句子阅读理解过程中句意的建构时间

一般语言学理论认为, 在句子阅读理解过程中, 句子意义建构是基于词汇语义整合的, 其反映在N400之上, 开始于词语呈现后约250 ms。然而, 近年关于语义P600效应的研究却提示句意建构可能存在多通道或方式, 读者甚至可能在N400反映的加工出现之前就已建立了初步句意。为探明在句子阅读理解过程中是否存在比N400反映的加工更早的句意建构, 以及如果存在这样的句意建构, 其是从何时开始的, 本研究开展了四个实验。实验1发现被试在句末双字词呈现200 ms后已将其联系到上文语义表征而建立了句意, 提示句意建构开始于N400反映的加工出现之前。实验2与3进一步发现, 读者开始建立句意的时间约在句末词呈现了150 ms之时。实验4排除了实验1~3效应的其他一些可能解释, 提升了实验1~3结果的可靠性。总体上, 本研究提示：在句子阅读理解过程中, 读者在句末双字词呈现了约150 ms之时就已建立了句意; 可能存在比N400反映的加工更早的句意建构。     

中文阅读中副中央凹语义信息的提取：来自ERPs的证据

书面语言阅读过程中, 关于读者能否提取预视词汇的语义信息, 以往的研究仍有争议。鉴于边界技术在研究该问题时具有无法严格控制预视词呈现时间等一些局限性, 近年来有研究者利用ERPs技术结合伴侧RSVP范式对拼音语言中的语义预视效应进行研究。本研究首次将这一方法应用到中文句子阅读中, 并对实验材料进行了更严格的控制, 保证关键屏(目标名词位于右侧副中央凹处)内容在实验条件间完全相同, 避免以往类似研究中关键词自身属性信息对实验结果产生干扰。ERPs数据分析发现, 在关键屏呈现后, 语义违背相比合理条件诱发了更大的N400成分, 而关键后屏(目标名词位于中央凹处)呈现后, 两种条件间的N400成分无显著差异。该结果支持中文句子阅读中预视词汇语义信息可以得到提取, 并参与随后的语义整合过程。     

绝句韵律边界的认知加工及其脑电效应

语言理解过程中, 句子内部的韵律短语边界会诱发反映韵律短语终止的特异性脑电成分终止正漂移 (CPS, closure positive shift), 而句末语调短语边界则会诱发反映句法终止和完整语言单元结束的脑电效应P3。研究采用汉语特有的语篇绝句, 考察了听者加工绝句中各句末语调短语边界的认知过程及其诱发的脑电效应。结果发现五言绝句内部各语调短语边界分别诱发了时间进程、头皮分布和波幅均相同的CPS, 表明语篇内部韵律边界加工不受其所处语篇位置的影响; 五言和七言绝句末的韵律边界则分别诱发了一个P3, 并且前者诱发的P3波幅小于后者, 而二者在时间进程和头皮分布上不存在差异。本研究表明, 句末语调短语边界诱发何种脑电效应与其承担的功能有关, 既表示前面信息终止又预期后面信息出现的句末边界会诱发CPS, 而只表示信息终止的句末边界则会诱发P3。     

语篇语境对句子理解的影响：来自N400的证据

N400作为语义违反的特异性ERP组分,其波幅反映了语义整合加工过程的难度,因此可将其作为研究语篇语境意义建构过程的一项重要指标。语篇语境可分为语言语境和非语言语境。前人一系列基于语篇水平的N400研究表明,从语义的角度上看,语言语境对句子理解具有制约和协调作用,其机制涉及词汇语义启动、场景适宜性、文字内容信息以及因果推理等方面;非语言语境对句子理解具有制约和补充作用,但其机制尚不明确。两种不同来源的语义信息在实时理解中是同时得到加工的     

视野分离速示条件下歧义词意义判断研究

据已有研究．句子阅读理解的过程是复杂的。阐述其过程的理论之一是,句子阅读理解的过程可能是词的某些意义在整个句子中被整合而无关信息却被抑制的过程。由于此过程是在大脑两半球上进行的,两半球上需保持住语词及有关意义才能做出判断,因此,两半球各自起何作用呢?有人研究得到在图形负荷记忆下,左、右半球的加工效率均有所提高,甚至可能会出现两半球均势现象;两个半球上的语义系统也不一定起同等作用,     

熟悉性对汉语隐喻义与本义加工机制的影响

采用句子违反范式考察汉语隐喻义与本义加工机制的差异及隐喻熟悉性的调节作用。要求被试阅读不同熟悉性的隐喻和本义句子并判断句子正确性,记录其行为与脑电反应。结果显示,熟悉句子隐喻义的加工显著快于本义的加工,而新奇句子则本义的加工更快;脑电水平上,对于熟悉句子,隐喻义违反比本义违反诱发增强的N400和降低的P600效应,而对于新奇句子,隐喻义和本义违反诱发出基本类似的ERP反应。这些结果表明隐喻义和本义加工存在差异,熟悉性显著影响隐喻义的加工,这种影响在较早语义分析和较晚的语义整合阶段均有体现。     

汉语隐喻理解时程的ERPs研究

摘 要 本研究使用ERPs技术考察隐喻句与本义句理解时程的异同,以研究汉语隐喻的理解机制。以句尾范式向被试随机呈现本义句、熟悉隐喻句、新奇隐喻句及错误义句各50句,被试的任务为判断每句话是否有意义。结果显示：两种隐喻句诱发的N400波形与头皮分布情况和本义句无明显差异,且两种隐喻句诱发的N400波幅高于本义句。本研究结果证明汉语隐喻义和本义理解的认知机制类似,支持隐喻理解的平行加工假说,且加工隐喻义需要耗费更多的认知资源。     

多媒体学习中图文加工的认知神经机制

多媒体学习的认知理论和图文理解整合模型指出, 多媒体学习中图片和文字在早期阶段的加工遵循双通道假设, 在晚期不同表征的信息进行整合完成知识建构。理论上的探讨得到了神经科学实证研究的支持。脑成像研究发现, 图、文加工在早期的前语义阶段存在差异, 但晚期的信息整合阶段共享了同一语义系统。事件相关电位研究也发现在早期图片诱发了独特的N300成分, 而晚期图、文均诱发了N400效应。尽管现有研究已经明确了图、文共享同一语义系统, 但是信息是如何在这一系统中进行整合的还需要进一步的研究。     

知识整合的时间进程：ERP研究

本研究借助ERP技术,采用分离句子范式,考察了被试通过整合主干事实生成新知识的时间进程。结果发现：（1）知识整合事实相对于传递性推理事实和新颖事实诱发了更小的N400,与众所周知事实没有显著差异,表明通过整合生成的新信息已经快速纳入了语义知识库;（2）对比两次呈现,延迟性整合事实在第二次呈现的350ms之后波幅显著下降,与众所周知事实没有显著差异,表明知识经验影响了整合的时间进程,相较两个新信息之间的即时整合,新旧信息之间的延迟整合需要更多的时间。     

身体清洁启动后道德纯洁词加工的时间特征:来自ERPs的证据*

采用事件相关电位技术和语义启动范式,考察身体清洁刺激启动后对道德纯洁词加工的影响及其内在神经机制,探讨身体清洁信息与道德纯洁信息的认知加工特征。研究通过启动词(清洁词VS非清洁词)与目标词(道德纯洁词VS非词)四类刺激类型在N400波幅和潜伏期上有无差异来进行判断。结果发现,启动词(清洁词VS非清洁词)与目标词(道德纯洁词VS非词)四类刺激类型所诱发的N400成分差异显著,与非清洁词-道德纯洁词相比,清洁词-道德纯洁词所诱发了更小的N400波幅。结果表明:身体清洁词与道德纯洁词之间存在紧密的语义联结。身体清洁词启动后,个体更关注道德纯洁信息。     

Understanding words in sentence contexts: the time course of ambiguity resolution

Spoken language comprehension requires rapid integration of information from multiple linguistic sources. In the present study we addressed the temporal aspects of this integration process by focusing on the time course of the selection of the appropriate meaning of lexical ambiguities ("bank") in sentence contexts. Successful selection of the contextually appropriate meaning of the ambiguous word is dependent upon the rapid binding of the contextual information in the sentence to the appropriate meaning of the ambiguity. We used the N400 to identify the time course of this binding process. The N400 was measured to target words that followed three types of context sentences. In the concordant context, the sentence biased the meaning of the sentence-final ambiguous word so that it was related to the target. In the discordant context, the sentence context biased the meaning so that it was not related to the target. In the unrelated control condition, the sentences ended in an unambiguous noun that was unrelated to the target. Half of the concordant sentences biased the dominant meaning, and the other half biased the subordinate meaning of the sentence-final ambiguous words. The ISI between onset of the target word and offset of the sentence-final word of the context sentence was 100 ms in one version of the experiment, and 1250 ms in the second version. We found that (i) the lexically dominant meaning is always partly activated, independent of context, (ii) initially both dominant and subordinate meaning are (partly) activated, which suggests that contextual and lexical factors both contribute to sentence interpretation without context completely overriding lexical information, and (iii) strong lexical influences remain present for a relatively long period of time.     

语义整合的早期加工:来自ERPs的证据

本研究借助ERPs技术,通过操纵关键词与当前语境的语义合理性关系,考察在严格限定关键词词频变异性的情况下,语义整合过程能否反映在P2效应上。ERPs结果发现关键词呈现后,语义合理相比违背条件在右侧脑区诱发了更大的P2成分。该结果支持如果关键词低水平的变量信息(词频等)得到适当控制,ERPs技术可以检测到发生在250ms以前的语义整合过程。     

Differences in the perception and time course of syntactic and semantic violations

A reading time and an ERP experiment conducted in Italian investigated the parser's responses to a syntactic violation (subject-verb number agreement) and to a semantic violation (subject-verb selectional restriction), examining the time course of comprehension processes until sentence end. The reading-time data showed that the syntactic violation was detected earlier than the semantic one and that the two violations differed in the time-course. The ERP data fully supported the reading time data: Syntactic anomalies elicited a left anterior negativity (LAN) and a P600. Semantic anomalies elicited a N400 centred on the parietal sites which started 90 ms later (latency 430 ms) than the LAN. Furthermore, the N400 evoked by the words that followed the target word continued and increased until sentence end. The results are discussed with respect to the hypotheses that the parser constructs distinct syntactic and semantic analyses of a sentence and that this characteristic holds cross-linguistically. The appropriateness of different methodologies to the study of sentence processing is also evaluated.     

Word category and verb--argument structure information in the dynamics of parsing

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 presenting sentences in which the critical word simultaneously realized both a word category and a transitivity violation. ERPs for sentences with both types of violation clustered with the patterns for sentences with a word category violation only, but were different from the patterns elicited by argument structure violations in isolation, since only the latter elicited an N400 ERP component. The finding that an argument structure violation evoked an N400 only if the phrase structure of the respective sentence was correct suggests that a successful integration of the word category information of a verb functionally precedes the application of its argument structure information.     

语篇背景在语义整合中的作用

通过眼动实验考察了语篇背景对不同类型句子语义整合过程的影响。句子类型有3个水平：(1)宾语违反了动词的选择性限制; (2)宾语符合选择性限制, 但是违反了世界知识; (3)无违反。语篇背景有2个水平：(1)中性背景; (2)校正背景。在中性语篇背景下, 句子(1) (2)是不合适的; 而在校正背景下, 三种句子都是合理的。24名大学生被试自然阅读的眼动数据表明, 违反动词选择性限制的目标词上的首次注视时间、回视路径时间和总注视时间, 在中性背景下比在校正背景下长, 注视点个数也更多; 而在非选择性限制违反条件下, 语篇背景的效应只在总注视时间和注视点个数两个指标上显著。这些结果表明, 当句子中的宾语违反了动词的选择性限制时, 语篇背景影响了宾语的早期和晚期加工。而当宾语只违反世界知识时, 语篇背景的作用体现在晚期阶段。语篇背景对当前信息的整合是动态的过程, 并不是只能在固定某个阶段起作用。     

The effects of processing requirements on neurophysiological responses to spoken sentences

Ten English speaking subjects listened to sentences that varied in sentential constraint (i.e., the degree to which the context of a sentence predicts the final word of that sentence) and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during the presentation of the final word of each sentence. In the Control condition subjects merely listened to the sentences. In the Orthographic processing condition subjects merely listened to the sentences. In the Orthographic processing condition subjects decided, following each sentence, whether a given letter had been present in the final word of the preceding sentence. In the Phonological processing condition the subjects judged whether a given speech sound was contained in the terminal word. In the Semantic processing condition subjects determined whether the final word was a member of a given semantic category. A previous finding in the visual modality that the N400 component was larger in amplitude for low constraint sentence terminations than for high was extended to the auditory modality. It was also found that the amplitude of a N200-like response was similarly responsive to contextual constraint. The hypothesis that N400 amplitude would vary significantly with the depth of processing of the terminal word was not supported by the data. The "N200" recorded in this language processing context showed the classic frontocentral distribution of the N200. The N400 to spoken sentences had a central/centroparietal distribution similar to the N400 in visual modality experiments. It is suggested that the N400 obtained in these sentence contexts reflects an automatic semantic processing of words that occurs even when semantic analysis is not required to complete a given task. The cooccurrence and topographical dissimilarity of the "N200" and N400 suggest that the N400 may not be a delayed or a generic N200.     

Event-related potential indicators of text integration across sentence boundaries

An event-related potentials (ERPs) study examined word-to-text integration processes across sentence boundaries. In a two-sentence passage, the accessibility of a referent for the first content word of the second sentence (the target word) was varied by the wording of the first sentence in one of the following ways: lexically (explicitly using a form of the target word); conceptually (using a paraphrase of the target word), and situationally (encouraging an inference concerning the referent of the target word). A baseline condition had no coreference between the two sentences. ERP results on the target word indicated multiple effects related to word identification and word-to-referent mapping processes. Both the explicit and paraphrase conditions, but not the inference condition, showed a reduced N400 relative to the baseline condition, consistent with immediate integration by lexico-semantic processes. A 300-ms effect (P300) was found in the paraphrase condition. The results were consistent with an immediate integration hypothesis and furthermore differentiated a lexical (N200), a conceptual (P300), and a situational (N400) component for this integration. The conceptual basis appears not to extend to predictive inferences.     

Event-related potential sensitivity to acoustic and semantic properties of terminal words in sentences.

This experiment was concerned with the effects of phonologically correct masking on the electrophysiological responses to terminal words of spoken sentences differing in contextual constraint. Two event-related potential (ERP) components, the N400 and N200, were recorded to the terminal words of high and low constraint sentences in four conditions. In the Control condition, subjects (Ss) simply attended to the sentences with no explicit task instructions. In the Semantic condition, Ss were required to listen to the stimuli in order to make semantic judgements about the terminal word of each sentence. The Control+Masking condition was identical to the Control condition except for the simultaneous presentation of a masking stimulus. The Semantic+Masking condition had Ss listening to sentences in the presence of masking with the task of making semantic judgements about the terminal word of each sentence. ERPs were recorded from Fz, Cz, Pz, T3, and T4 in 10 subjects. Amplitudes of both the N200 and the N400 were sensitive to contextual constraint with larger responses elicited by the terminal words of low constraint sentences. In addition to demonstrating the co-occurrence of the N200 and N400, this experiment highlighted a functional separation between the two components. Masking had no statistically significant effect on N200 latency but N400 latency was delayed in the masked conditions relative to those in the unmasked conditions. It is proposed that the N200 and N400 are manifestations of two different processes; the N200 reflects the acoustic/phonological processing of the terminal word while the N400 reflects the cognitive/linguistic processing. The relationship between the N200 recorded in this experiment and the discrimination N200 is discussed.