3 and LPC effects in the electrophysiology mechanism, with a reduction in the hyperarousal level in young adults with insomnia disorders.

Intentional learning establishes multiple attentional sets that simultaneously guide attention.

One of the key human cognitive capabilities is to extract regularities from the environment to guide behavior. An attentional set for a target feature can be established through statistical learning of probabilistic target associations; however, whether an array of attentional sets of predictive target features can be established during intentional learning, and how they might guide attention, is not known yet. To address these questions, we had human observers perform a visual search task where we instructed them to try to use color to find their target shape. We structured the task with a fine-grained statistical regularity such that the target shapes appeared in different colors with five unique probabilities (i.e., 33%, 26%, 19%, 12%, and 5%) while we recorded their electroencephalogram. Observers rapidly learned these regularities, evidenced by being faster to report targets that appeared in higher probability colors. These effects were not due to unequal sample sizes or simple feature priming. More importantly, equivalent speeding across a set of high-probability colors suggests that the brain was driving attention to multiple targets simultaneously. Our electrophysiological results showed larger amplitude N2 posterior contralateral component, indexing perceptual attention, and late positive complex (LPC) component, indexing postperceptual processes, for targets paired with high-probability colors. These electrophysiological data suggest that the learned attentional sets change both perceptual selection and how postperceptual decisions are made. In sum, we show that multiple attentional sets can be established during intentional learning that accompanies general task acquisition and that these attentional sets can simultaneously guide attention by enhancing both perceptual attention and postperceptual processes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Attentional demands in the visual field modulate audiovisual interactions in the temporal domain.

Attention and crossmodal interactions are closely linked through a complex interplay at different stages of sensory processing. Within the context of motion perception, previous research revealed that attentional demands alter audiovisual interactions in the temporal domain. In the present study, we aimed to understand the neurophysiological correlates of these attentional modulations. We utilized an audiovisual motion paradigm that elicits auditory time interval effects on perceived visual speed. The audiovisual interactions in the temporal domain were quantified by changes in perceived visual speed across different auditory time intervals. We manipulated attentional demands in the visual field by having a secondary task on a stationary object (i.e., single- vs. dual-task conditions). When the attentional demands were high (i.e., dual-task condition), there was a significant decrease in the effects of auditory time interval on perceived visual speed, suggesting a reduction in audiovisual interactions. Moreover, we found significant differences in both early and late neural activities elicited by visual stimuli across task conditions (single vs. dual), reflecting an overall increase in attentional demands in the visual field. Consistent with the changes in perceived visual speed, the audiovisual interactions in neural signals declined in the late positive component range. Compared with the findings from previous studies using different paradigms, our findings support the view that attentional modulations of crossmodal interactions are not unitary and depend on task-specific components. They also have important implications for motion processing and speed estimation in daily life situations where sensory relevance and attentional demands constantly change.

Memorization-Based Training and Testing Paradigm for Robust Vocal Identity Recognition in Expressive Speech Using Event-Related Potentials Analysis.

Recognizing familiar speakers from vocal streams is a fundamental aspect of human verbal communication. However, it remains unclear how listeners can still discern the speaker's identity in expressive speech. This study develops a memorization-based individual speaker identity recognition approach and an accompanying electroencephalogram (EEG) data analysis pipeline, which monitors how listeners recognize familiar speakers and tell unfamiliar ones apart. EEG data captures online cognitive processes during new versus old speaker distinction based on voice, offering a real-time measure of brain activity, overcoming limits of reaction times and accuracy measurements. The paradigm comprises three steps: listeners establish associations between three voices and their names (training); listeners indicate the name corresponding to a voice from three candidates (checking); listeners distinguish between three old and three new speaker voices in a two-alternative forced-choice task (testing). The speech prosody in testing was either confident or doubtful. EEG data were collected using a 64-channel EEG system, followed by preprocessing and imported into RStudio for ERP and statistical analysis and MATLAB for brain topography. Results showed an enlarged late positive component (LPC) was elicited in the old-talker compared to the new-talker condition in the 400-850 ms window in the Pz and other wider range of electrodes in both prosodies. Yet, the old/new effect was robust in central and posterior electrodes for doubtful prosody perception, whereas the anterior, central, and posterior electrodes are for confident prosody condition. This study proposes that this experiment design can serve as a reference for investigating speaker-specific cue-binding effects in various scenarios (e.g., anaphoric expression) and pathologies in patients like phonagnosia.

Improving memory through choice and deliberation in decision-making: Evidence from ERPs.

The goal of decision-making is to select one option and disregard the others. However, deliberation can also create a memory association between the chosen and unchosen options. This study aims to investigate how choice and deliberation affect the memory of postdecision options and the underlying mechanisms. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), we examined item recognition (Experiment 1) and associative recognition (Experiment 2) following certain and uncertain decisions. In Experiment 1, items that were chosen in certain decisions were remembered better than unchosen items. There was no difference between chosen and unchosen items in uncertain decisions. Moreover, a late recollection-related LPC (a late positive component) old/new effect was larger for chosen items than unchosen items in certain decisions. The early familiarity-related FN400 and the late recollection-related LPC old/new effects were significant for chosen and unchosen items in uncertain decisions. In Experiment 2, there was no difference in performance on associative memory. A FN400 old/new effect (an index of integration) in certain or uncertain decisions was not observed. Although significant LPC old/new effects were found in both certain and uncertain decisions, no difference was found between them. These results propose that decision-making can enhance item memory performance through two distinct processes: value and elaboration. Elaboration involves focusing on the details within items rather than integrating items into a cohesive whole.

Event-related brain potentials in lexical processing with Chinese characters show effects of contextual diversity but not word frequency.

The diversity of contexts in which a word occurs, operationalized as CD, is strongly correlated with response times in visual word recognition, with higher CD words being recognized faster. CD and token word frequency (WF) are highly correlated but in behavioral studies when other variables that affect word visual recognition are controlled for, the WF effect is eliminated when contextual diversity (CD) is controlled. In contrast, the only event-related potential (ERP) study to examine CD and WF Vergara-Martínez et al., Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 461-474, (2017) found effects of both WF and CD with different distributions in the 225- to 325-ms time window. We conducted an ERP study with Chinese characters to explore the neurocognitive dynamics of WF and CD. We compared three groups of characters: (1) characters high in frequency and low in CD; (2) characters low in frequency and low in CD; and (3) characters high in frequency and high in CD. Behavioral data showed significant effects of CD but not WF. Character CD, but not character frequency, modulated the late positive component (LPC): high-CD characters elicited a larger LPC, widely distributed, with largest amplitude at the posterior sites compared to low-CD characters in the 400-to 600-ms time window, consistent with earlier ERP studies of WF in Chinese, and with the hypothesis that CD affects semantic and context-based processes. No WF effect on any ERP components was observed when CD was controlled. The results are consistent with behavioral results showing CD but not WF effects, and in particular with a "context constructionist" framework.

Age differences in the principal temporo-spatial components of EEG activity during a proactive interference task

Proactive interference (PI) is the disruptive effect of no longer relevant information on current working memory (WM) processing. PI effects in EEG data have been previously found to be altered in healthy aging, although it remains unclear the extent to which such changes reflect delayed or different brain mechanisms employed to overcome PI. Hence, we had twenty-six young (18–34 years) and sixteen old (53–68 years) healthy adults complete a Recent Probes task while EEG was recorded. Compared to young adults, old adults were slower, less accurate and less able to discriminate when they last saw a given stimulus, but PI effects on reaction time were greater in the former, likely due to a general difficulty that old adults had in the task. Temporo-spatial principal component analysis of the EEG data showed young and older adults to differ in terms of temporal and spatial characteristics of brain activity associated with resolving PI. YA showed a factor indicative of a medial frontal negativity (MFN) that showed greater amplitude in low compared to high PI trials. OA, in contrast, showed a late positive component (LPC), although similarly with larger amplitude in low compared to high PI trials. The modulation of the MFN component in YA may reflect the recruitment of cognitive control to overcome PI. The modulation of the LPC in OA may represent the detection of conflict between familiarity and context recollection during PI.

Musical harmonies and its relationship with emotional processing: An ERP study in young adults

Music has been used to express and communicate emotional states through its different dimensions such as tone, rhythm, melody, and harmony. Consonant harmonies consistently are rated as pleasant whereas dissonant are considered unpleasant. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of consonant and dissonant musical harmonies used as prime on the emotional classification of images, as indexed by event-related potentials. Thirty volunteers (ages 21–27, 50 % women) were presented with a task consisting of 4 musical intervals in the C major scale, divided into consonant and dissonant harmonies, followed by 180 positive, negative, or neutral images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). Participants had to rate the images as pleasant or unpleasant. We found a bias effect on negative images rated as positive when preceded by a consonant musical interval. A N200 component, non-sensible to the valence of the images, was found. On the other hand, a significant difference was found in the amplitude of the P300 component, with a greater amplitude in the consonant-positive images condition compared to the dissonant-positive images. Lastly, a late positivity component around 500–700 ms was found in both negative conditions dissonant and consonant, but with a larger amplitude for the consonant condition when followed by a negative image. These results indicate that additionally to the P300 processing the relevance of the stimulus there are processes like recognition memory involved. As part of the novelty effect this late positive activity may also be related to the emotional content integration of the relevant stimulus.

The late positive event-related potential component is time locked to the decision in recognition memory tasks

Two event-related potential (ERP) components are commonly observed in recognition memory tasks: the Frontal Negativity (FN400) and the Late Positive Component (LPC). These components are widely interpreted as neural correlates of familiarity and recollection, respectively. However, the interpretation of LPC effects is complicated by inconsistent results regarding the timing of ERP amplitude differences. There are also mixed findings regarding how LPC amplitudes covary with decision confidence. Critically, LPC effects have almost always been measured using fixed time windows relative to memory probe stimulus onset, yet it has not been determined whether LPC effects are time locked to the stimulus or the recognition memory decision. To investigate this, we analysed a large (n = 132) existing dataset recorded during recognition memory tasks with old/new decisions followed by post-decisional confidence ratings. We used ERP deconvolution to disentangle contributions to LPC effects (defined as differences between hits and correct rejections) that were time locked to either the stimulus or the vocal old/new response. We identified a left-lateralised parietal LPC effect that was time locked to the vocal response rather than probe stimulus onset. We also isolated a response-locked, midline parietal ERP correlate of confidence that influenced measures of LPC amplitudes at left parietal electrodes. Our findings demonstrate that, contrary to widespread assumptions, the LPC effect is time locked to the recognition memory decision and is best measured using response-locked ERPs. By extension, differences in response time distributions across conditions of interest may lead to substantial measurement biases when analysing stimulus-locked ERPs. Our findings highlight important confounding factors that further complicate the interpretation of existing stimulus-locked LPC effects as neural correlates of recollection. We recommend that future studies adopt our analytic approach to better isolate LPC effects and their sensitivity to manipulations in recognition memory tasks.

Electrophysiological Correlates of Amplified Emotion-Related Cognitive Processing Evoked by Self-Administered Disgust Images.

In the processing of emotions, the brain prepares and reacts in distinctive manners depending upon the negative or positive nuance of the emotion elicitors. Previous investigations showed that negative elicitors generally evoke more intense neural activities than positive and neutral ones, as reflected in the augmented amplitude of all sub-components of the event-related potentials (ERP) late posterior positivity (LPP) complex, while less is known about the emotion of disgust. The present study aimed to examine whether the LPP complex during the processing of disgust stimuli showed greater amplitude than other emotion elicitors with negative or positive valences, thus confirming it as a neural marker of disgust-related negativity bias at earlier or later stages. Thus, in the present study, we leveraged the ERP technique during the execution of an affective self-administered visual stimuli task to disentangle the neural contributions associated with images of positive, negative, disgust, or neutral emotions. Crucially, we showed that handling with disgust elicitors prompted the greatest neural activity and the highest delay during self-administration. Overall, we demonstrated progressive neural activities associated with the unpleasantness of the emotion elicitors and peculiar processing for disgust compared with all other emotions.

Neural correlates of emotion-label vs. emotion-laden word processing in late bilinguals: evidence from an ERP study

ABSTRACT The brain processes underlying the distinction between emotion-label words (e.g. happy, sad) and emotion-laden words (e.g. successful, failed) remain inconclusive in bilingualism research. The present study aims to directly compare the processing of these two types of emotion words in both the first language (L1) and second language (L2) by recording event-related potentials (ERP) from late Chinese-English bilinguals during a lexical decision task. The results revealed that in the early word processing stages, the N170 emotion effect emerged only for L1 negative emotion-laden words and L2 negative emotion-label words. In addition, larger early posterior negativity (EPN) was elicited by emotion-laden words than emotion-label words in both L1 and L2. In the later processing stages, the N400 emotion effect was evident for L1 emotion words, excluding positive emotion-laden words, while it was absent in L2. Notably, L1 emotion words elicited enhanced N400 and attenuated late positive complex (LPC) compared to those in L2. Taken together, these findings confirmed the engagement of emotion, and highlighted the modulation of emotion word type and valence on word processing in both early and late processing stages. Different neural mechanisms between L1 and L2 in processing written emotion words were elucidated.

Speech Comprehension by Cochlear Implant Users Assessed with Evoked Potentials and Response Times

Introduction: Cochlear implant (CI) users differ greatly in their rehabilitation outcomes, including speech understanding in noise. This variability may be related to brain changes associated with intact senses recruiting cortical areas from stimulation-deprived senses. Numerous studies have demonstrated such cross-modal reorganization in individuals with untreated hearing loss. How it is affected by regular use of hearing devices remains unclear, however. To shed light on this, the current study measured cortical responses reflecting comprehension abilities in experienced CI users and normal-hearing controls. Methods: Using multichannel electroencephalography, we tested CI users who had used their devices for at least 12 months and closely matched controls (N = 2 × 13). Cortical responses reflecting comprehension abilities – the N400 and late positive complex (LPC) components – were evoked using congruent and incongruent digit-triplet stimuli. The participants’ task was to assess digit-triplet congruency by means of timed button presses. All measurements were performed in speech-shaped noise 15 dB above individually measured speech recognition thresholds. Three stimulus presentation modes were used: auditory-only, visual-only, and visual-then-auditory. Results: The analyses revealed no group differences in the N400 and LPC responses. In terms of response times, the CI users were slower and differentially affected by the three stimulus presentation modes relative to the controls. Conclusion: Compared to normal-hearing controls, experienced CI users may need more time to comprehend speech in noise. Response times can serve as a proxy for speech comprehension by CI users.

Effect of contextual prediction on emotional word processing: an evidence from ERPNR-D-24-00189.

This study examined the effect of context on the prediction of emotional words with varying valences. It investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the processing differences of emotion words with different valences in both predictable and unpredictable contexts. Additionally, it aimed to address the conflicting results regarding the processing time in predictive contexts reported in previous studies. Participants were instructed to carefully read the text that included the specified emotion words. Event-related potentials elicited by emotional words were measured. To ensure that the participants can read the text carefully, 33% of the texts are followed by comprehension problems. After reading the text, the comprehension questions were answered based on the text content. The study revealed that the N400 amplitude elicited by an unpredictable context was greater than that elicited by a predictable context. Additionally, the N400 amplitude triggered by positive emotion words was larger than that triggered by negative emotion words. However, there was no significant difference in late positive component amplitude observed between contextual prediction and emotional word valence. The present study suggests that predictive processing takes place at an intermediate stage of speech processing, approximately 400 ms after stimulus onset. Furthermore, the presence of a predictive context enhances the processing of emotional information. Notably, brain activity is more pronounced during the processing of positive emotional stimuli compared to negative emotional stimuli. Additionally, the facilitative effect of a predictable context diminishes in the advanced phase of Chinese speech comprehension.

"I heard it before … or not": time-course of ERP response and behavioural correlates associated with false recognition memory.

Electrophysiological and behavioural correlates of true and false memories were examined in the Deese/Roediger-McDermont (DRM) paradigm. A mass univariate approach for analysing event-related potentials (ERP) in the temporal domain was used to examine the electrophysiological effects associated with this paradigm precisely (point-by-point) and without bias (data-driven). Behaviourally, true and false recognition did not differ, and the predicted DRM effect was observed, as false recognition of critical lures (i.e., new words semantically related to studied words) was higher than false alarms of new (unrelated) words. Neurally, an expected old/new effect was observed during the time-range of the late positive component (LPC) over left centro-parietal scalp electrodes. Furthermore, true recognition also evoked larger LPC amplitudes than false recognition over both left centro-parietal and fronto-central scalp electrodes. However, we did not observe LPC-related differences between critical lures and new words, nor between correct rejections of critical lures and new words. In contrast, correct rejections of critical lures were accompanied by higher activation of a sustained positive slow wave (SPSW) in right fronto-central electrodes beyond 1200 ms. This result reveals a key role of post-retrieval processes in recognition. Results are discussed in light of theoretical approaches to false memory in the DRM paradigm.

A study of ERPs acquired during handwritten and printed Chinese character processing in a lexical decision task

The aim of this study was to investigate the time course differences in brain processing between handwritten and printed Chinese characters. Behavioural and event-related potential (ERP) data were collected from twenty participants as they performed a lexical decision task in which Chinese handwritten and printed characters served as stimuli. The findings indicated that N1 reflects orthographic regularity during the early processing stage; N400 and the late positive component (LPC) data revealed that reading handwritten words evoke greater ERP amplitudes during the late processing stage. Although handwritten characters evoke greater ERP amplitudes, this did not result in more efficient behavioural outcomes. Therefore, it appears that the greater ERP amplitudes observed in the handwriting task corresponded to deeper meaning comprehension, which is also more challenging for semantic integration.