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Published on: July 13, 2019
'Winner-take-all' competition among real and illusory words
Michael Niedeggen1, Martin Heil, Catherine L Harris
1Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany. michael.niedeggen@uni-duesseldorf.de
Neuroreport
|March 18, 2006
Summary
Conscious perception relies on neural winner-take-all networks. Only consciously perceived words, whether real or illusory, activate semantic networks, demonstrating these networks extend to lexical processing.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Psychology
Background:
- Winner-take-all (WTA) networks are a key concept in visual neuroscience, suggesting that stimuli winning neural competition achieve maximal activation and conscious perception.
- This principle implies that even incorrect selections might be consciously perceived if they win the neural competition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether neural winner-take-all networks extend to the processing of lexical units (words).
- To examine the role of conscious perception in semantic activation using real and illusory words.
Main Methods:
- Induced competition between physically presented ('real') and self-constructed ('illusory') words.
- Probed semantic activation by recording event-related potential (ERP) responses to a downstream target word.
- Compared semantic priming effects for reported versus non-reported words, regardless of their real or illusory nature.
Main Results:
- Consciously reported words, irrespective of being real or illusory, triggered semantic activation, indicated by ERP responses.
- Non-reported words, even if physically presented, failed to prime the target word, suggesting a lack of semantic spread.
- These priming effects were consistent across both real and illusory word conditions.
Conclusions:
- Neural winner-take-all networks are involved in lexical processing, extending beyond visual selection.
- Conscious perception is a critical factor for semantic activation within these networks.
- The findings support the integration of winner-take-all principles into models of word recognition and semantic processing.
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