title: Crowded words can be processed semantically: evidence from an ERP study.
abstract: The term "crowding" refers to impaired peripheral object identification due to the presence of nearby objects. In this study, event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to investigate semantic processing of crowded Chinese words by combining a crowding task with a semantic-priming paradigm. Results showed that the N400 component, an index of semantic processing, was elicited by both crowded and uncrowded words. These results suggest that words were processed semantically despite crowding, and that features of the crowded words were integrated correctly.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cognition and Mental Health, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing 402160, China.
authors.forename: Chunhua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Youguo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004585:Electrooculography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012660:Semantics; D012718:Set, Psychology; D014825:Vocabulary; D055815:Young Adult