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Article published In: The Mental Lexicon
Vol. 15:2 (2020) ► pp.161–188

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The role of affective meaning, semantic associates, and orthographic neighbours in modulating the N400 in single words

 | Linnæus University, Sweden
 | Lund University, Sweden
 | Lund University, Sweden
 | Lund University, Sweden
 | Lund University, Sweden
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 6 November 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ml.19021.blo
Abstract
The N400 has been seen to be larger for concrete than abstract words, and for pseudowords than real words. Using a word vector analysis to calculate semantic associates (SA), as well as ratings for emotional arousal (EA), and a measure of orthographic neighbourhood (ON), the present study investigated the relation between these factors and N400 amplitudes during a lexical decision task using Swedish word stimuli. Four noun categories differing in concreteness: specific (squirrel), general (animal) emotional (happiness) and abstract (tendency) were compared with pseudowords (danalod). Results showed that N400 amplitudes increased in the order emotional < abstract < general < specific < pseudoword. A regression analysis showed that the amplitude of the N400 decreased the more semantic associates a word had and the higher the rating for emotional arousal it had. The N400 also increased the more orthographic neighbours a word had. Results provide support for the hierarchical organisation of concrete words assumed in lexical semantics. They also demonstrate how affective information facilitates meaning processing.
Article outline
  • Introduction
    • The N and lexical properties
    • Concrete words, imageability, and semantic specificity
    • Semantic neighbourhood
  • The present study
    • Aims
    • Predictions
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Stimuli
    • Procedure
    • EEG recordings
    • Data analysis
    • Analysis of semantic neighbourhood: Semantic associates (SA)
    • Analysis of orthographic neighbourhood
  • Results
    • Behavioural results: Lexical decision (LD)
      • Regression with continuous measures
    • ERP results
      • N (300–500 ms time-window)
      • Imageability-matched specific/general words
      • Regression with continuous measures
  • Discussion
    • N and RT differences between the test word categories
    • Semantic associates as predictors of N in real words
    • Role of affective meaning in modulating the N
    • The N for abstract words and language processing
    • Behavioural results
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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