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Predicting language: MEG evidence for lexical preactivation.

Suzanne Dikker1, Liina Pylkkänen

  • 1Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, NY, USA; New York University, Department of Psychology, NY, USA.

Brain and Language
|October 9, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Brain scans reveal that predicting upcoming words activates specific brain regions before words are even heard. This predictive language processing involves a top-down network, from abstract concepts to visual features.

Keywords:
Language processingLexical primingLexical–semantic processingMagnetoencephalographyPredictionTop-down processingVisual cortex

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psycholinguistics

Background:

  • Prediction is theorized to be crucial for language processing.
  • Contextual information aids syntactic and lexical-semantic processing.
  • Neural evidence for the prediction process itself is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural correlates of predictive language processing.
  • To examine brain activity during the anticipatory stage of prediction.
  • To determine if predicted words activate neural networks before presentation.

Main Methods:

  • Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to measure brain activity.
  • Participants were presented with picture primes followed by nouns.
  • Brain responses were analyzed based on the predictability of the noun.

Main Results:

  • Predictive contexts enhanced brain activation in specific regions before noun onset.
  • Left mid-temporal cortex (lexical access) showed increased activation.
  • Ventro-medial prefrontal cortex (top-down processing) and visual cortex (form features) also showed successive activation.

Conclusions:

  • Predictive language processing involves a top-down network.
  • Predicted words are activated across multiple representational levels.
  • This study provides direct neural evidence for the anticipatory stage of language prediction.