Neural Indicators of Visual Andauditory Recognition of Imitative Words on Different De-Iconization Stages

Liubov Tkacheva; Maria Flaksman; Yulia Sedelkina; Yulia Lavitskaya; Andrey Nasledov; Elizaveta Korotaevskaya

doi:10.3390/brainsci13040681

Brain Sciences (Apr 2023)

Neural Indicators of Visual Andauditory Recognition of Imitative Words on Different De-Iconization Stages

Liubov Tkacheva,
Maria Flaksman,
Yulia Sedelkina,
Yulia Lavitskaya,
Andrey Nasledov,
Elizaveta Korotaevskaya

Affiliations

Liubov Tkacheva: Department of Pedagogy and Pedagogical Psychology, Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Maria Flaksman: Department for English and American Studies, Ludwig Maximilian University, 80799 München, Germany
Yulia Sedelkina: Department of Foreign Languages and Linguo-Didactics, Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Yulia Lavitskaya: Department of Foreign Languages and Linguo-Didactics, Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Andrey Nasledov: Department of Pedagogy and Pedagogical Psychology, Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Elizaveta Korotaevskaya: Department of Clinical Psychology, Saint Petersburg State University, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13040681
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 13, no. 4
p. 681

Abstract

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The research aims to reveal neural indicators of recognition for iconic words and the possible cross-modal multisensory integration behind this process. The goals of this research are twofold: (1) to register event-related potentials (ERP) in the brain in the process of visual and auditory recognition of Russian imitative words on different de-iconization stages; and (2) to establish whether differences in the brain activity arise while processing visual and auditory stimuli of different nature. Sound imitative (onomatopoeic, mimetic, and ideophonic) words are words with iconic correlation between form and meaning (iconicity being a relationship of resemblance). Russian adult participants (n = 110) were presented with 15 stimuli both visually and auditorily. The stimuli material was equally distributed into three groups according to the criterion of (historical) iconicity loss: five explicit sound imitative (SI) words, five implicit SI words and five non-SI words. It was established that there was no statistically significant difference between visually presented explicit or implicit SI words and non-SI words respectively. However, statistically significant differences were registered for auditorily presented explicit SI words in contrast to implicit SI words in the N400 ERP component, as well as implicit SI words in contrast to non-SI words in the P300 ERP component. We thoroughly analyzed the integrative brain activity in response to explicit IS words and compared it to that in response to implicit SI and non-SI words presented auditorily. The data yielded by this analysis showed the N400 ERP component was more prominent during the recognition process of the explicit SI words received from the central channels (specifically Cz). We assume that these results indicate a specific brain response associated with directed attention in the process of performing cognitive decision making tasks regarding explicit and implicit SI words presented auditorily. This may reflect a higher level of cognitive complexity in identifying this type of stimuli considering the experimental task challenges that may involve cross-modal integration process.

Published in Brain Sciences

ISSN: 2076-3425 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsci/

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