Language ERPs reflect learning through prediction error propagation.

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  • Author(s): Fitz H;Fitz H;Fitz H; Chang F; Chang F; Chang F
  • Source:
    Cognitive psychology [Cogn Psychol] 2019 Jun; Vol. 111, pp. 15-52. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Mar 25.
  • Publication Type:
    Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 0241111 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1095-5623 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00100285 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Cogn Psychol Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: <2000- > : Amsterdam : Elsevier
      Original Publication: San Diego, CA : Academic Press.
    • Subject Terms:
      Comprehension*/physiology ; Language Development* ; Learning* ; Semantics*; Evoked Potentials/*physiology; Brain ; Female ; Humans ; Male
    • Abstract:
      Event-related potentials (ERPs) provide a window into how the brain is processing language. Here, we propose a theory that argues that ERPs such as the N400 and P600 arise as side effects of an error-based learning mechanism that explains linguistic adaptation and language learning. We instantiated this theory in a connectionist model that can simulate data from three studies on the N400 (amplitude modulation by expectancy, contextual constraint, and sentence position), five studies on the P600 (agreement, tense, word category, subcategorization and garden-path sentences), and a study on the semantic P600 in role reversal anomalies. Since ERPs are learning signals, this account explains adaptation of ERP amplitude to within-experiment frequency manipulations and the way ERP effects are shaped by word predictability in earlier sentences. Moreover, it predicts that ERPs can change over language development. The model provides an account of the sensitivity of ERPs to expectation mismatch, the relative timing of the N400 and P600, the semantic nature of the N400, the syntactic nature of the P600, and the fact that ERPs can change with experience. This approach suggests that comprehension ERPs are related to sentence production and language acquisition mechanisms.
      (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Comprehension; Connectionist model; Development; Error back-propagation; Event-related potentials; Learning; Linguistic adaptation; N400; P600; Semantic P600
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20190329 Date Completed: 20200713 Latest Revision: 20200713
    • Publication Date:
      20240628
    • Accession Number:
      10.1016/j.cogpsych.2019.03.002
    • Accession Number:
      30921626