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The neural time course of semantic ambiguity resolution in speech comprehension
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In: J Cogn Neurosci (2020)
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Abstract:
Semantically ambiguous words challenge speech comprehension, particularly when listeners must select a less frequent (subordinate) meaning at disambiguation. Using combined MEG and EEG, we measured neural responses associated with distinct cognitive operations during semantic ambiguity resolution in spoken sentences: (i) initial activation and selection of meanings in response to an ambiguous word, and (ii) sentence reinterpretation in response to subsequent disambiguation to a subordinate meaning. Ambiguous words elicited an increased neural response approximately 400 to 800 ms after their acoustic offset compared to unambiguous control words in left fronto-temporal MEG sensors, corresponding to sources in bilateral fronto-temporal brain regions. This response may reflect increased demands on processes by which multiple alternative meanings are activated and maintained until later selection. Subsequent, disambiguating words heard after an ambiguous word were associated with marginally-increased neural activity over bilateral temporal MEG sensors, and a central cluster of EEG electrodes, which localised to similar bilateral frontal and left temporal regions. This later neural response may reflect effortful semantic integration, or elicitation of prediction errors that guide reinterpretation of previously-selected word meanings. Across participants, the amplitude of the ambiguity response showed a marginal positive correlation with comprehension scores, suggesting that sentence comprehension benefits from additional processing around the time of an ambiguous word. Better comprehenders may have increased availability of subordinate meanings, perhaps due to higher-quality lexical representations and reflected in a positive correlation between vocabulary size and comprehension success.
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Keyword:
Article
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URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7116495/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31682564
https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_01493
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| 2 |
Accent modulates access to word meaning: Evidence for a speaker-model account of spoken word recognition
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| 3 |
Is the Link between Anatomical Structure and Function Equally Strong at All Cognitive Levels of Processing?
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| 4 |
Dissociating Frontotemporal Contributions to Semantic Ambiguity Resolution in Spoken Sentences
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| 5 |
The Neural Mechanisms of Speech Comprehension: fMRI studies of Semantic Ambiguity
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