A magnetoencephalographic component whose latency reflects lexical frequency.
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) measured subjects' brain responses during a lexical decision task. The words employed come from six frequency categories, which were defined in terms of a linear decrease in log-frequency. Although frequency effects in reaction-time are well-documented in studies of lexical access, a neural component whose latency predicts reaction time has not been discovered. This study identifies an MEG component (the M350) whose latency mirrors the frequency-effect.
Embick
D
D
Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, E39-245, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Hackl
M
M
Schaeffer
J
J
Kelepir
M
M
Marantz
A
A
D000328:Adult; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology*