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PubMed1982

Evaluation of a dereverberation technique with normal and impaired listeners.

Increasing amounts of room reverberation generally reduce speech intelligibility for both normal and sensorineurally impaired listeners--with the latter group suffering proportionately more. We have implemented a two-input dereverberation technique (Allen et al., 1977) in order to evaluate whether intelligibility scores can be improved by this processing. Reverberated and dereverberated (processed) monosyllable, CVC words were presented monaurally to normal and impaired listeners in both a 2AFC test and an open-response test. Preliminary results for both groups indicate that although perceived and measured reverberation time is clearly reduced by processing, mean recognition scores--evaluated over words and phonemes--are not significantly altered.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

A novel assessment tool for reusability of wastes.

This paper presents a new assessment method, which is able to determine the practicality of opportunities to reuse wastes. In this study, the term--reuse has much wider concepts than simply recycling to a process. In other words, reuse in this case can include recycling, utilisation as a raw material for other processes, and particularly transformation of the waste to low or preferably high value added products. Preliminary opportunities for the reuse of a waste can be generated by various methods such as brainstorming, desk research, consultation with industrial and academic contacts, and the like. In this work, each preliminary solution is then assessed according to three different categories--technical, economic, and environmental and regulatory, in order to determine the viability for reuse. The responses of nine collaborating companies to questionnaires pertaining to the three categories were used to set up feasible boundaries of each category in terms of the reuse of their wastes. Based on the replies, lower bounds for each category were determined, and then the preliminary solutions generated were ranked. The approach was applied to several industrial examples. The ranking of the high-dimensional information was aided by visual representation on a parallel coordinate graphic plot. Although the selection or rejection of an opportunity was highly dependent on the boundaries obtained, the approach proposed could provide a useful guideline to decision-makers for selection/rejection of the reuse opportunities available.

Models, Theoretical↗
PubMed2004

Indices of slowness of information processing in head injury patients: tests for selective attention related to ERP latencies.

We explored the relation between neuropsychological (attention tests involving time constraints) and neurophysiological (N2 and P3 event-related potential (ERP) latencies) indices of slowness of information processing after closed head injury (CHI). A group of 44 CHI patients performed worse than healthy controls on most neuropsychological indices, and had significantly longer ERP latencies. Significant correlations between neuropsychological measures and ERP latencies were found only for the 3 subtasks of the Stroop test. In additional multiple regression analyses P3 latency appeared the best predictor in Stroop Color only. A possible explanation is that stimulus evaluation processes comprise a relatively large part of performance on this subtask. In Stroop Color-Word, response related processes are supposed to play a greater role, reducing the role of the preceding input related processes. The absence of significant correlations between P3 latency and scores on the other attention tests suggests a relatively small role of stimulus evaluation processes in these tasks, implying that these tasks are not sensitive to slowness of these processes. The Stroop test appears to be the only attention test administered in which slowness in stimulus evaluation processes requiring selective attention contributes significantly to the delay in final performance on the task.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Event-related potentials differentiate the effects of aging on word and nonword repetition in explicit and implicit memory tasks.

Explicit memory declines with age while implicit memory remains largely intact. These experiments extended behavioral findings by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) in young and elderly adults during repetition priming and recognition memory paradigms. Words and pronounceable nonwords repeated after 1 of 3 delays. Stimuli were categorized as either word-nonword or old-new. Repeated items elicited more positive-going potentials in both tasks. Hemispheric asymmetries for word and nonword processing were observed during lexical decision: Repetition effects were larger over the left hemisphere for words and over the right hemisphere for nonwords. For the young, ERP repetition effects were larger during recognition memory. For old adults, conversely, repetition produced more positive-going waveforms during lexical decision. The elderly had ERP and behavioral deficits at long recognition delays. ERP repetition effects in the elderly, like behavioral performance, were preserved in an implicit task but impaired in an explicit memory task.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Non-word reading, lexical retrieval and stuttering: comments on Packman, Onslow, Coombes and Goodwin (2001).

A recent study by Packman, Onslow, Coombes and Goodwin (2001) employed a non-word-reading paradigm to test the contribution of the lexical retrieval process to stuttering. They consider that, with this material, the lexical retrieval process could not contribute to stuttering and that either anxiety and/or the motor demand of reading are the governing factors. This paper will discuss possible processes underlying non-word reading and it argues that the conclusion arrived at by Packman et al. does not stand up to close scrutiny. In their introduction, the authors acknowledge that the lexicalization process involves retrieval and encoding of words. In a non-word-reading task, the word retrieval component is eliminated. The possibility that the encoding component of the lexicalization process leads to stuttering is, however, completely ignored by the authors when they attribute stuttering to motor demands. As theories put forward by Postma and Kolk (the Covert Repair Hypothesis, 1993) and Howell and Au-Yeung (the EXPLAN theory, 2002) argue heavily for the role of the phonological encoding processes in stuttering, Packman et al.'s work does not evaluate such theories. Theoretical issues aside, Packman et al.'s arguments about reading rate and stuttering rate based on reading time is also questionable.

Humans↗
PubMed2004

What do lateralized displays tell us about visual word perception? A cautionary indication from the word-letter effect.

A common assumption underlying laterality research is that visual field asymmetries in lateralized word perception indicate the hemispheric specialisation of processes generally available for the perception of words, including words viewed in a more typical setting (i.e. in the central visual field). We tested the validity of this assumption using a phenomenon (the word-letter effect) frequently reported for displays viewed in the central visual field, where letters in words are perceived more accurately than the same letters in isolation. Words and isolated letters were presented in the left visual field (LVF), right visual field (RVF) and central visual field (CVF), the Reicher-Wheeler task was used to suppress influences of guesswork, and an eye-tracker ensured central fixation. In line with previous findings, lateralized displays revealed a RVF-LVF advantage for words (but not isolated letters) and CVF displays revealed an advantage for words over isolated letters (the word-letter effect). However, RVF and LVF displays both produced an advantage for isolated letters over words (a letter-word effect), indicating that processing subserving the advantage for words when participants viewed stimuli in the central visual field was unavailable for lateralized displays. Implications of these findings for studies of lateralized word perception are discussed.

Attention↗
PubMed2006

The time course of visual word recognition as revealed by linear regression analysis of ERP data.

EEG correlates of a range of psycholinguistic word properties were used to investigate the time course of access to psycholinguistic information during visual word recognition. Neurophysiological responses recorded in a visual lexical decision task were submitted to linear regression analysis. First, 10 psycholinguistic features of each of 300 stimulus words were submitted to a principal component analysis, which yielded four orthogonal variables likely to reflect separable processes in visual word recognition: Word length, Letter n-gram frequency, Lexical frequency and Semantic coherence of a word's morphological family. Since the lexical decision task required subjects to distinguish between words and pseudowords, the binary variable Lexicality was also investigated using a factorial design. Word-pseudoword differences in the event-related potential first appeared at 160 ms after word onset. However, regression analysis of EEG data documented a much earlier effect of both Word length and Letter n-gram frequency around 90 ms. Lexical frequency showed its earliest effect slightly later, at 110 ms, and Semantic coherence significantly correlated with neurophysiological measures around 160 ms, simultaneously with the lexicality effect. Source estimates indicated parieto-temporo-occipital generators for the factors Length, Letter n-gram frequency and Word frequency, but widespread activation with foci in left anterior temporal lobe and inferior frontal cortex related to Semantic coherence. At later stages (>200 ms), all variables exhibited simultaneous EEG correlates. These results indicate that information about surface form and meaning of a lexical item is first accessed at different times in different brain systems and then processed simultaneously, thus supporting cascaded interactive processing models.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

A brain imaging (single photon emission computerized tomography) study of semantic and affective processing in psychopaths.

Psychopaths have been described as human predators who use charm, intimidation, and violence to control others and to satisfy their own needs. Underlying their propensity to violate social norms and expectations is a profound lack of empathy, guilt, or remorse, affective processes that have long resisted scientific investigation. Using brain imaging technology we found that psychopaths differed from nonpsychopaths in the pattern of relative cerebral blood flow during processing of emotional words. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that there are anomalies in the way psychopaths process semantic and affective information.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Similarity neighbourhoods of words in young children's lexicons.

Similarity neighbourhoods for words in young children's lexicons were investigated using three computerized databases. These databases were representative of three groups of native English speakers: 5-year-olds, 7-year-olds, and adults. Computations relating to the similarity neighbourhoods of words in the children's and adult's lexicon revealed that words in the 5- and 7-year-olds' lexicons have many fewer similar neighbours than the same words analyzed in the adult lexicon. Thus, young children may employ more global recognition strategies because words are more discriminable in memory. The neighbourhood analyses provide a number of insights into the processes of auditory word recognition in children and the possible structural organization of words in the young child's mental lexicon.

Child↗
PubMed2004

On the retranslation process in Zadeh's paradigm of computing with words.

We discuss Zadeh's paradigm of computing with words and indicate the three important stages. We focus on the retranslation process, selecting a term from our prescribed vocabulary to express information represented using fuzzy sets. A number of criteria of concern in this retranslation process are introduced. Some of these criteria can be seen to correspond to a desire to accurately reflect the given information. Other criteria may correspond to a desire, on the part of the provider of the information, to give a particular perception or "spin." These types of criteria can be of particular importance in many types of information warfare. We discuss some methods for combining these criteria to evaluate potential retranslations.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

Modulation of prefrontal cortex activation by emotional words in recognition memory.

We employed event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine emotional valence effects on verbal recognition memory. Using a yes/no recognition task, we focussed on prefrontal cortex responses to positive, negative and neutral words. Behavioral data confirmed enhanced processing of emotional items and functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed different subregions in the prefrontal cortex supporting retrieval of emotional words. Activations in the right mid-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex correlated with the correct retrieval conditions for negative words, whereas the right ventromedial and orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex showed enhanced responses to positive words. Additionally, differences between old and new items mainly affected bilateral orbitofrontal regions when processing positive words. The results are discussed in terms of higher monitoring demands owing to familiarity-based recognition bias for emotional words.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Sex determines the neurofunctional predictors of visual word learning.

This study used functional MRI and an artificial language training paradigm to explore sex differences in the processing of a new writing system and how sex determines the optimal neural resource recruitment for visual word learning. Results indicated that males and females achieved equal learning outcome, and their learning curve followed a similar power function. They also showed similar overall activation in the fusiform cortex, a region that has been associated with visual word processing. Despite the absence of sex differences in averaged behavioral performance and neural activation, males and females were found to have different neural predictors of visual word learning. As predicted, left-lateralized fusiform activation predicted visual word learning for males, but not for females, whereas bilateral fusiform activation predicted visual word learning for females, but not males. These results suggest that male and female brains operate differently to achieve the best performance in visual word learning. The individual-differences approach adopted in the present study provides a new and useful perspective to sex differences.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Words in the brain's language.

If the cortex is an associative memory, strongly connected cell assemblies will form when neurons in different cortical areas are frequently active at the same time. The cortical distributions of these assemblies must be a consequence of where in the cortex correlated neuronal activity occurred during learning. An assembly can be considered a functional unit exhibiting activity states such as full activation ("ignition") after appropriate sensory stimulation (possibly related to perception) and continuous reverberation of excitation within the assembly (a putative memory process). This has implications for cortical topographies and activity dynamics of cell assemblies forming during language acquisition, in particular for those representing words. Cortical topographies of assemblies should be related to aspects of the meaning of the words they represent, and physiological signs of cell assembly ignition should be followed by possible indicators of reverberation. The following postulates are discussed in detail: (1) assemblies representing phonological word forms are strongly lateralized and distributed over perisylvian cortices; (2) assemblies representing highly abstract words such as grammatical function words are also strongly lateralized and restricted to these perisylvian regions; (3) assemblies representing concrete content words include additional neurons in both hemispheres; (4) assemblies representing words referring to visual stimuli include neurons in visual cortices; and (5) assemblies representing words referring to actions include neurons in motor cortices. Two main sources of evidence are used to evaluate these proposals: (a) imaging studies focusing on localizing word processing in the brain, based on stimulus-triggered event-related potentials (ERPs), positron emission tomography (PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and (b) studies of the temporal dynamics of fast activity changes in the brain, as revealed by high-frequency responses recorded in the electroencephalogram (EEG) and magnetoencephalogram (MEG). These data provide evidence for processing differences between words and matched meaningless pseudowords, and between word classes, such as concrete content and abstract function words, and words evoking visual or motor associations. There is evidence for early word class-specific spreading of neuronal activity and for equally specific high-frequency responses occurring later. These results support a neurobiological model of language in the Hebbian tradition. Competing large-scale neuronal theories of language are discussed in light of the data summarized. Neurobiological perspectives on the problem of serial order of words in syntactic strings are considered in closing.

Association Learning↗
PubMed2000

Intestinal reactivity to words with emotional content and brain information processing in irritable bowel syndrome.

The intestinal reactivity to emotional experiences is poorly understood. We therefore compared healthy controls with nonpsychiatric irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients and IBS patients with comorbid phobic anxiety disorders with respect to rectal wall reactivity during exposure to everyday words with emotional content. We found that 70.3% of the subjects responded either with increased or decreased rectal tone during exposure to anger words, 75.0% when exposed to sadness words, and 76.6% when exposed to anxiety words. We also investigated event-related potentials in the brain to the same stimuli. We observed significant group differences in the frontal brain to sadness (P < 0.001) and anxiety (P = 0.013) distracter words, and threshold significant group difference to anger (P = 0.053) distracter words. Rectal wall reactivity during the word series significantly predicted frontal amplitude to the same word series, indicating a close interaction among mind, brain, and gut.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Processing of metaphoric and non-metaphoric alternative meanings of words after right- and left-hemispheric lesion.

This study examines the specificity of the contribution of the right hemisphere to the processing of metaphoric meaning of words. Ten right- and 10 left-hemisphere-damaged subjects, and 20 normal control subjects were submitted to: (1) a word-triad task where they had to associate alternative metaphoric and non-metaphoric words to a target word, and to (2) a word-dyad task where they had to decide whether or not there was a semantic relationship between two words. The two tasks aimed at differentiating between the subjects' preference for a given semantic meaning versus a genuine semantic deficit for a particular meaning. Results revealed that both right- and left-hemisphere-damaged groups presented a genuine semantic deficit for the processing of metaphoric meaning. The absence of a double dissociation between the two brain-damaged groups does not support the hypothesis of a specific contribution of the right-hemisphere to the processing of metaphoric meaning of words.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Spatial information with pictures and words in visual short-term memory.

In a delayed matching task, the influence of spatial congruence between study and test on visual short-term memory for geometric figures and words was investigated. Subjects processed series of pictures which showed three words or three geometric figures arranged as rows or as triangular configurations. At test, the elements were presented in the identical or in the alternative configuration as at study. In the non-matching case, one of the studied elements was exchanged. The delay was 5 s. Subjects judged whether the elements were the same as during study, independent of their configuration. In Exp. 1, pictures of figures and words were mixed within one list. For both modalities, the response times were longer if the configuration at test was incongruent to the one at study. This contradicts the results of Santa, who observed effects of spatial congruency for figures, but not for words. In Exp. 2 we therefore presented the same material as in Exp. 1, but now the lists were modality-pure, as in the experiment of Santa--i.e., words and figures were shown in different lists. This time, spatial incongruency impaired recognition of the figures, but not recognition of the words. These results show that in a non-verbal context, isolated visually presented words are spatially encoded as non-verbal stimuli (figures) are. However, the word stimuli are encoded differently if the task is a pure verbal one. In the latter case, spatial information is discarded.

Humans↗
PubMed1983

Imageability does not interact with visual field in lateral word recognition with oral report.

Four lateral tachistoscopic experiments are reported which tested the hypothesis that the right hemisphere has a selective ability to process highly imageable words (the RH imageability hypothesis). The prediction that performance asymmetry would vary as a function of word imageability, in a lateral recognition task with oral report, was not fulfilled. Results suggested that several previously published studies which hitherto have been regarded as supporting the RH imageability hypothesis may be discounted on artifactual grounds. The implications of these findings for the overall status of the hypothesis were discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Is there a neighborhood frequency effect in English? Evidence from reading and lexical decision.

What is the effect of a word's higher frequency neighbors on its identification time? According to activation-based models of word identification (J. Grainger & A. M. Jacobs, 1996; J. L. McClelland & D. E. Rumelhart, 1981), words with higher frequency neighbors will be processed more slowly than words without higher frequency neighbors because of the lexical competition mechanism embodied in these models. Although a critical prediction of these models, this inhibitory neighborhood frequency effect has been elusive in studies that have used English stimuli. In the present experiments, the effect of higher frequency neighbors was examined in the lexical decision task and when participants were reading sentences while their eye movements were monitored. Results suggest that higher frequency neighbors have little, if any, effect on the identification of English words. The implications for activation-based models of word identification are discussed.

Attention↗