An event-related potential study of the effects of semantic deviations: an application of a method of sequential-part...

The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of semantic deviations of picture stimuli by applying a method of sequential-part presentations. S1 stimuli were 10 pictures of animals which were divided into 7 x 7 portions and successively presented in random order. S2 stimuli were three types of pictures (A, the same as S1; B, semantically the same but physically different from S1; and C, both semantically and physically different from S1). Subjects were required to name S1 verbally after seeing S2. The largest N400 components of the event-related potential were elicited for Category C of S2, whereas large LPCs were elicited for Categories B and C. This suggests that a method of sequential-part presentations is effective for eliciting the N400 component of the event-related potential for picture stimuli.