Distinct morphological processing of recently learned compound words: An ERP study.
Our vocabulary is, at least in principle, infinite. We can create new words combining existing ones in meaningful ways to form new linguistic expressions. The present study investigated the morphological processing of novel compound words in overt speech production. Native speakers of Dutch learned a series of new compounds (e.g. appelgezicht, 'apple-face') that were later used as primes in a morphological priming task. In this protocol, primes were compound words morphologically related to a target's picture name (e.g. appelgezicht was used for a picture of an apple, Dutch appel). The novel primes were compared with corresponding familiar compounds sharing a free morpheme (e.g. appelmoes, 'applesauce') and with unrelated compounds. Participants were required to read aloud words and to name pictures in a long-lag design. Behavioral and event-related potentials (ERPs) data were collected in two sessions, separated by 48h. Clear facilitation of picture naming latencies was obtained when pictures were paired with morphological related words. Notably, our results show that novel compounds have a stronger priming effect than familiar compounds in both sessions, which is expressed in a marked reduction in target naming latencies and a decrease in the N400 amplitude. These results suggest that participants focused more on the separate constituents when reading novel primes than in the case of existing compounds.
Laboratorio de Neurobiología de la Memoria, Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, IFIBYNE - CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. Electronic address: laurakaczer@gmail.com.
Laura
L
Kaczer
Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. Electronic address: kalinkatimmer@gmail.com.
Kalinka
K
Timmer
Laboratorio de Neurobiología de la Memoria, Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, IFIBYNE - CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires. Electronic address: luzbavassi@gmail.com.
Luz
L
Bavassi
Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands; Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. Electronic address: n.o.schiller@hum.leidenuniv.nl.
Niels O
NO
Schiller
D000328:Adult; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D014825:Vocabulary; D055815:Young Adult
EEG; Morphology; N400; Overt speech; Priming; Word learning