Syntactic processing and Mismatch Negativity
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1
Southern Cross University, School of Health and Human Sciences, Australia
There is a debate as to whether syntactic processing is a top-down or bottom-up mechanism. Recent electroencephalographic (EEG) research has applied auditory Mismatch Negativity (MMN) to this issue (e.g. Pulvermüller, & Assadollahi, 2007; Pulvermüller, Shtyrov, Hasting, & Carlyon, 2008). In this research, an MMN has been observed to syntax (sMMN), which differs in amplitude from non-syntactic MMN controls.
Aims: The aim of this study was to examine whether a syntactic MMN could be obtained to visually-presented words.
Methods: EEG was recorded while participants observed word pairs on a screen, varying in grammatical correctness. A roving oddball paradigm, with correct and incorrect stimulus being presented as both deviants and standards at different times.
Results: There was vMMN effect to both the grammatically relevant word-pair changes and normal linguistic word-pair changes, but the MMN did not reflect changes in degree of syntactic violation. A number of other ERP components, including changes at about N1, P2 and P3 did differ in a way consistent with the detection of changes in syntactic correctness. These differences were not obtained in all conditions, however, suggesting that alternative explanations for their presence require consideration.
Conclusions: The findings of this study replicate those of Pulvermüller et al, (2007; 2008), but raise a question as to the degree to which these data are to be explained in terms of syntactic processing. The methodology employed here allows for a more precise determination of the accuracy of this claim, for which this study provides mixed evidence. If syntactic violation is indeed responsible for the effects obtained here, the range of ERP components involved would suggest that both top-down and bottom-up processes are involved.
Keywords:
mismatch negativity (MMN),
Semantic Processing,
roving oddball paradigm,
ERP components,
Word pairs
Conference:
Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Inc, Coffs Harbour, Australia, 26 Nov - 28 Nov, 2014.
Presentation Type:
Poster
Topic:
Psychophysiology
Citation:
Caslick-Waller
Z and
Provost
S
(2014). Syntactic processing and Mismatch Negativity.
Conference Abstract:
Australasian Society for Psychophysiology, Inc.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2014.216.00036
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Received:
02 Dec 2014;
Published Online:
02 Dec 2014.
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Correspondence:
Dr. Steve Provost, Southern Cross University, School of Health and Human Sciences, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia, steve.provost@scu.edu.au