title: Modulation of semantic integration as a function of syntactic expectations: event-related brain potential evidence.
abstract: This study investigated syntax-semantics interactions during spoken sentence comprehension. We showed that expectations of phrase-structure incongruencies, which were induced by the experimental instructions, although not actually present in the sentences, were able to block the process of semantic integration. Although this process is usually associated with an N400 event-related brain potential component, here we found a P600, that is, an event-related brain potential component that is thought to reflect syntactic revision. This finding lends support to neurophysiological models of sentence interpretation, which postulates that the lexical-semantic integration of a given word can take place only when syntactic analysis has been successfully completed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology, Paris Descartes University, France. frederic.isel@parisdescartes.fr
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Isel
authors.forename: Weilin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012660:Semantics; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult