Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 16, 2026
Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology
Published on: June 29, 2021
Temporal dynamics of perceptual integrity and semantic congruency during color-word processing: An ERP and decoding
Guanghui Zhang1, Ying Xin2, Liting Song3
1Institute of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, Liaoning, China; Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Province, Dalian, China; Center for Mind & Brain, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
This study reveals that visual word recognition processes perceptual features before semantic information. Event-related potentials (ERPs) and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) show distinct temporal dynamics for font integrity and color congruency.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Visual word recognition integrates perceptual and semantic information.
- The temporal interplay between these processes during neural processing is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the temporal dynamics of perceptual (font completeness) and semantic (color-word congruency) processing in visual word recognition.
- To examine the interaction between these factors across early and late neural processing stages.
Main Methods:
- Employed event-related potentials (ERPs) and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) in a modified Stroop experiment.
- Participants viewed Chinese color words with varying font integrity and color congruency.
Main Results:
- ERPs showed font integrity influenced early components (N170), while color congruency affected later components (LPP).
- MVPA demonstrated decodable information for font integrity (150-600 ms) and color congruency (360-800 ms).
- No interaction between factors was found in MVPA, unlike in ERPs.
Conclusions:
- Findings support a two-stage processing model: perceptual features precede semantic integration.
- ERPs and MVPA reveal distinct temporal profiles for perceptual and semantic processing in word recognition.
