Psychological and Electrophysiological Correlates of Word Learning Success

Abstract

Background. A rich vocabulary supports human achievements in socio-economic activities, education, and communication. It is therefore important to clarify the nature of language acquisition as a complex multidimensional process. However, both the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning language learning, as well as the links between them, are still poorly understood. Objective. This study aims to explore the psychological and neurophysiological correlates of successful word acquisition in a person’s native language. Design. Thirty adults read sentences with novel nouns, following which the participants’ electroencephalograms were recorded during a word-reading task. Event-related potentials in response to novel words and alpha oscillation parameters (amplitude, variability, and long-range temporal correlation dynamics) were analyzed. Learning outcomes were assessed at the lexical and semantic levels. Psychological variables measured using Amthauer’s test (verbal abilities), BIS/BAS scales (motivation), and the MSTAT-1 (ambiguity tolerance) and alpha oscillation parameters were factored. Results. Better recognition of novel words was related to two factors which had high factor loadings for all measured alpha oscillation parameters, indicating the role of attention networks and respective neural activity for enabling information processing. More successful learners had lower P200 amplitude, which also suggests higher attention-system involvement. Another factor predicted better acquisition of word meanings for less ambiguity-tolerant students, while the factor which pooled logical conceptual thinking ability and persistence in goal-reaching, positively correlated with acquisition of both word forms and meanings. Conclusion. The psychological factors predominantly correlated with word-learning success in semantic tasks, while neurophysiological variables were linked to performance in the recognition task.

Resting-state occipito-frontal alpha connectome is linked to differential word learning ability in adult learners

“…As expected, we observed positive correlations between resting-state EEG alpha coherence between occipital and frontal regions and individual word learning performance across two independent samples. First of all, this result has added to previous evidence for the central role of alpha-band oscillations on word learning and memory ( Klimesch, 1999 , 2012 ; Williams et al, 2006 ; Brokaw et al, 2016 ; Mahjoory et al, 2019 ; Mkrtychian et al, 2021 ). Alpha rhythm has been reported as the primary EEG correlate of the fMRI-defined default mode network, which comprises a number of memory-related brain regions, including the hippocampus, para-hippocampal cortex, and medial frontal cortex ( Jann et al, 2009 ; Knyazev et al, 2011 ; Brokaw et al, 2016 ).…”

“…In response, the goal of this study was to examine the relationships between the resting-state EEG connectome and differential word learning ability among a much larger sample of adult learners. EEG spontaneous activities in the alpha band (8–12 Hz) are of particular interest in this study since mounting evidence has supported the functional relevance of intrinsic alpha oscillations for the implementation of verbal learning and memory tasks ( Williams et al, 2006 ; Klimesch, 2012 ; Brokaw et al, 2016 ; Mahjoory et al, 2019 ; Mkrtychian et al, 2021 ). As the dominant EEG signature of eyes-closed waking rest, alpha rhythm is one of the major EEG correlates of the default-mode network which covers a number of memory-related brain regions: including the hippocampus, parahippocampal cortex, and medial frontal cortex ( Jann et al, 2009 ; Knyazev et al, 2011 ).…”

Постковидное Цветовосприятие: Влияние COVID-19 На Выбор Цветонаименования

“…Furthermore, the present experiment demonstrated that the two groups differ in the pattern of color-descriptor word formation, in particular, the tendency of post-COVID-19 participants to produce complex color names, with an increased number word components, variety of BCT derivatives, modified terms, binary and multicomponent word combinations. According to previous findings (e.g., Mkrtychian et al, 2021;Wijk et al, 1999Wijk et al, , 2002, such complex elaboration of the color-descriptor structure may be the marker of difficulties in precise nomination (of memory retrieval of adequate lexical units) experienced by COVID-19 survivors when they search for appropriate color naming.…”

Dynamic brain responses to Russian word acquisition among Chinese adult learners: An event‐related potential study

“…Therefore, in recent years, a growing number of researchers have used ERP to examine dynamic brain responses to rapid word acquisition (e.g., Bakker et al, 2015 ; Balass et al, 2010 ; Bermúdez‐Margaretto et al, 2018 , 2020 ; Vasilyeva et al, 2019 ). Most previous research on novel word learning has used written word stimuli as learning materials in ERP studies (Bermudez‐Margaretto et al, 2018 ; Borovsky et al, 2010 ; García‐Gámez & Macizo, 2022 ; Mkrtychian et al, 2021 ) and these studies have established several ERP components related to novel word learning. The first one is the frontal‐centrally distributed positive‐going P200, which is relevant to orthographic word‐form processing and involvement of the attention system (Bermúdez‐Margaretto et al, 2020 ; Mkrtychian et al, 2021 ).…”

“…The very few studies related to P200 in the pseudoword learning domain indicated that P200 might be larger (i.e., more positive) when a novel word form is repeated across training, which appears to reflect the general ease of orthographic processing at the sublexical level (Bermudez-Margaretto et al, 2018). Furthermore, Mkrtychian et al (2021) trained native Russian speakers with Latinized Russian pseudowords and found that high-ability learners tended to exhibit lower P200 amplitudes than low-ability ones, which was related to a higher attention-system involvement in their study.…”