Abstract
Prediction can help support rapid language processing. However, it is unclear whether prediction has downstream consequences, beyond processing in the moment. In particular, when a prediction is disconfirmed, does it linger, or is it suppressed? This study manipulated whether words were actually seen or were only expected, and probed their fate in memory by presenting the words (again) a few sentences later. If disconfirmed predictions linger, subsequent processing of the previously expected (but never presented) word should be similar to actual word repetition. At initial presentation, electrophysiological signatures of prediction disconfirmation demonstrated that participants had formed expectations. Further downstream, relative to unseen words, repeated words elicited a strong N400 decrease, an enhanced late positive complex (LPC), and late alpha band power decreases. Critically, like repeated words, words previously expected but not presented also attenuated the N400. This “pseudo-repetition effect” suggests that disconfirmed predictions can linger at some stages of processing, and demonstrates that prediction has downstream consequences beyond rapid on-line processing.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 263-272 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Neuroimage |
Volume | 183 |
Early online date | 11 Aug 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2018 |
Bibliographical note
AcknowledgmentsThis work was supported by a James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar Award and NIH grant AG026308 to KDF, and NWO grant 275-89-032 to JR. We thank Vivek Dave for assistance during data collection.
Keywords
- prediction
- language comprehension
- word repetition
- event-related potentials (ERPs)
- N400
- Alpha