Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology
Published on: June 29, 2021
The time course of orthographic and phonological code activation
Jonathan Grainger1, Kristi Kiyonaga, Phillip J Holcomb
1CNRS and University of Provence, Marseille, France. grainger@up.univ-mrs.fr
Abstract:
The present study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the time course of orthographic and phonological priming in the masked priming paradigm. Participants monitored visual target words for occasional animal names, and ERPs to nonanimal critical items were recorded. These critical items were preceded by different types of primes: Orthographic priming was examined using transposed-letter (TL) primes (e.g., barin-BRAIN) and their controls (e.g., bosin-BRAIN); phonological priming was examined using pseudohomophone primes (e.g., brane-BRAIN) and their controls (e.g., brant-BRAIN). Both manipulations modulated the N250 ERP component, which is hypothesized to reflect sublexical processing during visual word recognition. Orthographic (TL) priming and phonological (pseudohomophone) priming were found to have distinct topographical distributions and different timing, with orthographic effects arising earlier than phonological effects.
Related Concept Videos
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Long-term Potentiation
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when presynaptic neurons...
Long-term Potentiation

