Word Matching Task Research Articles

Visual letter similarity effects in Korean word recognition: The role of distinctive strokes.

While the impact of visual letter similarity on word recognition in the Latin script has been extensively documented using masked priming techniques, research into non-Latin scripts such as Hangul remains limited. Hangul letters are systematically formed by adding one or two strokes to the base form, creating a pool of visually similar letters in the inventory. This study investigated the role of added distinctive strokes in word recognition by employing two experimental tasks: a lexical decision task (Experiment 1) and a same-different word matching task (Experiment 2). The results of Experiment 1 revealed a visual similarity effect only for primes without distinctive strokes, indicating an asymmetry in the priming effects. Conversely, Experiment 2 showed that visually similar primes facilitated target word processing regardless of the presence of the distinctive stroke, indicating no asymmetric priming effect. These findings suggest initial uncertainty of letter identity during Korean word processing and the processing of distinctive strokes in differentiating visually similar words.

The Accent Atlas: Effects of long-term exposure to nonnative accents on adaptive speech perception

As mobility increases and virtual interactions grow, quickly adapting to diverse accents is essential for effective communication. While lab-based accent training promotes rapid adaptation to unfamiliar accents, whether prolonged environmental exposure to linguistic diversity yields similar benefits is unknown. We conducted a large-scale perceptual experiment involving 600 + participants across 15 U.S. states, utilizing a cross-modal word matching task to measure speech recognition in both non-native accented English and native English with background noise. Participants were recruited from linguistically diverse (LD) or linguistically homogeneous (LH) states. Linguistic diversity was defined based on the prevalence of non-English speaking residents (U.S. census data). Our findings were twofold: firstly, consistent with prior studies, only exposure to non-native accented speech—but not exposure to speech in noise—improved recognition of novel talkers with the same accent; secondly, individuals from the LD states outperformed those from LH areas in initial accented speech perception. However, by the end of the experiment, benefits from in-lab accent exposure did not differ significantly between the two groups, suggesting that short-term training could mitigate long-term environmental influences. These results illuminate the interplay between daily linguistic environments and accent adaptation, enhancing our understanding of speech perception's adaptivity in a multilingual context.

Event-related brain potentials reveal enhancing and compensatory mechanisms during dual neurocognitive and cycling tasks

BackgroundVarious neurocognitive tests have shown that cycling enhances cognitive performance compared to resting. Event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by an oddball or flanker task have clarified the impact of dual-task cycling on perception and attention. In this study, we investigate the effect of cycling on cognitive recruitment during tasks that involve not only stimulus identification but also semantic processing and memory retention.MethodsWe recruited 24 healthy young adults (12 males, 12 females; mean age = 22.71, SD = 1.97 years) to perform three neurocognitive tasks (namely color-word matching, arithmetic calculation, and spatial working memory) at rest and while cycling, employing a within-subject design with rest/cycling counterbalancing.Results The reaction time on the spatial working memory task was faster while cycling than at rest at a level approaching statistical significance. The commission error percentage on the color–word matching task was significantly lower at rest than while cycling. Dual-task cycling while responding to neurocognitive tests elicited the following results: (a) a greater ERP P1 amplitude, delayed P3a latency, less negative N4, and less positivity in the late slow wave (LSW) during color-word matching; (b) a greater P1 amplitude during memory encoding and smaller posterior negativity during memory retention on the spatial working memory task; and (c) a smaller P3 amplitude, followed by a more negative N4 and less LSW positivity during arithmetic calculation.ConclusionThe encoding of color-word and spatial information while cycling may have resulted in compensatory visual processing and attention allocation to cope with the additional cycling task load. The dual-task cycling and cognitive performance reduced the demands of semantic processing for color-word matching and the cognitive load associated with temporarily suspending spatial information. While dual-tasking may have required enhanced semantic processing to initiate mental arithmetic, a compensatory decrement was noted during arithmetic calculation. These significant neurocognitive findings demonstrate the effect of cycling on semantic-demand and memory retention-demand tasks.

Examining acoustics and intelligibility of people with dysarthria in communicative interactions

A comprehensive understanding of the speech capabilities of speakers with dysarthria requires an examination of speech produced in true interactions. Intelligibility in such interactions may reflect joint contributions of speakers and listeners (Olmstead et al., 2020). In this study, nine people with dysarthria secondary to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) participated in an interactive word-matching task with nine typical individuals. In experiment one, we examined speech produced by the people with dysarthria in the interactive task and compared it to speech produced in two non-interactive tasks (baseline and clear speech). Specifically, we measured F1, F2, and vowel duration of the vowels /æ, ɛ, ɪ, and i/. We found task-related differences such that acoustic contrast was greater in the interactive task than baseline. Notably, speech in the interactive task was similar to clear speech in its spectral but not temporal patterns. In experiment two, we obtained perceptual judgements of these productions from 54 naïve listeners. We found a concordant pattern: the vowels from the matching task were easier for listeners to identify than baseline. Overall, results of these studies indicate that speakers with dysarthria can make speech adjustments in communicative tasks that are beneficial for listeners.

Lateralization as a symphony: Joint influence of interhemispheric inhibition and transmission on brain asymmetry and syntactic processing

This study investigated the roles of cross-hemispheric communications in promoting left-lateralized syntactic processing in the brain. Fifty-six young right-handers without familial sinistrality background underwent a divided visual field ERP grammaticality judgment experiment to assess syntactic processing in each hemisphere. Two behavioral tasks —the bilateral flanker task and bilateral word matching task, were used to assess cross-hemispheric inhibition and transmission. Grand average ERP data showed a significant P600 grammaticality effect in the left hemisphere (LH) only; however, individual variations in the P600 responses were observed in both hemispheres. Results of correlational analyses showed that larger LH P600 effects were associated with slower inter-hemispheric transmissions; smaller right hemisphere (RH) P600 effects were associated with more effective RH inhibition. These results yielded support for both the callosal distance hypothesis and the inhibition hypothesis for language lateralization and demonstrated that different aspects of cross-hemispheric communications jointly influence the degree of syntactic lateralization.

The dynamics of spoken word recognition in bilinguals

AbstractThis study examined whether bilinguals automatically activate lexical options from both of their languages when performing a picture matching task in their dominant language (L1) by using event related potentials. English–French bilinguals and English monolinguals performed a picture-spoken word matching task with three conditions: match (BEACH-“beach”), unrelated mismatch (BEACH-“tack”), and L2 onset competitor mismatch (BEACH-“plaid”; plaid sounds like plage, the French word for beach). Critically, bilinguals, but not monolinguals, showed reduced N400s for L2-cohort vs. unrelated mismatches. The results provide clear evidence that when bilinguals identify pictures, they automatically activate lexical options from both languages, even when expecting oral input from only their dominant language. N400 attenuation suggests bilinguals activate but do not expect L2 lexical options.

Alpha oscillations in left perisylvian cortices support semantic processing and predict performance.

Semantic processing is the ability to discern and maintain conceptual relationships among words and objects. While the neural circuits serving semantic representation and controlled retrieval are well established, the neuronal dynamics underlying these processes are poorly understood. Herein, we examined 25 healthy young adults who completed a semantic relation word-matching task during magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG data were examined in the time-frequency domain and significant oscillatory responses were imaged using a beamformer. Whole-brain statistical analyses were conducted to compare semantic-related to length-related neural oscillatory responses. Time series were extracted to visualize the dynamics and were linked to task performance using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that participants had significantly longer reaction times in semantic compared to length trials. Robust MEG responses in the theta (3-6Hz), alpha (10-16Hz), and gamma (64-76Hz and 64-94Hz) bands were observed in parieto-occipital and frontal cortices. Whole-brain analyses revealed stronger alpha oscillations in a left-lateralized network during semantically related relative to length trials. Importantly, stronger alpha oscillations in the left superior temporal gyrus during semantic trials predicted faster responses. These data reinforce existing literature and add novel temporal evidence supporting the executive role of the semantic control network in behavior.

Orthographic Facilitation of Oral Vocabulary Acquisition in Children With Hearing Loss.

Purpose Learning spoken words can be challenging for children with hearing loss who communicate orally and who are known to have weaker oral vocabulary skills than age-matched children who hear. Since vocabulary skills play a crucial role in reading and literacy acquisition, and academic success, it is important to identify effective vocabulary acquisition strategies for children with hearing loss. The aim of this study was to examine whether the incidental presence of orthography can facilitate oral vocabulary learning in children with hearing loss and whether the benefits are greater than those found in hearing children. Method We taught novel picture-word pairs with or without spellings to 23 children with hearing loss and 23 age-matched controls, ranging in age from 6 to 12 years. Word learning was assessed using behavioral and eye tracking data from picture naming and picture-word matching tasks. Results and Conclusions Results revealed an orthographic facilitation effect on oral vocabulary learning in children with hearing loss, with benefits being maintained over a week. Importantly, children with hearing loss showed a greater benefit of orthography than age-matched hearing peers on the picture naming tests. The results of this study have important implications for classroom instruction and vocabulary instruction strategies for children with hearing loss.

Decoding the role of the cerebellum in the early stages of reading acquisition

Numerous studies have consistently reported functional activation of the cerebellum during reading tasks, especially in the right cerebellar hemisphere. However, it remains unclear whether this region is also involved in reading during the earliest stages of reading acquisition. Here, we investigated whether and how the cerebellum contributes to reading acquisition. We tested 80 5-6-year-old kindergarteners, who performed a visual word matching task during which functional MRI (fMRI) data were collected. We found that bilateral cerebellar hemispheres were significantly activated during visual word processing. Moreover, activation of left cerebellar lobule VII extending to lobule VIII negatively and significantly correlated with current reading ability, whereas activation of right cerebellar lobule VII extending to lobule VIII significantly and positively correlated with future reading ability. Functional decoding via functional connectivity patterns further revealed that left and right cerebellar lobules connected with different cerebral cortex regions. Our results suggest a division of labor between the left and right cerebellar lobules in beginning readers.

When taking the bull by the horns is not possible: comprehension of idioms in patients with aphasia and dementia (Cuando no es posible coger el toro por los cuernos: la comprensión de modismos en pacientes con afasia y demencia)

This work analysed the comprehension of three types of idioms of the V+NP form (e.g., bite the dust) in seven patients with aphasia and two patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease, frontal variant. The aphasic patients included in the study had a severe semantic disorder or a mild semantic deficit, or only a lexical disturbance. Participants with dementia showed a moderate deterioration in their executive functions and no impairment in their psycholinguistic performance. In this study, we used an idiom–word matching task, administered in two versions. The results indicate dissimilar performance patterns, according to patients’ neuropsychological impairment. In particular, patients with a severe semantic disorder showed a poor understanding of the figurative meanings of idioms, especially if those idioms were not fully transparent or opaque. Participants with a mild semantic deficit accessed the non-literal meanings of the idioms showing less difficulty in the case of certain idiomatic expressions. Patients with executive function deficit showed a double interference effect, and although they could activate the figurative and literal meanings of idioms according to the context in which they were presented, it was difficult for them to inhibit those meanings whenever necessary and activate the alternative meaning. This effect was more pronounced the less transparent the idiom was.

The rank of a value in the importance hierarchy of values affects its relationship to self-concept: a SC-IAT study

Using the single category implicit association test (SC-IAT), the present study investigated the relationship between self-concept and importance hierarchies of values. The results of a word-matching task showed that values ranked as high importance were correlated with self-descriptive words, as indicated by shorter reaction time and higher accuracy rate. By contrast, values rated as low importance were instead linked with other-descriptive words. This suggests that, at the level of implicit processing, values perceived as important are internalized to self-concept, and the degree of internalization or exclusion of values from self-concept is correlated with their ranking on an individual’s importance hierarchy of values. The above results provide novel evidence for the role of values in the structure and content of self-concept.

The impact of language proficiency on the time course and neural basis of L2 semantic access in bilinguals

Aims: The present study aimed to explore the impact of L2 proficiency on the time course and neural basis of L2 semantic access. Methodology: Two groups of participants with either high or low L2 proficiency performed a picture–word semantic matching task (i.e. consistent vs. inconsistent), with their event-related potentials (ERP) responses being recorded. Two stimulus types, L2 words and L1 words, were investigated in two separate blocks. Here the L1 words were tested as a control condition. Data and Analysis: The ERP epochs time-locked to the onset of the word were analyzed within 300–600 ms both at the surface (i.e. mean amplitude and peak latency) and the source (i.e. source localization) level. Findings/Conclusions: In the L2, a reliable N400 effect (i.e. semantic incongruity effect) was found for both high and low L2 proficiency bilinguals. However, the difference waves showed that the N400 peak latency was much shorter and the mean amplitude within 300–600 ms was much larger in bilinguals with higher L2 proficiency. Source localization analysis found left insula cortex (Brodmann area 13, Low > High) to be responsible for this proficiency effect (i.e. a decrease in the activation of left insula at a higher proficiency level). In the L1, a reliable N400 effect was found for both participant groups, and the two groups were matched in the N400 peak latency and amplitude, and its neural source. Originality: This study provides further evidence for the neural substrates underlying the modulation of L2 proficiency in semantic access by using a more sensitive task (i.e. picture–word matching task), and the current results revealed the engagement of left insula for the first time. Significance/Implications: The current findings suggest that L2 proficiency affects the time course and neural basis of L2 semantic access, probably through a modulation of the strength of “L2 word-to-concept” connections.

Different neural processes underlie visual speech perception in school-age children and adults: An event-related potentials study

The ability to use visual speech cues does not fully develop until late adolescence. The cognitive and neural processes underlying this slow maturation are not yet understood. We examined electrophysiological responses of younger (8–9 years) and older (11–12 years) children as well as adults elicited by visually perceived articulations in an audiovisual word matching task and related them to the amount of benefit gained during a speech-in-noise (SIN) perception task when seeing the talker’s face. On each trial, participants first heard a word and, after a short pause, saw a speaker silently articulate a word. In half of the trials the articulated word matched the auditory word (congruent trials), whereas in the other half it did not (incongruent trials). In all three age groups, incongruent articulations elicited the N400 component and congruent articulations elicited the late positive complex (LPC). Groups did not differ in the mean amplitude of N400. The mean amplitude of LPC was larger in younger children compared with older children and adults. Importantly, the relationship between event-related potential measures and SIN performance varied by group. In 8- and 9-year-olds, neither component was predictive of SIN gain. The LPC amplitude predicted the SIN gain in older children but not in adults. Conversely, the N400 amplitude predicted the SIN gain in adults. We argue that although all groups were able to detect correspondences between auditory and visual word onsets at the phonemic/syllabic level, only adults could use this information for lexical access.

Disentangling the Mechanisms of Symbolic Number Processing in Adults' Mathematics and Arithmetic Achievement.

A growing body of research has shown that symbolic number processing relates to individual differences in mathematics. However, it remains unclear which mechanisms of symbolic number processing are crucial-accessing underlying magnitude representation of symbols (i.e., symbol-magnitude associations), processing relative order of symbols (i.e., symbol-symbol associations), or processing of symbols per se. To address this question, in this study adult participants performed a dots-number word matching task-thought to be a measure of symbol-magnitude associations (numerical magnitude processing)-a numeral-ordering task that focuses on symbol-symbol associations (numerical order processing), and a digit-number word matching task targeting symbolic processing per se. Results showed that both numerical magnitude and order processing were uniquely related to arithmetic achievement, beyond the effects of domain-general factors (intellectual ability, working memory, inhibitory control, and non-numerical ordering). Importantly, results were different when a general measure of mathematics achievement was considered. Those mechanisms of symbolic number processing did not contribute to math achievement. Furthermore, a path analysis revealed that numerical magnitude and order processing might draw on a common mechanism. Each process explained a portion of the relation of the other with arithmetic (but not with a general measure of math achievement). These findings are consistent with the notion that adults' arithmetic skills build upon symbol-magnitude associations, and they highlight the effects that different math measures have in the study of numerical cognition.

Experimental Approaches for Improving the Assessment of Partner Violence.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious and widespread problem. Unfortunately, like many other private behaviors, self-report is one of the few practical means of assessing IPV. Despite its known limitations, few studies have examined methods for improving the assessment of IPV through self-report, particularly in research contexts. The current study examined implicit goal priming (IGP) and restricted response latencies (RRL), which have previously been used successfully to improve reporting of other types of sensitive information. Participants in the IGP condition engaged in a word-matching task intended to subliminally prime an honesty goal immediately before completing the IPV self-report measure. In the RRL condition, the amount of time participants were allotted to answer each question was restricted to 3 s. Using a pilot sample of 71 cohabiting/married couples, we currently provide experimental support for the utility of the IGP task for increasing the frequency of reported IPV, as well as agreement between self-reports and partner reports, particularly when used in conjunction with the RRL method. We found the strongest and most consistent effects for women's reports of severe IPV perpetration and victimization, which is important given the extreme nature of these forms of IPV and because they are frequently underreported by women. We also found evidence to support the use of these methods to enhance reporting of other forms of IPV and provide additional directions for future research.

Implicit Emotion Regulation Deficits in Trait Anxiety: An ERP Study.

According to the framework of emotion regulation (ER), both explicit and implicit forms are essential to our well-being. It is the interaction between these two processes that ensures adaptive emotional responses. Although many studies have focused on explicit ER deficits in anxiety, there is still a lack of awareness about the implicit form and its role in anxiety. To address this issue, we explored the time course of implicit ER processes in individuals with high and low trait anxiety (LTA). To do this, we employed the newly developed Priming-Identify (PI) paradigm, which includes a word-matching task (externally-generated implicit goals) and a facial expression identification task (emotion processing). We aimed to modulate the implicit ER goals of individuals through the application of different priming conditions (ER-related and -unrelated words). In addition to their behavioral effects, we recorded the influence of these priming conditions through event-related potentials (ERPs) during the facial expression identification task. Three ERP components were chosen as indexes of three stages of implicit ER processing: N170, early posterior negativity (EPN) and late positive potential (LPP). In individuals with LTA, the early N170 and the middle EPN were enlarged under the ER-related priming condition, while the LPP was not influenced. However, in individuals with high trait anxiety (HTA), we observed an absence of any significant differences between the ER-related and -unrelated priming conditions across all three ERP components. Furthermore, enlargements of N170 and EPN amplitudes were significantly correlated with a decrease in negative emotion experience scores. Our results suggest that HTA individuals experience implicit ER deficits during the early and middle stages of ER.

Reanalyzing language expectations: Native language knowledge modulates the sensitivity to intervening cues during anticipatory processing.

We investigated how native language experience shapes anticipatory language processing. Two groups of bilinguals (either Spanish or Basque natives) performed a word matching task (WordMT) and a picture matching task (PictureMT). They indicated whether the stimuli they visually perceived matched with the noun they heard. Spanish noun endings were either diagnostic of the gender (transparent) or ambiguous (opaque). ERPs were time-locked to an intervening gender-marked determiner preceding the predicted noun. The determiner always gender agreed with the following noun but could also introduce a mismatching noun, so that it was not fully task diagnostic. Evoked brain activity time-locked to the determiner was considered as reflecting updating/reanalysis of the task-relevant preactivated representation. We focused on the timing of this effect by estimating the comparison between a gender-congruent and a gender-incongruent determiner. In the WordMT, both groups showed a late N400 effect. Crucially, only Basque natives displayed an earlier P200 effect for determiners preceding transparent nouns. In the PictureMT, both groups showed an early P200 effect for determiners preceding opaque nouns. The determiners of transparent nouns triggered a negative effect at ∼430 ms in Spanish natives, but at ∼550 ms in Basque natives. This pattern of results supports a "retracing hypothesis" according to which the neurocognitive system navigates through the intermediate (sublexical and lexical) linguistic representations available from previous processing to evaluate the need of an update in the linguistic expectation concerning a target lexical item.

The progress of emotion regulation methods and paradigms: From voluntary emotion regulation to automatic emotion regulation

Many psychological disorders are characterized by difficulties in emotion regulation. As a result, finding an effective way of emotional regulation has significant implications for people′s understanding of emotional regulation mechanism and for the treatment of psychological disorders. Voluntary emotion regulation typically refers to effortful and controlled processes based on consciously intended strategies. Many previous studies have shown that voluntary emotion regulation is effective in reducing individuals′ negative emotional responses. However, its regulatory effects always come with the cognitive costs that limit its clinical application. Recently, researchers have begun to pay attention to automatic emotion regulation that can reduce the negative emotional responses without cognitive resource consumption. Automatic emotion regulation (AER) is characterized by goal-driven changes to human emotions without a conscious decision to do so and without engaging in deliberate control. This characteristic has been suggested to be critical for the psychological well-being of human beings. Though the regulatory effects of AER have been suggested to be effective and cost-free, its research methods and paradigms have not yet to be systematically elaborated to date. After systematic review of existing studies of AER, we consider that automatic goal pursuit constitutes the common theoretical foundation of AER. Early studies mainly used individual differences method to explore the relationship between spontaneous emotion-regulatory effects and physiological measurement scores. These studies found that emotion regulation can spontaneous occur without explicit instructions and individuals′ abilities of spontaneous emotion regulation are closely associated with their scores on emotion-regulation-related scales. With the development of AER research, several experimental paradigms for AER are proposed and used constantly. Here, we summarized three types of AER tasks based on these existing literature: sentence unscrambling task, word matching task, and implementation intention paradigm. Then we compared the manipulation and the behavioral and physiological response of AER under these three conditions. The sentence unscrambling task/word matching task offers an implicit means to activate particular goals, motivations, or values, and thus circumvents the problems that explicit instructions can provoke. Implementation intention paradigm can help people form a potential link between situational cues and emotion-regulatory goals. By forming implementation intentions, people can strategically switch from conscious and effortful control of their goal-directed behaviors to automatic control of them by forming situational cue and goal contingencies. Therefore, compared with sentence unscrambling task and word matching task, implementation intention paradigm can help individuals to make conscious emotion regulation without consuming cognitive resources. More importantly, the three AER tasks may share the same internal mechanism: automatic priming of emotion-regulatory goals. We hope that our findings can shed light on the clinical application of AER in psychological therapy. Based on the findings, we further propose some concrete suggestions in combining AER with psychological therapy and provide a new idea for the treatment of mental illnesses.

Age-Related Brain Activation Changes during Rule Repetition in Word-Matching.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the age-related brain activation changes during a word-matching semantic-category-based task, which required either repeating or changing a semantic rule to be applied. In order to do so, a word-semantic rule-based task was adapted from the Wisconsin Sorting Card Test, involving the repeated feedback-driven selection of given pairs of words based on semantic category-based criteria.Method: Forty healthy adults (20 younger and 20 older) performed a word-matching task while undergoing a fMRI scan in which they were required to pair a target word with another word from a group of three words. The required pairing is based on three word-pair semantic rules which correspond to different levels of semantic control demands: functional relatedness, moderately typical-relatedness (which were considered as low control demands), and atypical-relatedness (high control demands). The sorting period consisted of a continuous execution of the same sorting rule and an inferred trial-by-trial feedback was given.Results: Behavioral performance revealed increases in response times and decreases of correct responses according to the level of semantic control demands (functional vs. typical vs. atypical) for both age groups (younger and older) reflecting graded differences in the repetition of the application of a given semantic rule. Neuroimaging findings of significant brain activation showed two main results: (1) Greater task-related activation changes for the repetition of the application of atypical rules relative to typical and functional rules, and (2) Changes (older > younger) in the inferior prefrontal regions for functional rules and more extensive and bilateral activations for typical and atypical rules. Regarding the inter-semantic rules comparison, only task-related activation differences were observed for functional > typical (e.g., inferior parietal and temporal regions bilaterally) and atypical > typical (e.g., prefrontal, inferior parietal, posterior temporal, and subcortical regions).Conclusion: These results suggest that healthy cognitive aging relies on the adaptive changes of inferior prefrontal resources involved in the repetitive execution of semantic rules, thus reflecting graded differences in support of task demands.

Age-Related Shift in Neuro-Activation during a Word-Matching Task.

Growing evidence from the neuroscience of aging suggests that executive function plays a pivotal role in maintaining semantic processing performance. However, the presumed age-related activation changes that sustain executive semantic processing remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to explore the executive aspects of semantic processing during a word-matching task with regard to age-related neuro-functional reorganization, as well as to identify factors that influence executive control profiles. Twenty younger and 20 older participants underwent fMRI scanning. The experimental task was based on word-matching, wherein visual feedback was used to instruct participants to either maintain or switch a semantic-matching rule. Response time and correct responses were assessed for each group. A battery of cognitive tests was administrated to all participants and the older group was divided into two subgroups based on their cognitive control profiles. Even though the percentage of correct responses was equivalent in the task performance between both groups and within the older groups, neuro-functional activation differed in frontoparietal regions with regards to age and cognitive control profiles. A correlation between behavioral measures (correct responses and response times) and brain signal changes was found in the left inferior parietal region in older participants. Results indicate that the shift in age-related activation from frontal to parietal regions can be viewed as another form of neuro-functional reorganization. The greater reliance on inferior parietal regions in the older compared to the younger group suggests that the executive control system is still efficient and sustains semantic processing in the healthy aging brain. Additionally, cognitive control profiles underlie executive ability differences in healthy aging appear to be associated with specific neuro-functional reorganization throughout frontal and parietal regions. These findings demonstrate that changes in neural support for executive semantic processing during a word-matching task are not only influenced by age, but also by cognitive control profile.