Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

An Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Ageing on Sentence Processing
Published on: October 25, 2019
Effects of advancing age on the processing of semantic anomalies in adults: evidence from event-related brain
Anja Faustmann1, Bruce E Murdoch, Simon P Finnigan
1Division of Speech Pathology, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia. a.faustmann@uq.edu.au
Abstract:
Age-related changes in the processing of sentence-embedded semantic anomalies were examined using auditory event-related potentials (ERPs). Semantically incongruous words elicited an N400 effect in middle-aged (50s: 55.6 years) and elderly (60s: 64.1 years) subjects, whereas in older elderly adults (70s: 74.9 years) this effect approached significance. N400 peak latencies were not delayed with advancing age; however, there was a reliable linear decrease in mean and peak amplitude, with slopes being similar to those previously reported for the visual N400 effect. A P600 effect was obtained in response to semantic anomalies and it was neither delayed in latency nor reduced in amplitude with advancing age. However, it was found to be larger over anterior sites in elderly and older elderly subjects.
More Related Videos
08:17A Semantic Priming Event-related Potential (ERP) Task to Study Lexico-semantic and Visuo-semantic Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 12, 2018
11:01Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: August 30, 2011
Related Concept Videos
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Pharmacodynamics in Geriatric Patients: Effects of Age