When Words Sound Alike: Decoding Homophone Processing in Chinese Primary Progressive Aphasia
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 9, 2026

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology
Published on: June 29, 2021
Abstract:
Chinese is one of the living languages with the highest homophone densities, making homophone processing a critical component of language comprehension and orthographic decoding, as well as an ideal model for examining its cognitive mechanisms. This study assessed mono- and bi-character homophone selection function in 129 Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking participants, including 66 cognitively healthy individuals, 17 with semantic variant (sv) primary progressive aphasia (PPA), 23 with the nonfluent/agrammatic variant (nfv) PPA, and 23 with the logopenic variant (lv) PPA. All PPA variants showed impairment in homophone selection, with most significant deficits in svPPA and lvPPA. ROC analyses demonstrated its strong diagnostic utility for distinguishing PPA from controls. Voxel-based morphometry revealed that homophone performance correlated with gray-matter volume in left anterior and inferior temporal regions, with variant-specific patterns observed. These findings described the potential role of homophone selection in diagnosing PPA syndrome in Chinese speakers, illuminate cross-linguistic influences on language impairment in PPA, and provide novel insights into the cognitive processing of homophones.
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...
Language and Cognition
Perceiving Language Sounds and Structure During Infancy
First Words During Infancy and Toddlerhood: Part 1
Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon
Visual Agnosia

