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Phonological facilitation in picture naming: When and where? A tDCS study
Alberto Pisoni1, Milena Cerciello2, Zaira Cattaneo3
1Department of Psychology, Università degli studi di Milano Bicocca, P.zza Dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy; NeuroMi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milano, Italy.
Neuroscience
|April 8, 2017
Summary
Phonological facilitation (PF) effects in word production are reduced by stimulating the left superior temporal gyrus (LSTG). This supports the "activation by competition" model, suggesting inhibition plays a key role in both PF and semantic interference.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Phonological facilitation (PF) reduces naming latencies with phonologically related words.
- Semantic interference (SI) increases latencies with semantically related words.
- Debate exists on whether PF and SI occur pre- or post-lexical selection.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the neural correlates of phonological facilitation (PF).
- Compare PF neural correlates with existing findings on semantic interference (SI).
- Clarify the timing and mechanisms of PF and SI in word production.
Main Methods:
- Utilized anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over LSTG and LIFG.
- Employed a picture-word interference task with auditory distracters.
- Manipulated stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) to 150ms and 300ms.
Main Results:
- Anodal tDCS over LSTG significantly reduced PF.
- LSTG stimulation decreased reaction times (RTs) in phonologically unrelated trials.
- Anodal tDCS over LIFG did not significantly affect PF.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the
- activation by competition
- model of word production.
- Suggests inhibition between target and distracter nodes underlies PF and SI.
- Indicates LSTG plays a crucial role in phonological processing during word production.