Representation and processing of multi-word expressions in the brain
Language comprehension is sensitive to the predictability of the upcoming information. Prediction allows for smooth, expedient and successful communication. While general discourse-based constraints have been investigated in detail, more specific phrase-level prediction has received little attention...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Elsevier
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47836/ |
| _version_ | 1848797641909993472 |
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| author | Siyanova-Chanturia, Anna Conklin, Kathy Caffarra, Sendy Kaan, Edith van Heuven, Walter J.B. |
| author_facet | Siyanova-Chanturia, Anna Conklin, Kathy Caffarra, Sendy Kaan, Edith van Heuven, Walter J.B. |
| author_sort | Siyanova-Chanturia, Anna |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Language comprehension is sensitive to the predictability of the upcoming information. Prediction allows for smooth, expedient and successful communication. While general discourse-based constraints have been investigated in detail, more specific phrase-level prediction has received little attention. We address this gap by exploring the ERPs elicited during the comprehension of English binomials – familiar and predictable multi-word expressions. In Experiment 1a, participants read binomial expressions (knife and fork), infrequent strongly associated phrases (spoon and fork), and semantic violations (theme and fork). In Experiment 1b, participants read the same stimuli without “and”. Experiment 1a revealed that binomials elicited larger P300s and smaller N400s compared to the other conditions, reflecting the activation of a ‘template’ that matches the upcoming information (P300) and pointing to easier semantic integration (N400). In contrast, no differences were observed between binomials and associates in Experiment 1b. We conclude that distinct mechanisms underlie the processing of predicable and novel sequences. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:07:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-47836 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:07:07Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-478362020-05-04T19:25:08Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47836/ Representation and processing of multi-word expressions in the brain Siyanova-Chanturia, Anna Conklin, Kathy Caffarra, Sendy Kaan, Edith van Heuven, Walter J.B. Language comprehension is sensitive to the predictability of the upcoming information. Prediction allows for smooth, expedient and successful communication. While general discourse-based constraints have been investigated in detail, more specific phrase-level prediction has received little attention. We address this gap by exploring the ERPs elicited during the comprehension of English binomials – familiar and predictable multi-word expressions. In Experiment 1a, participants read binomial expressions (knife and fork), infrequent strongly associated phrases (spoon and fork), and semantic violations (theme and fork). In Experiment 1b, participants read the same stimuli without “and”. Experiment 1a revealed that binomials elicited larger P300s and smaller N400s compared to the other conditions, reflecting the activation of a ‘template’ that matches the upcoming information (P300) and pointing to easier semantic integration (N400). In contrast, no differences were observed between binomials and associates in Experiment 1b. We conclude that distinct mechanisms underlie the processing of predicable and novel sequences. Elsevier 2017-12-31 Article PeerReviewed Siyanova-Chanturia, Anna, Conklin, Kathy, Caffarra, Sendy, Kaan, Edith and van Heuven, Walter J.B. (2017) Representation and processing of multi-word expressions in the brain. Brain and Language, 175 . pp. 111-122. ISSN 1090-2155 Multi-word expressions; Binomials; Frequency; Predictability; ERPs; P300; N400 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2017.10.004 doi:10.1016/j.bandl.2017.10.004 doi:10.1016/j.bandl.2017.10.004 |
| spellingShingle | Multi-word expressions; Binomials; Frequency; Predictability; ERPs; P300; N400 Siyanova-Chanturia, Anna Conklin, Kathy Caffarra, Sendy Kaan, Edith van Heuven, Walter J.B. Representation and processing of multi-word expressions in the brain |
| title | Representation and processing of multi-word expressions in the brain |
| title_full | Representation and processing of multi-word expressions in the brain |
| title_fullStr | Representation and processing of multi-word expressions in the brain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Representation and processing of multi-word expressions in the brain |
| title_short | Representation and processing of multi-word expressions in the brain |
| title_sort | representation and processing of multi-word expressions in the brain |
| topic | Multi-word expressions; Binomials; Frequency; Predictability; ERPs; P300; N400 |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47836/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47836/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47836/ |