scholarly journals Variability driven animacy effects: Evidence of structural, not conceptual differences in processing animates and inanimates

Psihologija ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-83
Author(s):  
Vanja Kovic ◽  
Kim Plunkett ◽  
Gert Westermann
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Semantic Representation ◽  
Inanimate Object ◽  
Aquatic Animals ◽  
Single Study ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Processing Differences

The present eye-tracking study demonstrates that when animate and inanimate object pictures are presented within a single-study, there are no systematic differences between processing these two categories objects. Although participants were taking less time to initiate their first gaze towards animate than to inanimate objects, a result compatible with findings of Proverbio et al. (2007), it turned out that this quicker initiation of the first look in animates was driven by mammals and reptiles only and did not apply to insects or aquatic animals, most probably due to the structural differences within these subcategories. Fixations in this study do not cluster around certain features or areas of the objects for either animate or inanimate categories. Moreover, detailed analysis of looking behaviour does not reveal a clear animateinanimate distinction. Thus, given the failure of finding systematic differences between animates and inanimates when assessed using various looking behaviour measurements, the results do not support the prediction from modality specific conceptual account. In fact, these results are more in agreement with an alternative, distributed account of semantic representation that explains processing differences by structural differences between animate and inanimate objects.

scholarly journals A unitary account of conceptual representations of animate/inanimate categories

Psihologija ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanja Kovic ◽  
Kim Plunkett ◽  
Gert Westermann
Keyword(s):  
Time Window ◽  
Semantic Representation ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Inanimate Object ◽  
General Representation ◽  
Object Processing ◽  
Semantic Organization ◽  
Conceptual Organization ◽  
Feature Based ◽  
The Brain

In this paper we present an ERP study examining the underlying nature of semantic representation of animate and inanimate objects. Time-locking ERP signatures to the onset of auditory stimuli we found topological similarities in animate and inanimate object processing. Moreover, we found no difference between animates and inanimates in the N400 amplitude, when mapping more specific to more general representation (visual to auditory stimuli). These studies provide further evidence for the theory of unitary semantic organization, but no support for the feature-based prediction of segregated conceptual organization. Further comparisons of animate vs. inanimate matches and within-vs. between-category mismatches revealed following results: processing of animate matches elicited more positivity than processing of inanimates within the N400 time-window; also, inanimate mismatches elicited a stronger N400 than did animate mismatches. Based on these findings we argue that one of the possible explanations for finding different and sometimes contradictory results in the literature regarding processing and representations of animates and inanimates in the brain could lie in the variability of selected items within each of the categories, that is, homogeneity of the categories.

scholarly journals Eye-tracking in Cultural Studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 169-184
Author(s):  
Danuta Smołucha
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Market Research ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Field Of View ◽  
Consumer Market ◽  
Eye Movement Tracking ◽  
Movement Tracking

Eye-tracking is a technology based on tracking the movement of eye­balls. The results of the study allow a detailed analysis of the path of sight, and provide answers to the questions: what are we looking at, what we focus on and what we ignore despite that the objects are lo­cated in our field of view. The eye movement tracking is not a new technology, but it is constantly improved and is gaining importance in many fields of science and consumer market research. Contempo­rary culture, oriented to image absorption, is a perfect surface for non-standard eye-tracking research.

scholarly journals Coercion and Compositionality

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 2131-2140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giosuè Baggio ◽  
Travis Choma ◽  
Michiel van Lambalgen ◽  
Peter Hagoort
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Reading Time ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Semantic Representation ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
N400 Effect ◽  
Semantic Element

Research in psycholinguistics and in the cognitive neuroscience of language has suggested that semantic and syntactic processing are associated with different neurophysiologic correlates, such as the N400 and the P600 in the ERPs. However, only a handful of studies have investigated the neural basis of the syntax–semantics interface, and even fewer experiments have dealt with the cases in which semantic composition can proceed independently of the syntax. Here we looked into one such case—complement coercion—using ERPs. We compared sentences such as, “The journalist wrote the article” with “The journalist began the article.” The second sentence seems to involve a silent semantic element, which is expressed in the first sentence by the head of the verb phrase (VP) “wrote the article.” The second type of construction may therefore require the reader to infer or recover from memory a richer event sense of the VP “began the article,” such as began writing the article, and to integrate that into a semantic representation of the sentence. This operation is referred to as “complement coercion.” Consistently with earlier reading time, eye tracking, and MEG studies, we found traces of such additional computations in the ERPs: Coercion gives rise to a long-lasting negative shift, which differs at least in duration from a standard N400 effect. Issues regarding the nature of the computation involved are discussed in the light of a neurocognitive model of language processing and a formal semantic analysis of coercion.

scholarly journals Processing of irony in text: A systematic review of eye tracking studies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henri Olkoniemi ◽  
Johanna K. Kaakinen
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Reading Processes

Theoretical models of irony comprehension pose different hypotheses about the time-course of resolving ironic interpretation of an utterance, and propose several context-, phrase- and reader-related factors that influence the ease or difficulty of processing irony. In recent years, these factors have been examined using eye tracking, which allows a detailed analysis of time-course of reading processes. In this paper, we present a meta-analysis of the eye tracking studies on irony, and then present a systematic review of the factors that have been shown to influence the time-course of irony processing. The review will point to future directions in how eye tracking could best be applied to further develop the current theoretical views.

scholarly journals Shared and/or separate representations of animate/inanimate categories: An ERP study

Psihologija ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanja Kovic ◽  
Kim Plunkett ◽  
Gert Westermann
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Representation ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Apparent Difference ◽  
Inanimate Object ◽  
Object Processing ◽  
Conceptual Processing ◽  
Semantic Organization ◽  
Conceptual Organization ◽  
Feature Based

This paper presents an ERP experiment examining the underlying nature of semantic representation of animate and inanimate objects. Time-locking ERP signatures to the onset of visual stimuli we found topological similarities in animate and inanimate object processing. Moreover, when mapping more general to more specific representation (auditory to visual stimuli) we found no difference between animates and in animates in the N400 amplitude either. This study provides further evidence for the theory of unitary semantic organization, but no support for the feature-based prediction of segregated conceptual organization. Surprisingly, it was also found that the P600 component, which has been thus far mostly related to syntactic processing to be a sensitive index of conceptual processing. The most apparent difference regarding P600 component was found between animate and inanimate matches, whereby animate matches elicited more positive ERP signatures in comparison to inanimate matches.

Depressive Symptoms Account for Loss of Positive Attention Bias in ADHD Patients: An Eye-Tracking Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 108705472110636
Author(s):  
Cassandra C. Schuthof ◽  
Indira Tendolkar ◽  
Maria Annemiek Bergman ◽  
Margit Klok ◽  
Rose M. Collard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Attention Bias ◽  
Attention Allocation ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Comorbid Depression ◽  
Emotional Information ◽  
Attentional Processing ◽  
Emotional Faces ◽  
Processing Differences

Objectives: Depression and ADHD often co-occur and are both characterized by altered attentional processing. Differences and overlap in the profile of attention to emotional information may help explain the co-occurence. We examined negative attention bias in ADHD as neurocognitive marker for comorbid depression. Methods: Patients with depression ( n = 63), ADHD ( n = 43), ADHD and depression ( n = 25), and non-psychiatric controls ( n = 68) were compared on attention allocation toward emotional faces. The following eye-tracking indices were used: gaze duration, number of revisits, and location and duration of first fixation. Results: Controls revisited the happy faces more than the other facial expressions. Both the depression and the comorbid group showed significantly less revisits of the happy faces compared to the ADHD and the control group. Interestingly, after controlling for depressive symptoms, the groups no longer differed on the number of revisits. Conclusion: ADHD patients show a relative positive attention bias, while negative attention bias in ADHD likely indicates (sub)clinical comorbid depression.

scholarly journals Influence of haem environment on the catalytic properties of the tetrathionate reductase TsdA from Campylobacter jejuni

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia M. Kurth ◽  
Julea N. Butt ◽  
David J. Kelly ◽  
Christiane Dahl
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Campylobacter Jejuni ◽  
Catalytic Properties ◽  
Human Food ◽  
Food Borne ◽  
Structural Differences

In the present study, we provide a detailed analysis of the catalytic properties of the bifunctional thiosulfate dehydrogenases/tetrathionate reductases (TsdA) of the human food-borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni. Structural differences in the immediate environment of Haem 2 were shown to influence the reaction directionality.

scholarly journals Cue Recognition and Integration – Eye Tracking Evidence of Processing Differences in Sentence Comprehension in Aphasia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e0142853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahel Schumacher ◽  
Dario Cazzoli ◽  
Noëmi Eggenberger ◽  
Basil Preisig ◽  
Tobias Nef ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Cue Recognition ◽  
Processing Differences
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