When emotion modulates phonological encoding in speech production: age-related differences in neural dynamics

This study investigated how the emotional valence of distractor words influences age-related differences in phonological encoding, using the picture-word interference paradigm combined with event-related potential (ERP) technology. Behaviorally, younger adults showed a phonological facilitation effect, whereas older adults did not, implying an age-related decline in phonological encoding. Moreover, the influence of distractor word valence on phonological facilitation varied across age groups. In younger adults, facilitation emerged for positive distractor words, while in older adults, it appeared for negative distractor words. Critically, ERP results revealed that in younger adults, phonological effects occurred between 482 and 608 ms, with positive distractors eliciting effects within 436 to 606 ms, each marked by larger positive amplitudes in phonologically related conditions. In contrast, older adults exhibited 2 distinct time windows for negative distractor words (310 to 508 and 618 to 784 ms), both characterized by larger positive amplitudes in phonologically unrelated conditions. These findings indicate that emotional distractors differentially modulate the time course of phonological processing in younger and older adults, highlighting the importance of considering both cognitive aging and emotional context in understanding the dynamics of spoken word production.