Differential asymmetries for recognizing nouns and verbs: where are they?
To support categorical representation in the brain for grammatical class, it is necessary to show that noun-verb differences are attributable to parts of speech and not to covarying semantic factors. Prior visual-half field investigations of noun-verb processing have confounded grammatical class with imageability. The current study included numerous tests of differential noun-verb processing across visual fields for stimuli equated for imageability. Task (lexical decision, pronunciation) and list context (blocked vs. mixed lists) variables were examined in 168 right-handed participants. There was no reliable reduction of the right visual field advantage for moderately imageable nouns as compared with verbs. If there are qualitative hemisphere differences in single-word noun and verb recognition, these may be attributable to semantic dimensions that tend to covary with grammatical class.
Chiarello
Christine
C
Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside 92521, USA. christine.chiarello@ucr.edu
Liu
Stella
S
Shears
Connie
C
Kacinik
Natalie
N
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time; D014825:Vocabulary