Lexical Decision Task Performance Research Articles

Distinct neural signatures of schizotypy and psychopathy during visual word‐nonword recognition

Previous behavioural data indicate lower word‐nonword recognition accuracy in association with a high level of positive schizotypy, psychopathy, or motor impulsivity traits, each with some unique contribution, in the general population. This study aimed to examine the neural underpinnings of these associations using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a volunteer sample. Twenty‐two healthy English‐speaking adults completed self‐report measures of schizotypy (Oxford‐Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences [O‐LIFE]), psychopathy (Triarchic Psychopathy Measure [TriPM]), and impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale [BIS‐11]) and underwent whole‐brain fMRI while performing a lexical decision task (LDT) featuring high and low‐frequency words, real nonwords, and pseudohomophones. Higher positive schizotypy (Unusual Experiences) was associated with lower cerebellum activity during identification of low‐frequency words (over real nonwords). Higher Boldness (fearless dominance) and Meanness (callous aggression) facets of psychopathy were associated with lower striatal and posterior cingulate activity when identifying nonwords over words. Higher Motor Impulsivity was associated with lower activity in the fusiform (bilaterally), inferior frontal (right‐sided), and temporal gyri (bilaterally) across all stimuli‐types over resting baseline. Positive schizotypy, psychopathy, and impulsivity traits influence word‐nonword recognition through distinct neurocognitive mechanisms. Positive schizotypy and psychopathy appear to influence LDT performance through brain areas that play only a supportive (cerebellum) or indirect role in reading‐related skills. The negative association between Motor Impulsivity and activations typically found for phonological processing and automatic word identification indicates a reduced bilateral integration of the meaning and sound of mental word representations, and inability to select the appropriate outputs, in impulsive individuals.

Clarifying the roles of schizotypy and psychopathic traits in lexical decision performance

IntroductionSome studies suggest that lexical recognition is impaired in people with schizophrenia, psychopathy and/or antisocial personality disorders, but not affective disorders. We examined the extent to which various traits dimensionally linked to one or more of these disorders are associated with lexical recognition performance in the general population. MethodsSeventy-eight healthy English-speaking participants completed self-report measures of schizotypy, psychopathy, impulsivity, depression, anxiety and stress. All participants were assessed on a one-choice variant of a lexical decision task (LDT). ResultsMeanness and Boldness traits of psychopathy (Triarchic Psychopathy Measure), and positive schizotypy (Unusual Experiences, Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences) were associated with poor word-nonword accuracy, and predicted a significant amount of unique variance (Meanness, 12%; Boldness, 4.8%; Positive Schizotypy, 4.4%; total 21%) in performance. Higher motor impulsivity predicted 30% of the variance in low-frequency words recognition accuracy, but only in non-native English speakers. Affective traits were not associated with LDT performance. ConclusionPsychopathic traits show stronger negative associations with lexical recognition performance than schizotypal traits, and impulsivity may differently influence lexical decision performance in native and non-native speakers. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings, especially the influence of language familiarity in the impulsivity-performance relationship, and to clarify the influence of corresponding symptom dimensions in lexical recognition abilities, taking language familiarity, migration status, and comorbidity into account, in people with schizophrenia, psychopathy, and/or antisocial personality disorders.

Increased Neural Efficiency in Visual Word Recognition: Evidence from Alterations in Event-Related Potentials and Multiscale Entropy.

Visual word recognition is a relatively effortless process, but recent research suggests the system involved is malleable, with evidence of increases in behavioural efficiency after prolonged lexical decision task (LDT) performance. However, the extent of neural changes has yet to be characterized in this context. The neural changes that occur could be related to a shift from initially effortful performance that is supported by control-related processing, to efficient task performance that is supported by domain-specific processing. To investigate this, we replicated the British Lexicon Project, and had participants complete 16 h of LDT over several days. We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) at three intervals to track neural change during LDT performance and assessed event-related potentials and brain signal complexity. We found that response times decreased during LDT performance, and there was evidence of neural change through N170, P200, N400, and late positive component (LPC) amplitudes across the EEG sessions, which suggested a shift from control-related to domain-specific processing. We also found widespread complexity decreases alongside localized increases, suggesting that processing became more efficient with specific increases in processing flexibility. Together, these findings suggest that neural processing becomes more efficient and optimized to support prolonged LDT performance.

The Effects of Number of Features on Age-related Differences in Lexical Decision

어휘 길이, 빈도 그리고 습득연령과 같은 다양한 요소들은 어휘 판단 과정에서 처리에 영향을 미친다. 어휘 인식에 미치는 영향변수를 규명한 여러 연구들이 있지만 의미자질 개수와 노화가 이러한 과정에 어떠한 영향을 미치는지 알아본 연구는 찾아보기 힘들다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 청년층 30명과 노년층 30명을 대상으로 의미자질 개수(number of features; NOF)에 따른 어휘판단과제에서의 수행력 차이를 알아보고자 하였다. 연구결과, 어휘판단과제에서의 반응시간은 청년층이 노년층보다 유의하게 빠른 것으로 나타났으며, 두 군 모두 고NOF 어휘에서 저NOF 어휘보다 빠른 반응시간을 보였다. 둘째, 반응정확도 역시 청년층이 노년층에 비해 유의하게 높았으며, 두 군 모두 저NOF 어휘보다 고 NOF 어휘에서 높은 반응정확도를 보였다. 셋째, 각 군 내에서 NOF와 반응시간, 반응정확도 간의 상관성을 살펴본 결과, 두 군 모두 유의한 상관을 보이지는 않았다. 종합해보면 어휘가 갖고 있는 의미자질 개수는 어휘 인식 속도와 정확도에 영향을 미치며 노화가 진행됨에 따라 그 영향력이 더 증가한다는 것을 알 수 있다. 이러한 결과는 근거기반 이름대기 중재 장면에서 NOF 변수를 기초자료로 활용가능하게 하는데 유용한 자료를 제공한다는 면에서 그 의의가 있다.Various factors like word length, word frequency and age of acquisition affect processing of the lexical decision task. There are many studies that examined variables affecting lexical decision, but it is difficult to find studies about the effects of number of features and aging on this process. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to find the difference in lexical decision task performance according to number of features (NOF) in 30 youths and 30 elders. Based on the results, youths showed significantly faster reaction time in the lexical decision task compared to elders, and both groups showed faster reaction time with high NOF vocabularies than low NOF vocabularies. Second, youths also showed significantly higher response accuracy than elders, and both groups showed higher response accuracy with higher NOF vocabularies than low NOF vocabularies. Third, as a result of examining the correlation among NOF, reaction time and response accuacy within each group, both groups did not show a significant correlation. In summary, NOF of vocabularies affect speed and accuracy of lexical decision, and this effect increases with aging. Such results are meaningful in that they present useful data about NOF variables in the evidence-based naming intervention.

A further examination of word frequency and age-of-acquisition effects in English lexical decision task performance: The role of frequency trajectory.

Word frequency is an important predictor of lexical-decision task performance. The current study further examined the role of this variable by exploring the influence of frequency trajectory. Frequency trajectory is measured by how often a word occurs in childhood relative to adulthood. Past research on the role of this variable in word recognition has produced equivocal results. In the current study, words were selected based on their frequencies in Grade 1 (child frequency) and Grade 13 (college frequency). In Experiment 1, four frequency trajectory conditions were factorially examined in a lexical-decision task with English words: high-to-high (world), high-to-low (uncle), low-to-high (brain) and low-to-low (opera). an interaction between Grade 1 and college frequency demonstrated that words in the low-to-high condition were processed significantly faster and more accurately than words in the low-to-low condition, whereas the high-to-high and high-to-low conditions did not differ significantly. In Experiment 2, an advantage for words with an increasing frequency trajectory was also supported in regression analyses on both lexical decision and naming times for 3,039 items selected from the English Lexicon Project (Balota et al., 2007). This was replicated in Experiment 3, based on a regression analysis of 2,680 words from the British Lexicon Project (BLP; Keuleers, Lacey, Rastle, & Brysbaert, 2012). In all analyses, rated age-of-acquisition also significantly impacted word recognition. Together, the results suggest that the age at which a word is initially learned as well as its frequency trajectory across childhood impact performance in the lexical-decision task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Domain-general inhibition and lexical processing in monolingual and bilingual children: A longitudinal approach

We examined the association between inhibition and lexical processing in English-speaking monolingual and simultaneous Spanish-English bilingual children, at two time points one year apart. In both years, children completed a lexical decision task (LDT) in English and two nonverbal inhibitory control tasks. Monolingual children were more accurate than bilingual children on the LDT in Year 1, but not Year 2. Processing speed was similar across the two groups in both years. Cross-sectionally, inhibition was associated with LDT performance in both years. However, longitudinal analyses revealed that LDT performance in Year 1 predicted inhibition in Year 2, while the reverse relationship was not significant. Together, the findings suggest that inhibition appears to be related to lexical processing performance for all children, and the directionality of the relationship indicates that lexical skills contribute to inhibitory control skills over time, rather than the other way around.

Effect of Emotions in a Lexical Decision Task

Abstract. This study measured the effect of emotional states on lexical decision task performance and investigated which underlying components (physiological, attentional orienting, executive, lexical, and/or strategic) are affected. We did this by assessing participants’ performance on a lexical decision task, which they completed before and after an emotional state induction task. The sequence effect, usually produced when participants repeat a task, was significantly smaller in participants who had received one of the three emotion inductions (happiness, sadness, embarrassment) than in control group participants (neutral induction). Using the diffusion model ( Ratcliff, 1978 ) to resolve the data into meaningful parameters that correspond to specific psychological components, we found that emotion induction only modulated the parameter reflecting the physiological and/or attentional orienting components, whereas the executive, lexical, and strategic components were not altered. These results suggest that emotional states have an impact on the low-level mechanisms underlying mental chronometric tasks.

Impact of thalamic deep brain Stimulation on lexical processing

The contribution of subcortical structures to language-related processing is controversial, but interestingly Deep Brain Stimulation for the treatment of Movement Disorders can go along with reduced lexical capacities. Against this background, word processing functions were assessed as a function of thalamic versus subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation. Both on and off stimulation, 14 (2/12 f/m; 64.71 (± 7.88) years) Parkinson's disease patients with subthalamic and 10 (6/4 f/m; 68.00 (± 10.39) years) Essential Tremor patients with thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation engaged in a Lexical Decision Task, requiring the differentiation of acoustically presented words from non-words. These stimuli were preceded by non-target words, either phonemically or semantically related or unrelated to the following presentation. During task performance, event-related potentials were recorded. This allowed for the determination of (i) lexical decision time, (ii) priming effects, and (iii) the N400 as neurophysiological correlate of lexical stimulus processing. Measurements were additionally performed in 19 (9/10 f/m; 29.95 (± 5.60) years) young and 12 (5/7 f/m; 66.00 (± 7.30) age matched healthy subjects. Overall, the performance speed in the Lexical Decision Task correlated with N400 peak latency (rs = 0.49; p = 0.003). N400 amplitudes were abnormally low in the group of patients with Parkinson's disease. With respect to on-off effects, active compared to inactive stimulation prolonged word decisions (p = 0.010) and reduced N400 potentials in thalamic (p = 0.018), but not subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation (see Fig. 1). This was irrespective of word priming. In conclusion the expression of N400 and Lexical Decision Task performance are influenced by thalamic state functions, modulated by Deep Brain Stimulation. This is compatible with the idea of thalamo-cortical engagement of word-related processing, as suggested by 6 influential biolinguistic models. In clinical terms, the findings specify cognitive sequels of Deep Brain Stimulation in a target-specific way.

A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study of Lexical Decision Task Supports the Dual Route Model and the Phonological Deficit Theory of Dyslexia

The dual route model (DRM) of reading suggests two routes of reading development: the phonological and the orthographic routes. It was proposed that although the two routes are active in the process of reading; the first is more involved at the initial stages of reading acquisition, whereas the latter needs more reading training to mature. A number of studies have shown that deficient phonological processing is a core deficit in developmental dyslexia. According to the DRM, when the Lexical Decision Task (LDT) is performed, the orthographic route should also be involved when decoding words, whereas it is clear that when decoding pseudowords the phonological route should be activated. Previous functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIR) studies have suggested that the upper left frontal lobe is involved in decision making in the LDT. The current study used fNIR to compare left frontal lobe activity during LDT performance among three reading-level groups: 12-year-old children, young adult dyslexic readers, and young adult typical readers. Compared to typical readers, the children demonstrated lower activity under the word condition only, whereas the dyslexic readers showed lower activity under the pseudoword condition only. The results provide evidence for upper left frontal lobe involvement in LDT and support the DRM and the phonological deficit theory of dyslexia.

Does richness lose its luster? Effects of extensive practice on semantic richness in visual word recognition

Previous studies have reported facilitatory effects of semantic richness on word recognition (e.g., Yap et al., 2012). These effects suggest that word meaning is an important contributor to lexical decision task (LDT) performance, but what are the effects of repeated LDT practice on these semantic contributions? The current study utilized data from the British Lexicon Project (BLP) in which 78 participants made lexical decision judgments for 28,730 words over 16 h. We used linear mixed effects to detect practice-driven changes in the explanatory variance accounted for by a set of lexical predictors that included numerous indices of relative semantic richness, including imageability, the number of senses and average radius of co-occurrence (ARC). Results showed that practice was associated with decreasing effects of predictors such as word frequency and imageability. In contrast, ARC effects were only slightly diminished with repeated practice, and effects of the number of senses and the age of acquisition were unaffected by practice. We interpret our results within a framework in which variables may dynamically influence lexical processing and the post-lexical decision making mechanisms that also contribute to LDT performance.

Word-frequency effects in long-term semantic priming and false memory

Several studies have used the lexical decision task (LDT) with the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) false-memory paradigm to investigate whether long-term semantic priming (LTSP) occurs following presentation of lists of items (e.g., bed, dream, snore) for related non-presented lure words (e.g., sleep). However, results have been mixed, with some studies observing priming, whilst others have not. The present study had four goals: (i) to investigate the existence of LTSP in the LDT; (ii) to investigate effects of LTSP on standard effects of word frequency on LDT performance; (iii) to investigate the effect, if any, of word frequency on true and false recall; and (iv) to compare LDT performance with performance on a subsequent free-recall task. The findings showed (i) a significant effect of LTSP on LDT performance; (ii) no effect of LTSP on standard effects of word frequency on LDT performance; (iii) no effect of word frequency on either true or false free recall; and (iv) a significant relationship between LDT and free-recall performance. Implications of these findings for understanding LTSP and false memories are discussed.

EEG Correlates of Song Prosody: A New Look at the Relationship between Linguistic and Musical Rhythm

Song composers incorporate linguistic prosody into their music when setting words to melody, a process called “textsetting.” Composers tend to align the expected stress of the lyrics with strong metrical positions in the music. The present study was designed to explore the idea that temporal alignment helps listeners to better understand song lyrics by directing listeners’ attention to instances where strong syllables occur on strong beats. Three types of textsettings were created by aligning metronome clicks with all, some or none of the strong syllables in sung sentences. Electroencephalographic recordings were taken while participants listened to the sung sentences (primes) and performed a lexical decision task on subsequent words and pseudowords (targets, presented visually). Comparison of misaligned and well-aligned sentences showed that temporal alignment between strong/weak syllables and strong/weak musical beats were associated with modulations of induced beta and evoked gamma power, which have been shown to fluctuate with rhythmic expectancies. Furthermore, targets that followed well-aligned primes elicited greater induced alpha and beta activity, and better lexical decision task performance, compared with targets that followed misaligned and varied sentences. Overall, these findings suggest that alignment of linguistic stress and musical meter in song enhances musical beat tracking and comprehension of lyrics by synchronizing neural activity with strong syllables. This approach may begin to explain the mechanisms underlying the relationship between linguistic and musical rhythm in songs, and how rhythmic attending facilitates learning and recall of song lyrics. Moreover, the observations reported here coincide with a growing number of studies reporting interactions between the linguistic and musical dimensions of song, which likely stem from shared neural resources for processing music and speech.

Lexical decision task performance in blood-fearful and spider-fearful individuals

University undergraduates were pre-screened for blood fearfulness (fear of blood, n = 25), spider fearfulness (fear of spiders, n = 30), or non-fearfulness (n = 23) and presented with blood, spider, neutral, positive, and pseudoword (pronouncable nonword, like flirp) stimuli in a lexical decision task (LDT). Use of the LDT in phobic individuals may provide insight about how these individuals process, store, and ultimately use information and, in turn, how processing this information affects their day-to-day activities. Words were responded to faster than pseudowords. No group main or interaction effects emerged, and all groups responded faster and more accurately to spider words then blood words and neutral words. Results suggest that the single-word lexical decision task may not be sensitive in detecting lexical processing biases toward threat in these groups. Results also suggest that paradigms that are based on high-level, semantic-conceptual information processing (like lexical decision) are not sensitive enough to detect group differences in blood and spider phobias. Any array of perceptual and conceptual tasks taken together may be needed to detect these differences.

The effects of anxious responding on mental arithmetic and lexical decision task performance

Anxiety-related responding and skill deficits historically are associated with performance-based problems such as mathematics anxiety, yet the relative contribution of these variables to substandard performance remains poorly understood. Utilizing a 7% carbon dioxide (CO 2) gas to induce anxiety, the present study examined the impact of anxious responding on two performance tasks, mental arithmetic and lexical decision. Independent variables included math anxiety group, gender, and gas condition. Dependent variables included task performance and physiological and self-report indices of anxiety. A total of 64 university undergraduate students participated. Physiological and verbal-report measures of anxiety supported the utility of 7% carbon dioxide-enriched air as an anxiety-inducing stimulus. Behavioral disruption on performance tasks, however, did not differ as a function of carbon dioxide inhalation. Performance did differ as a function of math anxiety. High math anxious individuals generally exhibited higher error rates on mathematical tasks, particularly on tasks designed to measure advanced math skill and those requiring working memory resources. These findings are discussed with reference to processing efficiency theory, discordance among anxiety response systems, and the intricacies associated with skill measurement.

Consistent and inconsistent performance in young and elderly adults

Nineteen young adults and 20 nondemented elderly adults participated in simple reaction time (SRT) and choice reaction time (CRT) tasks that vary in processing demands. SRT standard deviation was operationally defined as Consistency, creating a continuum of performance consistency ranging from low consistency (Lo‐C, large SRT standard deviations) to high consistency (Hi‐C, small SRT standard deviations). The SRT task employed 3 preparatory intervals (1,000, 2,000, 3,000 ms), varied randomly across trials to reduce expectancy effects. The lexical decision task (LDT) contained 120 words and 120 pseudowords. Correlational analyses indicated a relation (especially for the elderly) between SRT and CRT performance and other psychometric and neuropsychological measures of mood, vocabulary ability, and digit symbol substitution. Regression analyses examined the relationship between Age, Consistency, SRT, and LDT performance and these psychometric and neuropsychological variables. Age x Consistency interactions were observed, suggesting an additional mechanism (or mechanisms) for slowing in the elderly beyond performance consistency or inconsistency. Relation to the brain reserve capacity theory (Satz, 1993) is discussed.

Visual hemispace differences reflect hemisphere asymmetries

The relationship between the representation of the extracorporeal visual hemispace and the contralateral hemisphere has been investigated by presenting visual stimuli foveally either in the right or in the left hemispace. In a lexical decision task (Exp. 1) and a face-familiarity decision task (Exp. 2) lateral asymmetries very similar to those obtained using the divided visual field technique have been found. These results suggest that under particular circumstances the hemispace representation in the contralateral hemisphere overrides the retinal representation. Finally, it was found that in a lexical decision task performance with stimuli in the right hemispace was very similar to that with stimuli in a central position. The physiological and adaptive meaning of this phenomenon is discussed.