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Sex Differences Influence ERP Components in Semantic Decisions
Fabiola R Gómez-Velázquez1, Vanessa D Ruiz-Stovel1, Carlos González-Medina1
1Instituto de Neurociencias, CUCBA, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44130, Mexico.
Brain Sciences
|July 28, 2026
Summary
This study reveals sex-based differences in how the brain predicts upcoming words during language comprehension, showing distinct neural patterns in males and females across various processing stages.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Electrophysiology
Background:
- Language comprehension relies on predictive mechanisms to anticipate upcoming words.
- Event-related potentials (ERPs), like N400 and P300, are key markers for semantic integration and expectancy.
- Understanding sex differences in these predictive processes is crucial but remains limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how individual sentence elements contribute to semantic prediction.
- To explore sex-based differences in electrophysiological markers of language processing.
- To examine the interplay between predictive and integrative stages of sentence comprehension.
Main Methods:
- EEG recording during a semantic decision task with Spanish sentences.
- Analysis of ERP components (N400, P300, P2, N2, LPC) during sequential word presentation.
- Behavioral performance and sex-specific ERP differences assessed via ANOVAs and correlational analyses.
Main Results:
- Males made more errors in detecting semantic incongruities.
- Sex differences in ERPs emerged early in sentence processing (from the third word).
- Males showed greater P2 and anticipatory P300-like positivity; females exhibited enhanced N2 and N400.
Conclusions:
- Semantic expectations are built progressively during sentence processing, supporting predictive models.
- Sex-related ERP variations occur across predictive, attentional, and semantic integration stages.
- Observed differences are quantitative and stage-specific, not qualitatively distinct language strategies.
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