{"pk":26836,"title":"Comprehenders Rationally Adapt Semantic Predictions to the Statistics of the Local\nEnvironment: a Bayesian Model of Trial-by-Trial N400 Amplitudes","subtitle":null,"abstract":"When semantic information is activated by a context prior to\nnew bottom-up input (i.e. when a word is predicted), semantic\nprocessing of that incoming word is typically facilitated,\nattenuating the amplitude of the N400 event related potential\n(ERP) – a direct neural measure of semantic processing. This\nN400 modulation is observed even when the context is just a\nsingle semantically related “prime” word. This so-called\n“N400 semantic priming effect” is sensitive to the probability\nof seeing a related prime-target pair within experimental\nblocks, suggesting that participants may be adapting the\nstrength of their predictions to the predictive validity of their\nbroader experimental environment. We formalize this\nadaptation using an optimal Bayesian learner, and link this\nmodel to N400 amplitudes using an information-theoretic\nmeasure, surprisal. We found that this model could account\nfor the N400 amplitudes evoked by words (whether related or\nunrelated) as adaptation unfolds across individual trials.\nThese findings suggest that comprehenders may rationally\nadapt their semantic predictions to the statistical structure of\ntheir broader environment, with implications for the\nfunctional significance of the N400 component and the\npredictive nature of language processing.","language":"eng","license":{"name":"","short_name":"","text":null,"url":""},"keywords":[{"word":"language; prediction; rational adaptation;\nsemantic priming; EEG/ERP; word processing; information\ntheory; Bayesian modeling; surprisal"}],"section":"Talks: Papers","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7wj6w9tm","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Nathaniel","middle_name":"","last_name":"Delaney-Busch","name_suffix":"","institution":"Tufts University","department":""},{"first_name":"Emily","middle_name":"","last_name":"Morgan","name_suffix":"","institution":"Tufts University","department":""},{"first_name":"Ellen","middle_name":"","last_name":"Lau","name_suffix":"","institution":"University of Maryland","department":""},{"first_name":"Gina","middle_name":"","last_name":"Kuperberg","name_suffix":"","institution":"Tufts University","department":""}],"date_submitted":null,"date_accepted":null,"date_published":"2017-01-01T18:00:00Z","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"PDF","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/cognitivesciencesociety/article/26836/galley/16472/download/"}]}