Memory traces for tonal language words revealed by auditory event‐related potentials

• DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2012.01447.x
• Publication Date: 2012-08-06T15:17:35Z
• Authors: Feng Gu; Jing Li; Xiaodong Wang; Qiongqiong Hou; Yina Huang; Lin Chen
• Keywords: Pseudoword; Mandarin Chinese; Oddball paradigm; Echoic memory

In tonal languages such as Mandarin Chinese, suprasegmental tones are used to signal word meaning besides consonants and vowels. To reveal memory traces for language words, we presented native Chinese speakers with a sequence of spoken syllables standards disyllables deviants in passive oddball paradigm. The second syllable each disyllable carried critical information that would define the either meaningful or meaningless pseudoword. words pseudowords were acoustically phonologically matched well counterbalanced. auditory event-related potential response was more negatively deflected than pseudowords. This effect most prominent 164 ms after recognition point. Our study indicates an activation words.