An electrophysiological investigation of discourse coherence in healthy adults |
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| Authors: | Yael Neumann Baila Epstein Yan H. Yu April A. Benasich Valerie Shafer |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Linguistics and Communication Disorders, Queens College, City University of New YorkUSA;2. Department of Speech Communication Arts and Sciences, Brooklyn College, City University of New YorkUSA;3. Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, William Paterson UniversityUSA;4. Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, The State University of New JerseyUSA;5. Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkUSA |
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| Abstract: | This study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate discourse-coherence processing. Because there are scant data on ERP indices of discourse coherence in typical adults, it is important to study a non-clinical population before examining clinical populations. Twelve adults listened to a story with sentences in a coherent versus incoherent order. Sequences of nonsense syllables served as a control. ERPs in the 200–400?ms time window, reflecting phonological and lexical processing, and in the 600–900?ms time window, reflecting later discourse processing for integration, were investigated. Results revealed a right anterior and posterior positivity that was greater for coherent than for incoherent discourse during the 600–900?ms time window. These findings point to an index of discourse coherence and further suggest that ERPs can be used as a clinical tool to study discourse-processing disorders in populations with brain damage, such as aphasia and traumatic brain injury. |
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| Keywords: | Aphasia discourse coherence event-related potentials lateralized anterior positivity (LAP) |
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