Inhibición semántica acumulativa en la producción de verbos en español

This paper reports an experiment designed to assess the occurrence of lexical interference in verb production in Spanish. Using the semantic competitors paradigm (Howard et al., 2006), we show that the higher the number of verbs of the same category produced, the longer it takes to retrieve another verb of the same category in a picture naming task. According to our data, the production of a related verb delays the naming of a new member of the category by 20 ms., which means that, as is the case with nouns, semantically related verbs compete for selection. These results support the statement that, regardless their differences with respect to semantic representation and organization, verb and noun selection are guided by the same principles. Methodologically, our findings confirm that the paradigm is highly sensitive to semantic proximity effects, in terms of either categories or features. In light of these findings, we discuss the reasons why previous studies exploring semantic relatedness effects in verb production, most of them using the picture-word interference paradigm, have led to inconclusive and sometimes contradictory results.Este artículo presenta un experimento diseñado para evaluar la ocurrencia de interferencia léxica en la producción de verbos en español. Usando el paradigma de los competidores semánticos (HOWARD et al., 2006), mostramos que cuanto mayor es el número de verbos de la misma categoría producidos, más tiempo lleva recuperar otro verbo de la misma categoría en una tarea de denominación de imágenes. Según nuestros datos, la producción de un verbo relacionado retrasa la denominación de un nuevo miembro de la categoría en 20 ms, lo que significa que, como es el caso para los sustantivos, los verbos relacionados semánticamente compiten por la selección. Estos resultados respaldan la propuesta de que, independientemente de sus diferencias con respecto a la representación y organización semántica, la selección de verbos y sustantivos se rige por los mismos principios. Metodológicamente, nuestros hallazgos confirman que el paradigma es altamente sensible a los efectos de proximidad semántica, en términos de categorías o rasgos. A la luz de estos hallazgos, discutimos las razones por las cuales los estudios previos que exploraron los efectos de la relación semántica en la producción de verbos, la mayoría de ellos utilizando el paradigma de interferencia entre palabras y dibujos, han llevado a resultados no concluyentes y a veces contradictorios

Cumulative semantic inhibition in Spanish verb production

This paper reports an experiment designed to assess the occurrence of lexical interference in verb production in Spanish. Using the semantic competitors paradigm (Howard et al., 2006), we show that the higher the number of verbs of the same category produced, the longer it takes to retrieve another verb of the same category in a picture naming task. According to our data, the production of a related verb delays the naming of a new member of the category by 20 ms., which means that, as is the case with nouns, semantically related verbs compete for selection. These results support the statement that, regardless their differences with respect to semantic representation and organization, verb and noun selection are guided by the same principles. Methodologically, our findings confirm that the paradigm is highly sensitive to semantic proximity effects, in terms of either categories or features. In light of these findings, we discuss the reasons why previous studies exploring semantic relatedness effects in verb production, most of them using the picture-word interference paradigm, have led to inconclusive and sometimes contradictory results.Fil: Sevilla, Yamila Alejandra. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Lingüística; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Shalóm, Diego Edgar. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física. Laboratorio de Neurociencia Integrativa; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Runnqvist, Elin. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Costa, Albert. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats; Españ

Internal modeling of upcoming speech: a causal role of the right posterior cerebellum in non-motor aspects of language production

International audienceSome language processing theories propose that, just as for other somatic actions, self-monitoring of language production is achieved through internal modeling. The cerebellum is the proposed center of such internal modeling in motor control, and the right cerebellum has been linked to an increasing number of language functions, including predictive processing during comprehension. Relating these findings, we tested whether the right posterior cerebellum has a causal role for self-monitoring of speech errors. Participants received 1Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation during 15 minutes to lobules Crus I and II in the right hemisphere, and, in counterbalanced orders, to the contralateral area in the left cerebellar hemisphere (control) in order to induce a temporary inactivation of one of these zones. Immediately afterwards, they engaged in a speech production task priming the production of speech errors. Language production was impaired after right compared to left hemisphere stimulation, a finding that provides evidence for a causal role of the cerebellum during language production. We interpreted this role in terms of internal modeling of upcoming speech through a verbal working memory process used to prevent errors

On the origin and scope of the second language speech production disadvatage

Los hablantes bilingües tienen un acceso al léxico más lento y menos robusto que los monolingües, incluso cuando hablan en su lengua materna y dominante. Este fenómeno, comúnmente llamado “la desventaja bilingüe” también se observa en hablantes de una segunda lengua en comparación con hablantes de una primera lengua. Una causa que posiblemente contribuya a estas desventajas es el uso de control inhibitorio durante la producción del lenguaje: la inhibición de palabras coactivadas de la lengua actualmente no en uso puede prevenir intrusiones de dicha lengua, pero al mismo tiempo ralentizar la producción del lenguaje. El primer objetivo de los estudios descritos en este informe era testear esta hipótesis mediante diferentes predicciones generadas por teorías de control inhibitorio del lenguaje. Un segundo objetivo era investigar la extensión de la desventaja bilingüe dentro y fuera de la producción de palabras aisladas, así como avanzar en el conocimiento de las variables que la modulan. En lo atingente al primer objetivo, la evidencia obtenida es incompatible con un control inhibitorio global, desafiando la idea de mecanismos específicos en el hablante bilingüe utilizados para la selección léxica. Esto implica que una explicación común para el control de lenguaje y la desventaja bilingüe en el acceso al léxico es poco plausible. En cuanto al segundo objetivo, los resultados muestran que (a) la desventaja bilingüe no tiene un impacto al acceso a la memoria; (b) la desventaja bilingüe extiende a la producción del habla conectada; y (c) similitudes entre lenguas a diferentes niveles de representación así como la frecuencia de uso son factores que modulan la desventaja bilingüe.   Bilinguals show a slower and less robust lexical retrieval than monolinguals, even when they speak in their first and dominant language. This phenomenon, commonly referred to as “the bilingual disadvantage”, also applies to second language speakers relative to first language speakers. One possible contributing cause of such bilingual disadvantages is the recruitment of inhibitory language control: inhibiting co-activated and interfering words from the language not in use while speaking might prevent cross language intrusions from occurring but slow down speech production. The first goal of the studies reported here was to test this hypothesis through different predictions put forward by inhibitory accounts of bilingual language control. A second goal was to investigate the scope of the bilingual speech production disadvantage both within and beyond single word retrieval and to refine our knowledge of the variables that modulate it. Regarding the first goal, the evidence gathered is incompatible with globally inhibitory language control and challenges the idea of bilingual-specific mechanisms used for lexical selection. This entails that a unified explanation of bilingual language control and the bilingual disadvantages in lexical retrieval is not likely. Regarding the second goal, the results show that (a) the bilingual disadvantage does not have an impact on memory retrieval; (b) the bilingual disadvantage extends to connected speech; and (c) cross-language similarities at different levels of representation and frequency of use are factors that modulate the bilingual disadvantage

MAPS-TIME (Monitoring Across Phases in Speech - Temporal Integration & Error)

Data of two EEG experiments aimed to explore the temporal organisation of speech production though manipulation of error probability on different speech production levels: articulatory-phonetic and lexical. French speakers performed the SLIP task in their native language

Is retrieval-induced forgetting behind the bilingual disadvantage in speech production?

International audienceLevy, Mc Veigh, Marful and Andreson (2007) found that naming pictures in L2 impaired subsequent recall of the L1 translation words. This was interpreted as evidence for a domain-general inhibitory mechanism (RIF) underlying first language attrition. Because this result is at odds with some previous findings and theoretical assumptions, we wanted to assess its reliability and replicate the experiment with various groups. Participants were first shown drawings along with their labels in the non-dominant language. Afterwards, they named 75% of these drawings in their first language or in their non-dominant language. Finally, participants' memory of all L1 words was tested through the presentation of a rhyme-cue. Recall of L1 words was better after naming pictures in the non-dominant language compared to when the picture was not named at all. This result suggests that speaking a second language protects rather than harms the memory of our first language

Effects of Shared Attention on joint language production across processing stages

International audienc

Electrophysiological markers of language adaptation in joint production. Evidence from human-robot interaction

The present study investigates whether people engage in lexico-semantic processing when performing a language task with a humanoid robot. A human participant and a robot alternated in naming pictures of objects belonging to 15 semantic categories, while participants’ electrophysiological activity was recorded. We manipulated word frequency as a measure of lexical access having half of the pictures associated to high frequency names and half to low frequency names. In addition, the robot was programmed to give the semantic category name (e.g., tool for the picture of a hammer) instead of the more typical basic-level name (e.g., hammer for the picture of a hammer) for items belonging to 5 categories. Analyses on the picture-locked activity revealed a comparable ERP associated to frequency both when it was participant’s turn and robot’s turn to speak. Analyses on the response-locked activity show a different pattern for the category and basic-level responses in the first but not in the second part of the experiment, indicating acquisition and adaptation to the lexico-semantic pattern of the robot. Taken together, our findings provide empirical evidence for 1) the involvement of listeners’ production system to predict robot’s upcoming words, and for 2) partner-adaptive behavior supporting comprehension