Neurophysiological Correlates of Fast Mapping of Novel Words in the Adult Brain

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Yury Shtyrov¹  Aleksander A. Aleksandrov³  Marina J. Vasilyeva³  Veronika M. Knyazeva³ 

[1] Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark;Department of Higher Nervous Activity and Psychophysiology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia;Laboratory of Behavioral Neurodynamics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia;

关键词: brain;    event-related potentials;    language;    fast mapping;    word;    semantic;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnhum.2019.00304

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Word acquisition could be mediated by the neurocognitive mechanism known as fast mapping (FM). It refers to a process of incidental exclusion-based learning and is believed to be a critical mechanism for the rapid build-up of lexicon, although its neural mechanisms are still poorly understood. To investigate the neural bases of this key learning skill, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) and employed an audio-visual paradigm that included a counterbalanced set of familiar and novel spoken word forms presented, in a single exposure, in conjunction with novel and familiar images. To define learning-related brain dynamics, passive auditory ERPs, known to index long-term memory trace activation, were recorded before and after the FM task. Following the single FM learning exposure, we found a significant enhancement in neural activation elicited by the newly trained word form, which was expressed at ~200–400 ms after the word onset. No similar amplitude increase was found either for the native familiar word used as a control stimulus in the same learning paradigm or for similar control stimuli which were not subject to training. Topographic analysis suggested a left-lateral shift of the ERP scalp distribution for the novel FM word form, underpinned by fronto-temporal cortical sources, which may indicate the involvement of pre-existing neurolinguistic networks for mastering new word forms with native phonology. Overall, the near-instant changes in neural activity after a single-shot novel word training indicate that FM could promote rapid integration of newly learned items into the brain’s neural lexicon, even in adulthood.

【 授权许可】

Unknown