To Catch a Snitch: Brain Potentials Reveal Variability in the Functional Organization of (fictional) World Knowledge During Reading

Overview

Journal J Mem Lang

Publisher Elsevier

Date 2021 Mar 8

PMID 33678947

Citations 6

Authors

Melissa Troyer

Marta Kutas

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

We harnessed the temporal sensitivity of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) alongside individual differences in Harry Potter (HP) knowledge to investigate the extent to which the availability and timing of information relevant for real-time written word processing are influenced by variation in domain knowledge. We manipulated meaningful (category, event) relationships between sentence fragments about HP stories and their sentence final words. During word-by-word reading, N400 amplitudes to (a) linguistically supported and (b) unsupported but meaningfully related, but not to (c) unsupported, unrelated sentence endings varied with HP domain knowledge. Single-trial analyses revealed that only the N400s to linguistically supported (but not to either type of unsupported) sentence-final words varied as a function of whether individuals knew (or could remember) the correct (supported) ending for each HP "fact." We conclude that the quick availability of information relevant for word understanding in sentences is a function of individuals' knowledge of both specific facts and the domain to which the facts belong. During written sentence processing, as domain knowledge increases, it is clearly evident that individuals can make use of the relevant knowledge systematically organized around themes, events, and categories in that domain, to the extent they have it.

Citing Articles

Single-trial neurodynamics reveal N400 and P600 coupling in language comprehension.

Aurnhammer C, Crocker M, Brouwer H Cogn Neurodyn. 2024; 18(6):3309-3325.

PMID: 39712092 PMC: 11655752. DOI: 10.1007/s11571-023-09983-7.

Prediction during language comprehension: what is next?.

Ryskin R, Nieuwland M Trends Cogn Sci. 2023; 27(11):1032-1052.

PMID: 37704456 PMC: 11614350. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.08.003.

The Effects of Sustained Literacy Engagement on Cognition and Sentence Processing Among Older Adults.

Stine-Morrow E, McCall G, Manavbasi I, Ng S, Llano D, Barbey A Front Psychol. 2022; 13:923795.

PMID: 35898978 PMC: 9309613. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.923795.

Wrong or right? Brain potentials reveal hemispheric asymmetries to semantic relations during word-by-word sentence reading as a function of (fictional) knowledge.

Troyer M, McRae K, Kutas M Neuropsychologia. 2022; 170:108215.

PMID: 35364091 PMC: 9238440. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108215.

Retrieval (N400) and integration (P600) in expectation-based comprehension.

Aurnhammer C, Delogu F, Schulz M, Brouwer H, Crocker M PLoS One. 2021; 16(9):e0257430.

PMID: 34582472 PMC: 8478172. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257430.

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