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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology
Published on: June 29, 2021
An inverse relation between event-related and time-frequency violation responses in sentence processing.
1F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. doug.davidson@fcdonders.ru.nl
This study investigated semantic and grammatical processing during sentence comprehension using event-related potentials (ERPs). Findings reveal distinct neural signatures for semantic (N400, theta power increase) and grammatical (P600, alpha/beta power decrease) violations.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Electrophysiology
Background:
- Sentence comprehension involves intricate semantic and grammatical processing.
- Event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related power changes offer insights into neural dynamics.
- Distinguishing neural correlates of semantic versus grammatical violations is crucial for understanding language processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between semantic and grammatical processing in sentence comprehension.
- To examine event-related potential (ERP) and event-related power changes associated with semantic and grammatical violations.
- To explore the interplay between ERP amplitude and oscillatory activity during sentence processing.
Main Methods:
- Presentation of sentences with semantic, phrase structure, or number violations and matched controls.
- Serial presentation of stimuli at 1.25 words/s to 20 participants.
- Recording of electroencephalography (EEG) to measure event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related power changes.
Main Results:
- Semantic violations elicited an N400 effect and increased theta band power.
- Grammatical violations were associated with a P600 effect and decreased alpha/beta band power.
- A quartile analysis indicated an inverse relationship between ERP amplitude and event-related power changes for both violation types.
Conclusions:
- Semantic and grammatical violations are associated with distinct electrophysiological markers (N400/theta vs. P600/alpha-beta).
- There is an inverse relationship between ERP amplitude and event-related power changes in sentence processing.
- These findings contribute to understanding the neural mechanisms underlying sentence comprehension and language violation detection.
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