The diffusion model for 2-choice decisions (R. Ratcliff, 1978) was applied to data from lexical decision experiments in which word frequency, proportion of high- versus low-frequency words, and type of nonword were manipulated. The model gave a good account of all of the dependent variables--accuracy, correct and error response times, and their…

B. Rapp and M. Goldrick (2000) claimed that the lexical and mixed error biases in picture naming by aphasic and nonaphasic speakers argue against models that assume a feedforward-only relationship between lexical items and their sounds in spoken word production. The author contests this claim by showing that a feedforward-only model like WEAVER++…

One of the core issues in psycholinguistic research concerns the relationship between word category information and verb-argument structure (e.g. transitivity) information of verbs in the process of sentence parsing. In two experiments (visual versus auditory presentation) using event-related brain potentials (ERPs), we addressed this question by…

Visually presented letter strings consistently yield three MEG response components: the M170, associated with letter-string processing (Tarkiainen, Helenius, Hansen, Cornelissen, & Salmelin, 1999); the M250, affected by phonotactic probability, (Pylkkanen, Stringfellow, & Marantz, 2002); and the M350, responsive to lexical frequency (Embick,…

In addition to information about phonology, morphology and syntax, lexical entries contain semantic information about participants (e.g., Agent). However, the traditional criteria for determining how much participant information is lexically encoded have proved unreliable. We have proposed two semantic criteria (obligatoriness and selectivity)…

Through much is known about the N400 component, an event-related EEG potential that is sensitive to semantic manipulations, it is unclear whether modulations of N400 amplitude reflect automatic processing, controlled processing, or both. We examined this issue using a semantic judgment task that manipulated local and global contextual cues. Word…

This study investigated how normal subjects and Broca's and Wernicke's aphasics integrate thematic information incrementally using syntax, lexical-semantics, and pragmatics in a simple active declarative sentence. Three priming experiments were conducted using an auditory lexical decision task in which subjects made a lexical decision on a…

The paper presents a computational model of language in which linguistic abilities evolve in organisms that interact with an environment. Each individual's behavior is controlled by a neural network and we study the consequences in the network's internal functional organization of learning to process different classes of words. Agents are selected…

There are two significant problems in using functional neuroimaging methods to study language. Improving the state of functional brain imaging will depend on understanding how the dependent measure of brain imaging differs from behavioral dependent measures (the ''dependent measure problem'') and how the activation of the motor system may be…

It is generally assumed that the lexical and phonological systems are involved in writing to dictation. In an experiment concerned with the writing of words and non-words to dictation, the handwriting of female students was registered using a digitising tablet. The data contradict the assumption that the phonological system represents an alexical…

Two fluent aphasics, IG and GL, performed a phonological priming task in which they repeated an auditory prime then named a target picture. The two patients both had selective deficits in word production: they were at or near ceiling on lexical comprehension tasks, but were significantly impaired in picture naming. IG's naming errors included both…

Studies monitoring eye-movements in scenes containing entities have provided robust evidence for incremental reference resolution processes. This paper addresses the less studied question of whether depicted event scenes can affect processes of incremental thematic role-assignment. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants inspected…

Dijkstra and Van Heuven sketch the BIA+ model for visual word processing in bilinguals. BIA+ differs in a number of respects from its predecessor, BIA, the leading implemented model of bilingual visual word recognition. Notably, BIA+ contains a new processing component that deals with task demands. BIA+ has not been computationally implemented yet…

Four experiments support the hypothesis that syntactically relevant information about verbs is encoded in the lexicon in semantic event templates. A verb's event template represents the participants in an event described by the verb and the relations among the participants. The experiments show that lexical decision times are longer for verbs with…

The gap/gapless processing debate in the psycholinguistics literature contrasts two processing models: one that assumes the trace-based Government and Binding (or Principles and Parameters) Grammar and the (augmented) Active Filler Strategy and one that assumes the traceless Dependency Categorial Grammar and the Principle of Dependency Formation.…