Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Neurons as Communicators of the Brain

Neurons as Communicators of the Brain

Neurons, the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, function as the primary transmitters of information throughout the body. Their ability to communicate through electrical and chemical signals is vital for every bodily function, from regulating the heartbeat to processing complex thoughts. Each neuron has three main components: the cell body (soma), dendrites, and an axon, each specialized to facilitate swift and efficient neural communication.
Cell Body
The cell body, also known...

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
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...

Functional Brain Systems: Limbic System

Functional Brain Systems: Limbic System

The limbic system, often called the "emotional brain," is a complex set of structures located deep within the brain. The intricate network of the limbic system supports a wide range of psychological functions, from emotional regulation to memory formation and sensory processing. This functional brain region encompasses specific parts of the diencephalon and the cerebrum, integrating the higher mental functions of the cerebral cortex with the primitive emotional responses of the deep brain...

Language and Cognition

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.

Neuronal Communication

Neuronal Communication

Neurons, the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, communicate through complex electrochemical signals that underpin all cognitive and bodily functions. This communication is primarily facilitated by a process involving the generation and propagation of an action potential along the axon of the neuron. When the internal electrical charge of a neuron surpasses a certain threshold, an action potential is triggered. This rapid change in voltage travels swiftly along the axon to the...

Brainstem

Brainstem

The brainstem, located inferior to the brain and superior to the spinal cord, serves as a bridge between the cerebrum and the spinal cord. It plays a vital role in relaying information and controlling critical life functions. It comprises three primary regions: the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.
The Midbrain
The midbrain is located beneath the diencephalon and connects the cerebrum with the lower parts of the brain. The cerebral peduncles are prominent midbrain structures that house the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Adaptive lexical processing of semantic competitors extends to alternative names: Evidence from blocked-cyclic picture naming.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2024

Same author

Adaptive processing in word production: Evidence from picture-word interference studies.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2023

Same author

Repeated naming affects the accessibility of nonselected words: Evidence from picture-word interference experiments.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2023

Same author

Is beta in agreement with the relatives? Using relative clause sentences to investigate MEG beta power dynamics during sentence comprehension.

Psychophysiology·2023

Same author

Context effects in language comprehension: The role of emotional state and attention on semantic and syntactic processing.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2022

Same author

The CABB dataset: A multimodal corpus of communicative interactions for behavioural and neural analyses.

NeuroImage·2022

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Published on: October 13, 2018

Discourse, syntax, and prosody: the brain reveals an immediate interaction.

Roel Kerkhofs¹, Wietske Vonk, Herbert Schriefers

¹Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

|August 24, 2007

Summary

The brain immediately integrates speech's prosodic and syntactic breaks. When prosodic and syntactic breaks align, a specific brainwave response (closure positive shift) is reduced, showing immediate information matching.

More Related Videos

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Observing Virtual Social Interactions

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Observing Virtual Social Interactions

Published on: July 6, 2011

Inter-Brain Synchrony in Open-Ended Collaborative Learning: An fNIRS-Hyperscanning Study

Inter-Brain Synchrony in Open-Ended Collaborative Learning: An fNIRS-Hyperscanning Study

Published on: July 21, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Published on: October 13, 2018

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Observing Virtual Social Interactions

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Observing Virtual Social Interactions

Published on: July 6, 2011

Inter-Brain Synchrony in Open-Ended Collaborative Learning: An fNIRS-Hyperscanning Study

Inter-Brain Synchrony in Open-Ended Collaborative Learning: An fNIRS-Hyperscanning Study

Published on: July 21, 2021

Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Neuroscience of Language
Speech Processing

Background:

Speech is segmented by syntactic and prosodic breaks.
Studying the interplay of syntax and prosody in isolation is challenging due to their sequential detection in ambiguous sentences.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the immediate interplay between syntactic and prosodic information during speech comprehension.
To overcome limitations of studying isolated sentences by using discourse context.

Main Methods:

Comparing event-related potentials (ERPs) to acoustically identical sentences embedded in different discourse contexts.
Manipulating the expected presence or absence of a syntactic break at a prosodic break.

Main Results:

The closure positive shift, an ERP component reflecting prosodic break processing, was significantly reduced when a prosodic break coincided with a syntactic break.
This reduction indicates immediate neural integration of syntactic and prosodic cues.

Conclusions:

The brain actively matches prosodic and syntactic information in real-time during speech perception.
Discourse context can be used to probe the immediate interaction of linguistic processing levels.