Presentation
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A functional role for perceptual brain systems in processing words with visual meaning
Poster A64 in Poster Session A, Thursday, October 6, 10:15 am - 12:00 pm EDT, Millennium Hall
Zubaida Shebani1,2, Olaf Hauk1, Friedemann Pulvermüller1,3,4,5; 1Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, 2Department of Psychology, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman, 3Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, WE4, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 4Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 5Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Findings from neuropsychology and neuroimaging studies suggest that sensory brain regions are relevant for semantic language processing. However, whether perceptual systems of the brain functionally contribute to the processing of words with visual meaning remains controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate whether perceiving visual stimuli (colors and shapes) has a differential effect on working memory for words referring to colors (e.g. green, mauve) and words referring to object form (e.g. square, oval). The two word categories were closely matched for a number of relevant psycholinguistic and semantic variables. Twenty-three neurologically healthy participants performed a serial recall task during which they were presented with 4 words from either the color word category or the form word category and kept these words in memory for a 6 second period. In the interference conditions, participants were presented with either flashing colors or abstract shapes during the memory period. Results of the serial recall task revealed a differential impairment of working memory for color and form words depending on word meaning, with flashing colors primarily interfering with the retention of color words and abstract shapes specifically impairing working memory for words referring to object form. There were no significant differences in memory performance between the two word categories in the control conditions. These results of a semantically-specific working memory impairment for color and form words indicates that processing resources in specific perceptual systems of the brain are shared between perceiving visual information and working memory for words with visual meaning. These findings strengthen the argument that perceptual systems are functionally relevant for semantic language processing.
Topic Areas: Methods, Meaning: Discourse and Pragmatics