0000000000288870
AUTHOR
Angela D. Friederici
Linguistic Bias Modulates Interpretation of Speech via Neural Delta-Band Oscillations.
Language comprehension requires that single words be grouped into syntactic phrases, as words in sentences are too many to memorize individually. In speech, acoustic and syntactic grouping patterns mostly align. However, when ambiguous sentences allow for alternative grouping patterns, comprehenders may form phrases that contradict speech prosody. While delta-band oscillations are known to track prosody, we hypothesized that linguistic grouping bias can modulate the interpretational impact of speech prosody in ambiguous situations, which should surface in delta-band oscillations when grouping patterns chosen by comprehenders differ from those indicated by prosody. In our auditory electroenc…
Frontal–posterior theta oscillations reflect memory retrieval during sentence comprehension
Abstract Successful working-memory retrieval requires that items be retained as distinct units. At the neural level, it has been shown that theta-band oscillatory power increases with the number of to-be-distinguished items during working-memory retrieval. Here we hypothesized that during sentence comprehension, verbal-working-memory retrieval demands lead to increased theta power over frontal cortex, supposedly supporting the distinction amongst stored items during verbal-working-memory retrieval. Also, synchronicity may increase between the frontal cortex and the posterior cortex, with the latter supposedly supporting item retention. We operationalized retrieval by using pronouns, which r…
Cognitive priming in sung and instrumental music: Activation of inferior frontal cortex
Neural correlates of the processing of musical syntax-like structures have been investigated via expectancy violation due to musically unrelated (i.e., unexpected) events in musical contexts. Previous studies reported the implication of inferior frontal cortex in musical structure processing. However - due to the strong musical manipulations - activations might be explained by sensory deviance detection or repetition priming. Our present study investigated neural correlates of musical structure processing with subtle musical violations in a musical priming paradigm. Instrumental and sung sequences ended on related and less-related musical targets. The material controlled sensory priming com…
Grammar types in language explain tone sequence processing in music
In this ERP study, linear and center-embedded musical sequences are built according to two artificial grammar types in language, named finite state grammar (FSG) and phrase structure grammar (PSG). The aim is to prove if neural sources and processing mechanisms for artificial grammar settings across domains are the same. Isochronous pitch sequences were constructed by two interval categories (3rd and 6th) in upward and downward direction. FSG sequences, which have the general form ABAB in artificial grammar, are translated into “small up/small down/large up/large down”. PSG sequences of form A[AB]B are transposed to “small up/large up/large down/small down”. In two ERP recordings testing FS…