Abstract
One decade ago, researchers using event-related brain potential (ERP)
measurements stumbled upon what looked like a Semantic Illusion in language
comprehension: Semantically anomalous, but otherwise well-formed sentences
did not affect the meaning-related N400 component, but instead increased the
amplitude of the structure-related P600 component. This finding spawned five
new models of language comprehension, all of which claim that instead of
a single comprehension process, there are two or even more separate
processing streams, one of which is not driven by structure, but by word
meaning alone. In this thesis, I argue that there is a much simpler way to
account for these data, and present evidence from neurocomputional
simulations showing that this alternative explanation is able to predict all
relevant ERP patterns found in the literature.
measurements stumbled upon what looked like a Semantic Illusion in language
comprehension: Semantically anomalous, but otherwise well-formed sentences
did not affect the meaning-related N400 component, but instead increased the
amplitude of the structure-related P600 component. This finding spawned five
new models of language comprehension, all of which claim that instead of
a single comprehension process, there are two or even more separate
processing streams, one of which is not driven by structure, but by word
meaning alone. In this thesis, I argue that there is a much simpler way to
account for these data, and present evidence from neurocomputional
simulations showing that this alternative explanation is able to predict all
relevant ERP patterns found in the literature.
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Doctor of Philosophy |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisors/Advisors |
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Award date | 26-Jun-2014 |
Place of Publication | [S.l.] |
Publisher | |
Print ISBNs | 978-90-367-6892-4 |
Electronic ISBNs | 978-90-367-6893-1 |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |