Acessibilidade e paralelismo na interpretação do pronome sujeito e o contraste pro/pronome em português Accessibility, parallel function and the pro/pronoun contrast in Portuguese

O contraste pro/pronome em orações coordenadas em português é aqui explorado de modo a distinguirem-se os procedimentos através dos quais formas pronominais sujeito são interpretadas em diferentes contextos sintáticos e discursivos — através de estratégias de seleção de um antecedente lingüístico ou da recuperação "automática" de uma representação mantida particularmente ativada na memória de trabalho. Dois experimentos são relatados. O primeiro testa a hipótese de que o vínculo sintático entre a oração que contém a forma pronominal e a que contém seus possíveis antecedentes define condições de processamento que favorecem o uso de um ou de outro procedimento de interpretação. O segundo testa a hipótese de que o grau de ativação de uma dada representação na memória de trabalho (definido em relação a um sistema que opera em três níveis) afeta o modo como o sujeito pronominal de orações independentes é interpretado no discurso. Verifica-se que o contraste pro/ pronome pode ser re-estabelecido fora do âmbito de sentenças complexas uma vez que haja alteração local do foco da referência. A natureza deste contraste é discutida levando-se em conta as condições de processamento nas quais este se manifesta.<br>The contrastive interpretation of pro and pronoun in co-ordinate sentences by Portuguese speakers is explored here, as a means of distinguishing the procedures whereby pronominal forms are interpreted in different syntactic/discourse contexts - by means of a search-identification strategy (such as the parallel function strategy) or by means of the "automatic" recovery of a representation which is maintained particularly activated in working memory. Two experiments are reported. The first one tests the hypothesis that the kind of syntactic relationship that holds between the clause containing the pronominal form and the one containing possible antecedents defines processing conditions that favour one or another interpretation procedure. The second one tests the hypothesis that the degree of activation of a representation in working memory (defined in relation to a three-level activity working memory system) accounts for the interpretation of the pronominal subject of independent sentences in discourse. Local alteration of focus is shown to re-establish the pro/pronoun contrast at discourse level. The nature of this contrast is discussed in connection with the processing conditions in which it is manifested

Line by line: the ERP correlates of stroke order priming in letters

The perception of written letters reflects the action sequences that produce them. Faster recognition is observed for letters presented as sequences of strokes in a temporal order consistent with letter writing, compared to an inconsistent order. During a speeded letter identification task, parietal event-related potential (ERP) components were analysed separately for each stroke-frame in action-consistent and inconsistent stimulus sequences, during both passive and active (task-engaged) viewing. Electrophysiological data provided unique insights into stroke order priming by comparing local neural organisation during early, response-independent stages with later response-dependent stages. ERPs over posterior scalp areas revealed speeded visual processing for action-consistent stroke sequences prior to, and upon, letter completion. These signatures of perceptually facilitated letter processing were present in both active and passive viewing conditions, indicating that priming was not response-contingent, but rather an inherent part of visual letter perception. Stroke order priming is discussed in terms of matching stored letter production action codes, which upon activation provide top-down facilitation for visual processing of letters. 2009 Springer-Verlag