ERIC Number: EJ955691
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0169-0965
EISSN: N/A
Similar Neural Correlates for Language and Sequential Learning: Evidence from Event-Related Brain Potentials
Christiansen, Morten H.; Conway, Christopher M.; Onnis, Luca
Language and Cognitive Processes, v27 n2 p231-256 2012
We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the time course and distribution of brain activity while adults performed (1) a sequential learning task involving complex structured sequences and (2) a language processing task. The same positive ERP deflection, the P600 effect, typically linked to difficult or ungrammatical syntactic processing, was found for structural incongruencies in both sequential learning as well as natural language and with similar topographical distributions. Additionally, a left anterior negativity (LAN) was observed for language but not for sequential learning. These results are interpreted as an indication that the P600 provides an index of violations and the cost of integration of expectations for upcoming material when processing complex sequential structure. We conclude that the same neural mechanisms may be recruited for both syntactic processing of linguistic stimuli and sequential learning of structured sequence patterns more generally. (Contains 4 figures and 4 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Evidence, Brain Hemisphere Functions, Language Processing, Diagnostic Tests, Adults, Sequential Learning, Task Analysis, Syntax, Grammar, Natural Language Processing
Psychology Press. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A