EEG signatures of elementary composition: disentangling genuine composition and expectancy processes

• DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/a6rfs
• Publication Date: 2019-12-18T22:18:04Z
• Authors: Emilia Fló; Álvaro Cabana; Juan Valle Lisboa
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Language Tests; Cognitive Neuroscience; Electroencephalography; Linguistics; bepress|Life Sciences|Neuroscience and Neurobiology; PsyArXiv|Neuroscience|Cognitive Neuroscience; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; PsyArXiv|Neuroscience; Task Performance and Analysis; Linear Models; Humans; Female; bepress|Life Sciences|Neuroscience and Neurobiology|Cognitive Neuroscience; Neuroscience

We present an adaptation of Bemis & Pylkkänen’s (2011) two-word, composition-list paradigm to study elementary composition in Spanish using electroencephalography. Our main objective is determine if EEG sensitive enough detect a composition-related activity and evaluate whether the expectancy participants compose contributes this signal. Although we found relevant at expected channels times, also putative before second word onset. Using threshold-free cluster permutation analysis combined with linear models show task progression effect for that not list task. In experiment two-word while avoiding differential effects across stimuli by incorporating all conditions single case, failed find any significant activity. suggest measured may be least part carried processes arising from block design experiment. conclude it important complement based experiments those controlling expectancy, use powerful data-driven techniques analyze data.