Aphasic naming in Spanish: predictors and errors

Sixteen Spanish aphasic patients named drawings of objects on three occasions. Multiple regression analyses were carried out on the naming accuracy scores. For the patient group as a whole, naming was affected by visual complexity, object familiarity, age of acquisition, and word frequency. The combination of variables predicted naming accuracy in 15 of the 16 individual patients. Age of acquisition, word frequency, and object familiarity predicted performance in the greatest number of patients, while visual complexity, imageability, animacy, and length all affected performance in at least two patients. High proportions of semantic and phonological errors to particular objects were associated with objects having early learned names while high proportions of no-response errors were associated with low familiarity and low visual complexity. It is suggested that visual complexity and object familiarity affect the ease of object recognition while word frequency affects name retrieval. Age of acquisition may affect both stages, accounting for its influence in patients with a range of different patterns of disorder.     

Object naming in dyslexic children: more than a phonological deficit

In the present study, the authors investigate how some visual factors related to early stages of visual-object naming modulate naming performance in dyslexia. The performance of dyslexic children was compared with 2 control groups-normal readers matched for age and normal readers matched for reading level-while performing a discrete naming task in which color and dimensionality of the visually presented objects were manipulated. The results showed that 2-dimensional naming performance improved for color representations in control readers but not in dyslexics. In contrast to control readers, dyslexics were also insensitive to the stimulus's dimensionality. These findings are unlikely to be explained by a phonological processing problem related to phonological access or retrieval but suggest that dyslexics have a lower capacity for coding and decoding visual surface features of 2-dimensional representations or problems with the integration of visual information stored in long-term memory.     

Semantic and phonological information flow in the production lexicon

When speakers produce words, lexical access proceeds through semantic and phonological levels of processing. If phonological processing begins based on partial semantic information, processing is cascaded; otherwise, it is discrete. In standard models of lexical access, semantically processed words exert phonological effects only if processing is cascaded. In 3 experiments, speakers named pictures of objects with homophone names (ball), while auditory distractor words were heard beginning 150 ms prior to picture onset. Distractors speeded picture naming (compared with controls) only when related to the nondepicted meaning of the picture (e.g., dance), exhibiting an early phonological effect, thereby supporting the cascaded prediction. Distractors slowed picture naming when categorically (e.g., frisbee) related to the depicted picture meaning, but not when associatively (e.g., game) related to it. An interactive activation model is presented.     

Brain-potential evidence for the time course of access to biographical facts and names of familiar persons

On seeing familiar persons, biographical (semantic) information is typically retrieved faster and more accurately than name information. Serial stage models explain this pattern by suggesting that access to the name follows the retrieval of semantic information. In contrast, interactive activation and competition (IAC) models hold that both processes start together but name retrieval is slower because of structural peculiarities. With a 2-choice go/no-go procedure based on a semantic and a name-related classification, the authors tested differential predictions of the 2 alternative models for reaction times (RTs) and lateralized readiness potentials (LRP). Both LRP (Experiment 1) and RT (Experiment 2) results are in line with IAC models of face identification and naming.     

An interactive activation approach to object processing: Effects of structural similarity,name frequency,and task in normality and pathology

Abstract

We present a computational model of the processes involved in retrieving stored semantic and name information from objects, using a simple interactive activation and competition architecture. We simulate evidence showing a cross-over in normal reaction times to make semantic classification and identification responses to objects from categories with either structurally similar or structurally dissimilar exemplars, and that identification times to objects from these two different classes correlate differentially with measures of the structural similarity of objects within the category and the frequency of the object's name. Structural similarity exerts a negative effect on object decision as well as naming, though this effect is larger on naming. Also, on naming, structural similarity interacts with the effects of name frequency, captured in the model by varying the weight on connections from semantic to name units; frequency effects are larger with structurally dissimilar items. In addition, (1) the range of potential errors for objects from these two classes, when responses are elicited before activation reached a stable state, differ–a wider range of errors occur to objects from categories with structurally similar exemplars; and (2) simulated lesions to different locations within the model produce selective impairments to identification but not to semantic classification responses to objects from categories with structurally similar exemplars. We discuss the results in relation to data on visual object processing in both normality and pathology.     

Phonological recoding: Is the regularity effect consistent?

An attempt was made to distinguish between the dual-access and the activation and synthesis models of word identification. Word regularity and consistency were factorially manipulated. In two experiments lexical decisions were required, and in two the task was word naming. Within each task, comparisons were made of the effects achieved by manipulating the degree to which subjects were free to rely on a phonological, rather than a visual, stimulus code. The results suggested that lexical access generally involves the activation of lexical entries that are visually similar to the target, but that subjects do favor a phonological code when the task requires the naming of words only. The data were interpreted as requiring a model incorporating elements of both the dual-access and the activation and synthesis frameworks.     

From print to sound in mature readers as a function of reader ability and two forms of orthographic regularity

Four experiments using college students as subjects provide evidence that both highly skilled and less skilled mature readers derive the names of printed words from visual access of the lexicon rather than by phonological recoding. Regularity of pronunciation (regular vs. exception words) as a variable of orthographic regularity effectiveafter visual code formation had no effect either between or within reading ability groups. Less skilled readers made more errors and were slower than highly skilled readers on both types of words. Sing-letter spatial redundancy, as a variable of orthographic regularity that influences the formation of visual codes, served to differentiate the two groups only in naming nonwords. Highly skilled readers used spatial redundancy to offset the effect of array length, whereas less skilled readers did not. Except for high-frequency words, visual access and retrieval of the pronunciation of words was significantly faster for highly skilled readers. Less skilled readers were most disadvantaged in naming nonwords, a task that requires phonological recoding. Overall results support the hypothesis that reading ability in mature readers is related to the speed of word recognition. Highly skilled readers may make more use of variables of orthographic regularity effective in the formation of visual codes.     

Interference from related items in object identification

Interference between related items in the identification of objects was examined using a postcue procedure. Pairs of objects were presented as differently colored line drawings followed by a color cue to indicate which object to name. Naming latencies were longer when both objects were from the same superordinate category than when they were unrelated. This interference effect was replicated when subjects were cued to report the color of a drawing rather than its name. Interference was greatly reduced when more distinctive attributes were used to distinguish members of a pair, both when the task required naming an object and when it required report of an object's attribute. These results challenge accounts of interference in the postcue paradigm that are based on competitive interactions in the activation of phonological representations by semantics and instead implicate object-attribute integration in memory as the source of interference.     

Hierarchies, similarity, and interactivity in object recognition: "category-specific" neuropsychological deficits.

Category-specific impairments of object recognition and naming are among the most intriguing disorders in neuropsychology, affecting the retrieval of knowledge about either living or nonliving things. They can give us insight into the nature of our representations of objects: Have we evolved different neural systems for recognizing different categories of object? What kinds of knowledge are important for recognizing particular objects? How does visual similarity within a category influence object recognition and representation? What is the nature of our semantic knowledge about different objects? We review the evidence on category-specific impairments, arguing that deficits even for one class of object (e.g., living things) cannot be accounted for in terms of a single information processing disorder across all patients; problems arise at contrasting loci in different patients. The same apparent pattern of impairment can be produced by damage to different loci. According to a new processing framework for object recognition and naming, the hierarchical interactive theory (HIT), we have a hierarchy of highly interactive stored representations. HIT explains the variety of patients in terms of (1) lesions at different levels of processing and (2) different forms of stored knowledge used both for particular tasks and for particular categories of object.     

Phonological encoding is not contingent on semantic feature retrieval: an electrophysiological study on object naming

In the present study, the authors examined with event-related brain potentials whether phonological encoding in picture naming is mediated by basic semantic feature retrieval or proceeds independently. In a manual 2-choice go/no-go task the choice response depended on a semantic classification (animal vs. object) and the execution decision was contingent on a classification of name phonology (vowel vs. consonant). The introduction of a semantic task mixing procedure allowed for selectively manipulating the speed of semantic feature retrieval. Serial and parallel models were tested on the basis of their differential predictions for the effect of this manipulation on the lateralized readiness potential and N200 component. The findings indicate that phonological code retrieval is not strictly contingent on prior basic semantic feature processing.     

Neural activity reveals effects of aging on inhibitory processes during word retrieval

Word retrieval difficulties are one of the most frustrating problems for older adults. Poorer access to phonological representation of the target word has been postulated as the underlying deficit, supported by findings of improved word retrieval after phonological priming. To better understand aging effects in the underlying neurophysiology associated with word retrieval, this study examined electrophysiological correlates of phonological priming and word retrieval in adults. Young, middle-aged, and older adults viewed pictures that were preceded by pseudo-word primes that either shared initial phonemes with or were unrelated to the picture’s name. Participants made phonological judgments regarding the prime and picture prior to naming the picture. Behavioral and event-related potential correlates of phonological priming and word retrieval were recorded. All groups benefitted similarly from phonological priming, evidenced by faster phonological judgment response times and increased ease of word retrieval for primed pictures, indexed by the N400 priming effect. The peak latency of the N2, however, showed an incremental delay with age. High correlation between N2 peak latency and clinical measures of inhibition suggested an age-related delay in the inhibition of primed lexical competitors. Taken together, our results indicated intact activation of phonological representation of the picture’s name but age-related delays in inhibition of primed competitors. Interestingly, our findings revealed that delays in inhibiting lexical competitors may begin as early as middle age, highlighting the importance of including multiple age groups to better represent the aging trajectory.     

Self-reported inner speech relates to phonological retrieval ability in people with aphasia

Many individuals with aphasia report the ability to say words in their heads despite spoken naming difficulty. Here, we examined individual differences in the experience of inner speech (IS) in participants with aphasia to test the hypotheses that self-reported IS reflects intact phonological retrieval and that articulatory output processing is not essential to IS. Participants (N = 53) reported their ability to name items correctly internally during a silent picture-naming task. We compared this measure of self-reported IS to spoken picture naming and a battery of tasks measuring the underlying processes required for naming (i.e., phonological retrieval and output processing). Results from three separate analyses of these measures indicate that self-reported IS relates to phonological retrieval and that speech output processes are not a necessary component of IS. We suggest that self-reported IS may be a clinically valuable measure that could assist in clinical decision-making regarding anomia diagnosis and treatment.     

Phonological priming effects on speech onset latencies and viewing times in object naming

An earlier experiment (Meyer, Sleiderink, & Levelt, 1998) had shown that speakers naming object pairs usually inspected the objects in the required order of mention (left object first) and that the viewing time for the left object depended on the word frequency of its name. In the present experiment, object pairs were presented simultaneously with auditory distractor words that could be phonologically related or unrelated to the name of the object to be named first. The speech onset latencies and the viewing times for that object were shorter after related distractors than after unrelated distractors. Since this phonological priming effect, like the word frequency effect, most likely arises during wordform retrieval, we conclude that the shift of gaze from the first to the second object is initiated after the word form of the first object’s name has been accessed.     

A word-order constraint on phonological activation

Word-order rules impose major constraints on linguistic behavior. For example, adjectives appear before nouns in English, and after nouns in French. This means that constraints on word order must be language-specific properties upheld on-line by the language system. Despite the importance of these rules, little is known about how they operate. We report an influence of word order on the activation of phonological representations. Participants were presented with colored objects and asked to name either the colors or the objects; the phonological similarity between the object and color names was manipulated. French speakers showed a phonological congruency effect in color naming, but not in object naming. English participants yielded the opposite pattern: a phonological effect in object naming, but not in color naming. Differences in the typical order of nouns and adjectives in French and English provide a plausible account for this cross-linguistic contrast. More generally, these results provide direct evidence for the operation of word-order constraints during language production.     

汉语词汇产生中词汇选择和音韵编码之间的交互作用

采取图画－词汇干扰实验范式,探索汉语单音节词汇产生中词汇选择和音韵编码之间的交互作用。实验一探测目标图画语义相关项的语音激活,观察到了非目标项的语音激活。实验二探测目标图画语义相关项的字形激活,未发现非目标项的字形激活。在改进实验条件的基础上,实验三验证实验一和二,并探测目标图画字形相关项的语音激活以及语音相关项的字形激活,结果未探测到语义相关项的字形或语音激活、语音相关项的字形激活,只发现了字形相关项的语音激活。实验一至三的结果表明汉语词汇产生中存在目标字字形相关项的语音激活,但不存在从音韵编码阶段至词汇选择阶段的激活反馈。综合上述结果,从是否存在多重的字形或语音激活,以及是否存在从音韵编码至词汇选择的反馈两个方面进行了讨论。研究结果倾向于支持词汇产生中层叠式理论的观点     

Are age-of-acquisition effects on object naming due simply to differences in object recognition? Comments on Levelt (2002)

Levelt (2002) argued that apparent effects of word frequency and age of acquisition (AoA) reported in recent picture naming studies might actually be confounded effects operating at the level of object recognition, rather than relevant to theories of lexical retrieval. In order to investigate this issue, AoA effects were examined in an object recognition memory task (Experiments 1 and 2) and a word-picture verification task (Experiment 3) and compared with those found in naming tasks using the same pictures. Contrary to Levelt's concerns, the results of the three experiments show that the AoA effect on picture naming has a lexical origin and does not simply result from a possible confound of object identification times.     

Semantic cueing effects on word retrieval in aphasic patients with lexical retrieval deficit

We examined lexical access in word production, focusing on lexical retrieval deficit in aphasic patients. These patients were asked to name one picture at a time and we investigated how semantic cueing affected their ability to retrieve the word. When the subjects experienced a retrieval failure, they were presented with one type of cue, and then they tried to name the target picture again. Four types of cues were used: phonological, semantic related, semantic category member, and baseline cue. Both phonological and semantically related cues improved performance. In contrast, category member cues had no effects on releasing the retrieval block. These results can be explained by an interactive activation model in word production (Dell & O'Seaghdha, 1991).     

Synchronizing visual and language processing: an effect of object name length on eye movements

Are visual and verbal processing systems functionally independent? Two experiments (one using line drawings of common objects, the other using faces) explored the relationship between the number of syllables in an object's name (one or three) and the visual inspection of that object. The tasks were short-term recognition and visual search. Results indicated more fixations and longer gaze durations on objects having three-syllable names when the task encouraged a verbal encoding of the objects (i.e., recognition). No effects of syllable length on eye movements were found when implicit naming demands were minimal (i.e., visual search). These findings suggest that implicitly naming a pictorial object constrains the oculomotor inspection of that object, and that the visual and verbal encoding of an object are synchronized so that the faster process must wait for the slower to be completed before gaze shifts to another object. Both findings imply a tight coupling between visual and linguistic processing, and highlight the utility of an oculomotor methodology to understand this coupling.     

Picture Naming Deficits in Developmental Dyslexia: The Phonological Representations Hypothesis

The picture and word naming performance of developmental dyslexics was compared to the picture and word naming performance of non-dyslexic (“garden variety”) poor readers, reading age, and chronological age-matched controls. The stimulus list used for both tasks was systematically manipulated for word length and word frequency. In order to examine picture naming errors in more depth, an object name recognition test assessed each subject's vocabulary knowledge of those names which they were unable to spontaneously label in the picture naming task. Findings indicated that the dyslexic and the garden variety poor readers exhibited a picture naming deficit relative to both chronological and reading age-matched controls. Findings also indicated that both groups of impaired readers obtained superior scores in the word naming task than in the picture naming task, while both groups of controls showed no difference in performance across tasks. The dyslexics' picture naming errors, but not those of the garden variety poor readers, were particularly marked on polysyllabic and/or low frequency words, indicating a possible phonological basis to the picture naming deficit of the dyslexic children. These children also recognized significantly more unnamed target words than all comparison groups, suggesting a particular difficulty inretrievingthe phonological codes of known picture names rather than a vocabulary deficit. Results are discussed in terms of dyslexics' difficulty in encoding full segmental phonological representations of names in long-term memory and/or in processing these representations in order to generate required names on demand.     

Auditory context effects in picture naming investigated with event-related fMRI

Naming an object entails a number of processing stages, including retrieval of a target lexical concept and encoding of its phonological word form. We investigated these stages using the picture-word interference task in an fMRI experiment. Participants named target pictures in the presence of auditorily presented semantically related, phonologically related, or unrelated distractor words or in isolation. We observed BOLD signal changes in left-hemisphere regions associated with lexical-conceptual and phonological processing, including the midto-posterior lateral temporal cortex. However, these BOLD responses manifested as signal reductions for all distractor conditions relative to naming alone. Compared with unrelated words, phonologically related distractors showed further signal reductions, whereas only the pars orbitalis of the left inferior frontal cortex showed a selective reduction in response in the semantic condition. We interpret these findings as indicating that the word forms of lexical competitors are phonologically encoded and that competition during lexical selection is reduced by phonologically related distractors. Since the extended nature of auditory presentation requires a large portion of a word to be presented before its meaning is accessed, we attribute the BOLD signal reductions observed for semantically related and unrelated words to lateral inhibition mechanisms engaged after target name selection has occurred, as has been proposed in some production models.