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

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Perceptual Tuning to Structure: Integrating the Phonetic Detail of Coarticulatory Vowel Nasalization With Prosodic and Information Structure.

Language and speech·2026

Same author

The impact of rhotic allophony on spoken-word recognition during sound change.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2026

Same author

A web-based mouse-tracking task for early perceptual language processing.

Behavior research methods·2025

Same author

Flexibility and Stability in Lexical Tone Recalibration: Evidence from Tone Perceptual Learning.

Language and speech·2024

Same author

Lexically Mediated Compensation for Coarticulation Still as Elusive as a White Christmash.

Cognitive science·2023

Same author

Selective adaptation of German /r/: A role for perceptual saliency.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2022

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

The mental lexicon is fully specified: evidence from eye-tracking.

Holger Mitterer¹

¹Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Wundtlaan 1, 6525 XD Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Holger.Mitterer@mpi.nl

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance

|April 6, 2011

Summary

Speech perception relies on full signal information, not just default features. Experiments show phonological similarity effects are symmetric, challenging theories of underspecified word recognition.

More Related Videos

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

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

Published on: March 25, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

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

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

Published on: March 25, 2011

Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Cognitive Science
Phonetics

Background:

The theory of phonological underspecification proposes asymmetric lexical matching based on default feature specification.
This theory suggests mismatching input activates underspecified entries but not specified ones.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare optimal-perception and phonological underspecification theories in speech perception.
To investigate lexical access mechanisms using visual-world experiments.

Main Methods:

Four visual-world experiments were conducted.
Listeners heard spoken words and viewed printed words while eye-tracking data was collected.

Main Results:

Eye-tracking data did not support asymmetric lexical matching predicted by phonological underspecification.
Phonologically similar words attracted symmetric attention, regardless of feature specification.
Results indicated speech perception maximally utilizes signal-driven information.

Conclusions:

The findings support an optimal-perception account of speech processing.
The theory of phonological underspecification was not supported by the experimental data.