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Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: June 25, 2019
Lexical access problems lead to disfluencies in speech
Robert J Hartsuiker1, Lies Notebaert
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium. Robert.Hartsuiker@ugent.be
Abstract:
A picture naming experiment in Dutch tested whether disfluencies in speech can arise from difficulties in lexical access. Speakers described networks consisting of line drawings and paths connecting these drawings, and we manipulated picture name agreement. Consistent with our hypothesis, there were more pauses and more self-corrections in the low name agreement condition than the high name agreement condition, but there was no effect on repetitions. We also considered determiner frequency. There were more self-corrections and more repetitions when the picture name required the less frequent (neuter-gender) determiner "het" than the more frequent (common-gender) determiner "de". These data suggest that difficulties in distinct stages of language production result in distinct patterns of disfluencies.
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