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

Language and Cognition

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Predictive Validity of Hypothesized Risk Factors for Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome.

Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology·2026

Same author

Chronic Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps in Eosinophilic Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis: A Scoping Review.

International forum of allergy & rhinology·2026

Same author

The 'Prostate Cancer Screening for People at Genetic Risk of Aggressive Disease' (PATROL) study.

BJU international·2026

Same author

Spatiotemporal Medicare Reimbursement Trends and Economic Clusters in Otologic/Neurotologic Surgery.

The Laryngoscope·2026

Same author

Anthropometric Measurements Inform Complete Concentric Collapse Status in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

OTO open·2026

Same author

Diagnostic Performance of the Stenvers and Pöschl Planes on CT in the Evaluation of Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence.

AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 4, 2026

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Published on: July 5, 2015

Attention Modulates Electrophysiological Responses to Simultaneous Music and Language Syntax Processing.

Daniel J Lee¹, Harim Jung², Psyche Loui^3,4

¹Department of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 06459, USA. jdlee@wesleyan.edu.

|November 6, 2019

Summary

Attention impacts how the brain processes music and language syntax. Early music syntax processing appears automatic, but focused attention influences later stages for both music and language.

Keywords:

attention comprehension electroencephalography event-related potentials language music syntax

More Related Videos

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Published on: October 24, 2012

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI with Auditory Stimulation in Songbirds

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI with Auditory Stimulation in Songbirds

Published on: June 3, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 4, 2026

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Published on: July 5, 2015

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Mapping Cortical Dynamics Using Simultaneous MEG/EEG and Anatomically-constrained Minimum-norm Estimates: an Auditory Attention Example

Published on: October 24, 2012

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI with Auditory Stimulation in Songbirds

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging fMRI with Auditory Stimulation in Songbirds

Published on: June 3, 2013

Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Neuroscience of Music
Psycholinguistics

Background:

Music and language share neural resources, especially for syntax processing.
Attention's role in modulating this shared processing and its temporal dynamics require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the time-course of attention's effects on music and language syntax processing using EEG.
To examine how top-down attention influences the neural responses to syntactic violations in music and language.

Main Methods:

Electroencephalography (EEG) study with simultaneous music and language stimuli.
Manipulation of syntactic structures in musical chord progressions and garden-path sentences.
Varied top-down attention to music and language within a rapid serial visual presentation paradigm.

Main Results:

Early Right Anterior Negativity (ERAN) observed for both attended and unattended musical syntax violations, suggesting automatic early processing.
N400 response to linguistic syntax violations only when language was attended.
P3/P600 response to musical syntax violations only when music was attended.

Conclusions:

Early musical syntax processing (ERAN) is relatively automatic.
Top-down attention significantly alters later stages of syntax processing in both music and language.
Attention plays a crucial role in differentiating neural responses to syntactic information in music and language.