Brain Rhythms of Language: Nouns Versus Verbs

Pulvermüller, Friedemann; Preißl, Hubert; Lutzenberger, Werner; Birbaumer, Niels

doi:10.1111/j.1460-9568.1996.tb01580.x

Cited by 133 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…These findings were supported by brain imaging studies with healthy participants, which reported on different functional processes and/or distinct functional networks involved in processing different word types. In correspondence with the findings in patients, healthy subjects also show different brain activation for nouns and verbs (e.g., Pulvermueller, Preissl, Lutzenberger, & Birbaumer, 1996Warburton et al, 1996), concrete and abstract nouns (e.g., Kiehl et al, 1999;West & Holcomb, 2000), proper names and common nouns (e.g., Mueller & Kutas, 1996) and even subgroups of verbs (Pulvermueller et al, 2001;Weiss, Berghoff, Rappelsberger, & Mueller, 2001a).…”

Section: Word Processingsupporting

confidence: 70%

The contribution of EEG coherence to the investigation of language

2003

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The contribution of EEG coherence analysis to the investigation of cognition and, in particular, language processing is demonstrated with examples of recent EEG studies. The concept of EEG coherence analysis is explained, and its importance emphasized in the light of recent neurobiological findings on frequency-dependent synchrony as a code of information processing between nerve cell assemblies. Furthermore, EEG coherence studies on naturally spoken and written word and sentence processing are reviewed and experimental results are presented giving new insights into the occurrence of ''transient functional language centers'' within the brain.

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Section: Word Processingsupporting

confidence: 70%

The contribution of EEG coherence to the investigation of language

2003

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“…Dehaene (1995), using a semantic categorization task, found distributional differences among word categories around 260 ms, with a left temporo-parietal negativity for verbs (but also for animal names) and other topographies for different subsets of nouns (a left inferior temporal negativity for proper names and a bilateral positivity for numerals). In a series of studies conducted in German using nouns and verbs in a lexical decision task (Preissl et al, 1995;Pulvermuller et al, 1996Pulvermuller et al, , 1999a, word class differences have been reported beginning around 200 ms, with enhanced responses to verbs over fronto-central (possibly motor and premotor) areas and enhanced responses to nouns over occipital (possibly visual) areas. In addition to this early difference, Pulvermuller and colleagues have found that, between 500 and 800 ms, the spectral response around 30 Hz was enhanced for verbs at central sites but was stronger for nouns at sites over visual cortical areas (Pulvermuller et al, 1999a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

To mind the mind: An event-related potential study of word class and semantic ambiguity

Lee

Federmeier

2006

Brain Research

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The goal of this study was to jointly examine the effects of word class, word class ambiguity, and semantic ambiguity on the brain response to words in syntactically specified contexts. Four types of words were used: (1) word class ambiguous words with a high degree of semantic ambiguity (e.g., 'duck'); (2) word class ambiguous words with little or no semantic ambiguity (e.g., 'vote'); (3) word class unambiguous nouns (e.g., 'sofa'); and (4) word class unambiguous verbs (e.g., 'eat'). These words were embedded in minimal phrases that explicitly specified their word class: "the" for nouns (and ambiguous words used as nouns) and "to" for verbs (and ambiguous words used as verbs). Our results replicate the basic word class effects found in prior work (Federmeier, K.D., Segal, J.B., Lombrozo, T., Kutas, M., 2000. Brain responses to nouns, verbs and class ambiguous words in context. Brain, 123 (12), 2552-2566), including an enhanced N400 (250-450ms) to nouns compared with verbs and an enhanced frontal positivity (300-700 ms) to unambiguous verbs in relation to unambiguous nouns. A sustained frontal negativity (250-900 ms) that was previously linked to word class ambiguity also appeared in this study but was specific to word class ambiguous items that also had a high level of semantic ambiguity; word class ambiguous items without semantic ambiguity, in contrast, were more positive than class unambiguous words in the early part of this time window (250-500 ms). Thus, this frontal negative effect seems to be driven by the need to resolve the semantic ambiguity that is sometimes associated with different grammatical uses of a word class ambiguous homograph rather than by the class ambiguity per se.

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“…Metabolic neuroimaging studies showed that naming of animals and tools activates specific areas in left frontal, temporal and occipital lobes (for example, [11,24,38]). Neurophysiological studies, EEG and MEG, indicate that the differential involvement of frontal and occipital lobes in the processing of actionand visually-related words already begins 100-200 ms after word presentation (for example, [39,44,[46][47][48]). All of these data are evidence of differential contributions of the complementary language areas in the left dominant hemisphere to the processing of specific word categories [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Word-category specific deficits after lesions in the right hemisphere

2003

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A speeded lexical decision task was used to investigate word-category deficits in patients suffering from lesions in the right hemisphere and in neurological controls without cortical lesion. In all patients from one group (n = 12), the right frontal lobe was affected causing a left-sided hemiparesis. In the second group (n = 6), lesions primarily affected areas in the right inferior temporo-occipital lobes. Patients with motor deficits due to lesions in the spinal cord or in the periphery served as neurological controls (n = 9). Processing of three categories of words was investigated: verbs referring to actions (action verbs (acVs)); nouns with strong visual associations (visually-related nouns (viNs)); and nouns with both strong action and visual associations (bimodal nouns (biNs)). Stimulus categories were matched for word length and normalized lexical frequency. Error scores revealed a significant word category by patient group interaction. Patients with lesions in the right frontal lobe showed most severe deficits in processing action verbs, whereas those with lesions in their right temporo-occipital areas showed most severe deficits in processing visually-related nouns. Neurological controls did not show any differences between word categories. The double dissociation of the processing impairments seen in frontal versus temporo-occipital patients demonstrates that specific word-category deficits can arise from lesions in the right non-dominant hemisphere. An account for these results in terms of distributed neuronal systems representing words is offered.

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Brain Rhythms of Language: Nouns Versus Verbs

Cited by 133 publications

References 29 publications

The contribution of EEG coherence to the investigation of language

The contribution of EEG coherence to the investigation of language

To mind the mind: An event-related potential study of word class and semantic ambiguity

Word-category specific deficits after lesions in the right hemisphere

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