Does consonant–vowel skeletal structure play a role early in lexical processing? Evidence from masked priming

Published online: 02 November 2017Is the specific consonant–vowel (CV) letter combination of a word a basic source of information for lexical access in the early stages of processing? We designed two masked priming lexical decision experiments to respond to this question by directly examining the role of CV skeletal structure in written-word recognition. To that aim, each target word was preceded by a one-letter different nonword prime that kept the same CV skeletal structure or not. We also included an identity prime as a control. Results showed faster word identification times in the CV congruent condition than in the CV incongruent condition when a consonant was replaced from the target (paesaje–PAISAJE < parsaje–PAISAJE), but not when it was a vowel (alusno–ALUMNO = alueno–ALUMNO). This dissociation poses problems for those accounts based on an early activation of the CV skeletal structure during lexical processing. Instead, this pattern of data favors the view that it is the word's consonant skeleton rather than the CV skeletal structure that is the key element in the early phases of word processing. We discuss the theoretical and methodological implications of these findings.The research reported in this article was partially supported by Grants PSI2014-53444-P and BES-2015-07414 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness

Does consonant–vowel skeletal structure play a role early in lexical processing? Evidence from masked priming

Published online: 02 November 2017Is the specific consonant–vowel (CV) letter combination of a word a basic source of information for lexical access in the early stages of processing? We designed two masked priming lexical decision experiments to respond to this question by directly examining the role of CV skeletal structure in written-word recognition. To that aim, each target word was preceded by a one-letter different nonword prime that kept the same CV skeletal structure or not. We also included an identity prime as a control. Results showed faster word identification times in the CV congruent condition than in the CV incongruent condition when a consonant was replaced from the target (paesaje–PAISAJE < parsaje–PAISAJE), but not when it was a vowel (alusno–ALUMNO = alueno–ALUMNO). This dissociation poses problems for those accounts based on an early activation of the CV skeletal structure during lexical processing. Instead, this pattern of data favors the view that it is the word's consonant skeleton rather than the CV skeletal structure that is the key element in the early phases of word processing. We discuss the theoretical and methodological implications of these findings.The research reported in this article was partially supported by Grants PSI2014-53444-P and BES-2015-07414 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness

Does letter rotation slow down orthographic processing in word recognition?

Leading neural models of visual word recognition assume that letter rotation slows down the conversion of the visual input to a stable orthographic representation (e.g., local detectors combination model; Dehaene, Cohen, Sigman, & Vinckier, 2005, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 335–341). If this premise is true, briefly presented rotated primes should be less effective at activating word representations than those primes with upright letters. To test this question, we conducted a masked priming lexical decision experiment with vertically presented words either rotated 90° or in marquee format (i.e., vertically but with upright letters). We examined the impact of the format on both letter identity (masked identity priming: identity vs. unrelated) and letter position (masked transposed-letter priming: transposed-letter prime vs. replacement-letter prime). Results revealed sizeable masked identity and transposed-letter priming effects that were similar in magnitude for rotated and marquee words. Therefore, the reading cost from letter rotation does not arise in the initial access to orthographic/lexical representations

Does orthographic processing emerge rapidly after learning a new script?

Epub 2020 Aug 11Orthographic processing is characterized by location-invariant and location-specific processing (Grainger, 2018): (1) strings of letters are more vulnerable to transposition effects than the strings of symbols in same-different tasks (location-invariant processing); and (2) strings of letters, but not strings of symbols, show an initial position advantage in target-in-string identification tasks (location-specific processing). To examine the emergence of these two markers of orthographic processing, we conducted a same-different task and a target-in-string identification task with two unfamiliar scripts (pre-training experiments). Across six training sessions, participants learned to fluently read and write one of these scripts. The post-training experiments were parallel to the pre-training experiments. Results showed that the magnitude of the transposed-letter effect in the same-different task and the serial function in the target-in-string identification tasks were remarkably similar for the trained and untrained scripts. Thus, location-invariant and location-specific processing does not emerge rapidly after learning a new script; instead, they may require thorough experience with specific orthographic structures.This study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (PRE2018-083922, PSI2017-86210-P) and by the Department of Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society of the Valencian Government (GV/2020/074

El acceso a las representaciones abstractas durante el reconocimiento visual de palabras y la lectura

El principal objetivo de la tesis doctoral fue el análisis de los efectos de similitud visual de letras, tanto en los primeros momentos del reconocimiento visual de palabras, como durante la lectura. Esto se analizó desde una perspectiva conductual (tiempos de reacción), mediante la investigación de seguimiento ocular durante la lectura de frases (en las que la palabra-test sería presentada en la parafóvea), así como empleando un registro de la actividad electrofisiológica (mediante el registro de potenciales relacionados con el evento [PRE]), de manera que se pueda determinar con mayor precisión el curso temporal de los mismos. Es decir, no estudiamos qué es lo perceptivo, sino cómo y cuándo se llega de lo perceptivo a lo abstracto y los factores que lo modulan. Para ello, hemos realizado una serie de experimentos en este contexto que pueden tener importantes repercusiones para los modelos teóricos de reconocimiento visual de palabras. Los resultados de estos experimentos han mostrado que, aunque el sistema cognitivo es capaz de activar representaciones léxicas abstractas, la similitud visual y la familiaridad de la forma de la palabra juegan un papel modulador en los primeros momentos de la identificación de la misma. La aproximación a este tema ha sido realizada a través de diferentes técnicas, con el objetivo de obtener una visión global de los fenómenos bajo estudio: 1) tareas conductuales en las que se recogen los tiempos de reacción; 2) tareas de lectura de frases en las que se registran las duraciones de las fijaciones oculares; y 3) tareas de lectura en las que se recogen correlatos electrofisiológicos asociados a procesos cognitivos. Además, se han examinado las posibles repercusiones prácticas de los distintos hallazgos obtenidos en los experimentos plasmados en la tesis doctoral. En definitiva, gracias al uso de diferentes técnicas y tareas realizadas en los experimentos descritos en la tesis doctoral, hemos podido analizar los procesos más tempranos y automáticos comprobando así, que nuestro sistema perceptivo puede confundirse fácilmente en los primeros momentos de procesamiento. Para llegar a estas conclusiones hemos mostrado que en los primeros momentos de procesamiento foveal y parafoveal, existe cierto grado de incertidumbre en el código ortográfico para aquellas letras que son visualmente similares a otras. Este hecho también lo hemos corroborado al rastrear el curso del tiempo de los efectos de la similitud visual de letras, analizando los correlatos electrofisiológicos durante la lectura de palabras. Finalmente, de los estudios anteriormente presentados y de otros realizados en nuestro laboratorio, podemos desarrollar diferentes estrategias a llevar acabo. Estos hallazgos podrán ayudar a los niños que están aprendiendo a leer y a las personas que tengan dificultades en la lectura en cuanto al proceso de codificación de identidad/posición de las letras durante el reconocimiento visual de palabras, lo que conllevaría mejores resultados en la lectura y, en definitiva, una mayor comprensión de los textos escritos. Estas estrategias pueden ser empleadas tanto en el contexto escolar como en el contexto educativo en general. Además, estas investigaciones pueden ser a su vez relevantes para diversos colectivos como son las personas con ceguera y las personas sordas, así como diferentes ámbitos de la sociedad como pueden ser la educación y el marketing

The Use of Commas in Secondary-Education Students and Its Relationship with Reading Comprehension: The Case of Spanish

The correct use of punctuation marks in secondary-school students is essential for the comprehension of written texts and, therefore, for the students’ academic success. However, the examination of this issue has often been overlooked in the literature. In the present study, we focused on the progression of comma usage (i.e., a punctuation mark that is often challenging to master) and examined its relation to reading comprehension. A sample of first- and fourth-year secondary-education students from Spain (N = 115) punctuated brief texts in which commas had been previously omitted. The original texts included various types of mandatory commas in Spanish. We also obtained a reading comprehension score from a standardized reading test. Results show that secondary-education students often did not correctly place the commas, with first-year secondary-education students only succeeding in the correct placement of commas 54.5% of the time in (Year 8 in the UK system). This figure increased to 80.9% in fourth-year secondary-education students (Year 11 in the UK system). As a control, this figure rose to 91.5% in first-year university students. Critically, better comprehenders were the ones with better use of punctuation marks (r = 0.33). These results are useful for developing teaching methods to improve writing/reading skills in secondary-school students.The research reported in this article was partially supported by Grant GV/2020/074 from the Department of Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society of the Valencian Government to Ana Marcet, Grant CIAICO/2021/172 from the Department of Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society of the Valencian Government to Manuel Perea, and by Grant PID2020-116740GB-I00 (funded by the MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities to Manuel Perea

Is there a cost at encoding words with joined letters during visual word recognition?

For simplicity, models of visual-word recognition have focused on printed words composed of separated letters, thus overlooking the processing of cursive words. Manso de Zuniga, Humphreys, and Evett (1991) claimed that there is an early 'cursive normalization' encoding stage when processing written words with joined letters. To test this claim, we conducted a lexical decision experiment in which words were presented either with separated or joined letters. To examine if the cost of letter segmentation occurs early in processing, we also manipulated a factor (i.e., word-frequency) that is posited to affect subsequent lexical processing. Results showed faster response times for the words composed of separated letters than for the words composed of joined letters. This effect occurred similarly for low- and high-frequency words. Thus, the present data offer some empirical support to Manso de Zuniga et al.'s (1991) idea of an early 'cursive normalization' stage when processing joined-letters words. This pattern of data can be used to constrain the mapping of the visual input into letter and word units in future versions of models of visual word recognition

Comparing risk of failure models in water supply networks using ROC curves

[EN] The problem of predicting the failure of water mains has been considered from different perspectives and using several methodologies in engineering literature. Nowadays, it is important to be able to accurately calculate the failure probabilities of pipes over time, since water company profits and service quality for citizens depend on pipe survival; forecasting pipe failures could have important economic and social implications. Quantitative tools (such as managerial or statistical indicators and reliable databases) are required in order to assess the current and future state of networks. Companies managing these networks are trying to establish models for evaluating the risk Of failure in order to develop a proactive approach to the renewal process, instead of using traditional reactive pipe substitution schemes. The main objective of this paper is to compare models for evaluating the risk of failure in water supply networks. Using real data from a water Supply company, this study has identified which network characteristics affect the risk of failure and which models better fit data to predict service breakdown. The comparison using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) graph leads us to the conclusion that the best model is a generalized linear model. Also, we propose a procedure that can be applied to a pipe failure database, allowing the most appropriate decision rule to be chosen. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The authors are indebted to the anonymous referees whose suggestions improved the original manuscript. This study was partially supported by a grant from MEyC (Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia, Spain, Project CGL2004-05507). The research of Ana Debon was partially supported by a grant from Generalitat Valenciana (Grant no. GVPRE/2008/103).Debón Aucejo, AM.; Carrión García, A.; Cabrera Marcet, E.; Solano, H. (2010). Comparing risk of failure models in water supply networks using ROC curves. Reliability Engineering & System Safety. 95(1):43-48. doi:10.1016/j.ress.2009.07.004S434895

Does vowel harmony affect visual word recognition? Evidence from Finnish.

One of the most representative morpho-phonological features of Finnish is the existence of vowel harmony. Back vowels (a, o, and u) and front vowels (ä, ö, and y) cannot appear in the same monomorphemic word (e.g., PÖYTÄ [table] but not POYTÄ)—the vowels e and i are considered “neutral” and can accompany either front or back vowels (e.g., PELÄSTYÄ [get frightened]). Previous research has revealed that native speakers of Finnish use vowel harmony to help segment multilexeme compound words where each lexeme may differ in vowel harmony (e.g., työmaa = työ+maa [workplace]). In Experiments 1 and 2, we examined whether vowel harmony has an effect on the initial moments of monomorphemic word processing using the masked priming technique (lexical decision: Experiment 1; naming: Experiment 2). A target word (e.g., MÄNTY [pine]) could be preceded by a harmonious or disharmonious prime (mänty-MÄNTY vs. manty-MÄNTY; mönty-MÄNTY vs. monty-MÄNTY). As further controls, we also included a comparison with two harmonious conditions differing in the presence of a diacritical letter (mänty-MÄNTY vs. menty-MÄNTY) and a letter similarity comparison with disharmonious primes (manty-MÄNTY vs. monty-MÄNTY). To further examine whether vowel harmony has an effect at later phases of visual word processing, Experiment 3 compared the recognition of harmonious and disharmonious pseudowords in a single-presentation lexical-decision task (e.g., HÖPEÄ vs. HOPEÄ; baseword: HÄPEÄ [shame]). We found slower responses for harmonious than for disharmonious pseudowords. Taken together, these findings reveal that, while Finnish readers are sensitive to vowel harmony, this effect does not occur in the initial stages of processing.</p

Tailor-Made Tissue Phantoms Based on Acetonitrile Solutions for Microwave Applications up to 18 GHz

(c) 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.Tissue-equivalent phantoms play a key role in the development of new wireless communication devices that are tested on such phantoms prior to their commercialization. However, existing phantoms cover a small number of tissues and do not reproduce them accurately within wide frequency bands. This paper aims at enlarging the number of mimicked tissues as well as their working frequency band. Thus, a variety of potential compounds are scanned according to their relative permittivity from 0.5 to 18 GHz. Next, a combination of these compounds is characterized so the relation between their dielectric properties and composition is provided. Finally, taking advantage of the previous analysis, tailor-made phantoms are developed for different human tissues up to 18 GHz and particularized for the main current body area network (BAN) operating bands. The tailor-made phantoms presented here exhibit such a high accuracy as would allow researchers and manufacturers to test microwave devices at high frequencies for large bandwidths as well as the use of heterogeneous phantoms in the near future. The key to these phantoms lies in the incorporation of acetonitrile to aqueous solutions. Such compounds have a suitable behavior to achieve the relative permittivity values of body tissues within the studied frequency band.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain (TEC2014-60258-C2-1-R) and by the European FEDER Funds.Castelló-Palacios, S.; García Pardo, C.; Fornés Leal, A.; Cardona Marcet, N.; Vallés Lluch, A. (2016). Tailor-Made Tissue Phantoms Based on Acetonitrile Solutions for Microwave Applications up to 18 GHz. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques. 64(11):3987-3994. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMTT.2016.2608890S39873994641