Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 21, 2026

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: June 25, 2019
The curious case of processing unaccusative verbs in aphasia
Natalie Sullivan1, Matthew Walenski2, Tracy Love1,2
1SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders, School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Diego, CA, USA.
Background:
Individuals with agrammatic Broca's aphasia (IWBA) exhibit a delay in lexical activation in S-V-O word order sentences and delayed lexical reactivation in sentences that contain syntactic dependencies. This pattern is in contrast to neurologically unimpaired individuals who immediately evince lexical reactivation at the gap in sentences that contain syntactic dependencies. However, in the case of sentences that contain unaccusative verbs, neurologically unimpaired individuals also exhibit a delay in lexical reactivation. This delay provides a unique opportunity to further examine lexical delays in IWBA.
Aim:
The purpose of the current studies is to investigate the online comprehension of sentences that contain unaccusative verbs in IWBA and in a group of age-matched control (AMC) individuals.
Methods And Procedures:
Cross-modal picture priming was used to test for priming of a displaced lexical item (direct object noun) immediately after the unaccusative verb (at the gap) during the ongoing auditory stream and at three additional time points downstream from the verb (500 ms, 750 ms, and 1,250 ms).
Outcomes And Results:
Delayed reactivation of the displaced lexical item downstream from the gap (similar to prior reports of delayed reactivation with younger unimpaired listeners) for both the AMCs and the IWBA was found.
Conclusion:
These results provide support that IWBA do not evince a delayed time course of lexical reactivation for unaccusative verbs compared to neurologically unimpaired individuals.
More Related Videos
07:36Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
Published on: November 30, 2018
08:32Examining Online Syntactic Processing of Spoken Complex Sentences in Chinese Using Dual-Modal Interference Tasks
Published on: September 5, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
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...
Visual Agnosia
Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior
Prosopagnosia
Language and Cognition
Subconsciousness and No Awareness
An illustrative example of subconscious processing is its role in problem-solving. Often, individuals...