Re(de)fining the orthographic neighborhood: the role of addition and deletion neighbors in lexical decision and reading.

The influence of addition and deletion neighbors on visual word identification was investigated in four experiments. Experiments 1 and 2 used Spanish stimuli. In Experiment 1, lexical decision latencies were slower and less accurate for words and nonwords with higher-frequency deletion neighbors (e.

Scoring neuropsychological tests using the Rasch model: an illustrative example with the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure.

Parametric statistical methods are typically used for analyzing test scores, even though they are ordinal at best. The Meyers and Meyers' Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure four-category scoring system has been evaluated with the Rasch Rating Scale Model, and disordered thresholds have been found. However, Rasch-modeling dichotomized data led to good fit for both normal (n = 219) and Traumatic Brain Injury (n = 54) samples and generalized validity for these groups, as well as for male and female groups.

The time course of orthography and phonology: ERP correlates of masked priming effects in Spanish.

One key issue for computational models of visual-word recognition is the time course of orthographic and phonological information during reading. Previous research, using both behavioral and event related brain potential (ERP) measures, has shown that orthographic codes are activated very early but that phonological activation starts to occur immediately afterward. Here we report an ERP masked priming experiment in Spanish that investigates this issue further by using very strict control conditions.

Space information is important for reading.

Reading a text without spaces in an alphabetic language causes disruption at the levels of word identification and eye movement control. In the present experiment, we examined how word discriminability affects the pattern of eye movements when reading unspaced text in an alphabetic language. More specifically, we designed an experiment in which participants read three types of sentences: normally written sentences, regular unspaced sentences, and alternatingbold unspaced sentences.

Does the brain regularize digits and letters to the same extent?

The cognitive system does not just act as a mirror from the sensory input; instead, it tends to normalize this information. Given that letter processing seems to be much more specialized than digit processing in the cortex, we examined whether the regularization process occurs differently from digits to letters than from letters to digits: We employed a masked priming same/different experiment (e.g.

Eye movements when reading text messaging (txt msgng).

The growing popularity of mobile-phone technology has led to changes in the way people--particularly younger people--communicate. A clear example of this is the advent of Short Message Service (SMS) language, which includes orthographic abbreviations (e.g.

There is no clam with coats in the calm coast: delimiting the transposed-letter priming effect.

In this article, we explore the transposed-letter priming effect (e.g., jugde-JUDGE vs.

Transposed-letter priming effects for close versus distant transpositions.

Transposing two internal letters of a word produces a perceptually similar item (e.g., CHOLOCATE being processed as CHOCOLATE).

Vocabulary teaching strategies and conceptual representations of words in L2 in children: evidence with novice learners.

A controversial issue in bilingual research is whether in the early stages of L2 learning, access to the conceptual system involves mediation of L1 lexical representations [Kroll, J. F., & Stewart, E.

Does letter position coding depend on consonant/vowel status? Evidence with the masked priming technique.

Recently, a number of input coding schemes (e.g., SOLAR model, SERIOL model, open-bigram model, overlap model) have been proposed that capture the transposed-letter priming effect (i.

Are coffee and toffee served in a cup? Ortho-phonologically mediated associative priming.

We report three masked associative priming experiments with the lexical decision task that explore whether the initial activation flow of a visually presented word activates the semantic representations of that word's orthographic/phonological neighbours. The predictions of cascades and serial/modular models of lexical processing differ widely in this respect. Using a masked priming paradigm (stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA = 50 ms), words preceded by ortho-phonologically mediated associated "neighbours" (oveja-MIEL, the Spanish for sheep-HONEY; note that oveja is a phonological neighbour of abeja, the Spanish for bee) were recognized more rapidly than words preceded by an unrelated word prime (Experiments 1 and 3).

ERP correlates of transposed-letter priming effects: the role of vowels versus consonants.

One key issue for any computational model of visual-word recognition is the choice of an input coding scheme for assigning letter position. Recent research has shown that pseudowords created by transposing two letters are very effective at activating the lexical representation of their base words (e.g.

The overlap model: a model of letter position coding.

Recent research has shown that letter identity and letter position are not integral perceptual dimensions (e.g., jugde primes judge in word-recognition experiments).

Are vowels and consonants processed differently? Event-related potential evidence with a delayed letter paradigm.

To investigate the neural bases of consonant and vowel processing, event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants read words and pseudowords in a lexical decision task. The stimuli were displayed in three different conditions: (i) simultaneous presentation of all letters (baseline condition); (ii) presentation of all letters, except that two internal consonants were delayed for 50 msec (consonants-delayed condition); and (iii) presentation of all letters, except that two internal vowels were delayed for 50 msec (vowels-delayed condition). The behavioral results showed that, for words, response times in the consonants-delayed condition were longer than in the vowels-delayed condition, which, in turn, were longer than in the baseline condition.

The effect of neighborhood frequency in reading: evidence with transposed-letter neighbors.

Transposed-letter effects (e.g., jugde activates judge) pose serious models for models of visual-word recognition that use position-specific coding schemes.

R34D1NG W0RD5 W1TH NUMB3R5.

Letter identities and number identities are usually thought to imply different cortical mechanisms. Specifically, the left fusiform gyrus responds more to letters than to digits (T. A.

The role of the frequency of constituents in compound words: evidence from Basque and Spanish.

Recent data from compound word processing suggests that compounds are recognized via their constituent lexemes (Juhasz, Starr, Inhoff, & Placke, 2003). The present lexical decision experiment manipulated orthogonally the frequency of the constituents of compound words in two languages: Basque and Spanish. Basque and Spanish diverge widely in their morphological properties and in the number of existing compound words.

Prevalence of Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma platys, Babesia canis vogeli, Hepatozoon canis, Bartonella vinsonii berkhoffii, and Rickettsia spp. in dogs from Grenada.

To identify the tick-borne pathogens in dogs from Grenada, we conducted a serologic survey for Ehrlichia canis in 2004 (104 dogs) and a comprehensive serologic and molecular survey for a variety of tick-borne pathogens in 2006 (73 dogs). In 2004 and 2006, 44 and 32 dogs (42.3% and 43.

[The role of external letter positions in visual word recognition].

A key issue for any computational model of visual word recognition is the choice of an input coding schema, which is responsible for assigning letter positions. Such a schema must reflect the fact that, according to recent research, nonwords created by transposing letters (e.g.

Lexical competition is enhanced in the left hemisphere: evidence from different types of orthographic neighbors.

Two divided visual field lexical decision experiments were conducted to examine the role of the cerebral hemispheres in orthographic neighborhood effects. In Experiment 1, we employed two types of words: words with many substitution neighbors (high-N) and words with few substitution neighbors (low-N). Results showed a facilitative effect of N in the left visual field (i.

Beneficial properties of melatonin in an experimental model of pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is a major health problem because of the aggressiveness of the disease and the lack of effective systemic therapies. Melatonin has antioxidant activity and prevents experimental genotoxicity. However, the effect of melatonin in pancreatic cancer has not been tested.

A model of the go/no-go task.

In this article, the first explicit, theory-based comparison of 2-choice and go/no-go variants of 3 experimental tasks is presented. Prior research has questioned whether the underlying core-information processing is different for the 2 variants of a task or whether they differ mostly in response demands. The authors examined 4 different diffusion models for the go/no-go variant of each task along with a standard diffusion model for the 2-choice variant (R.

The effects of length and transposed-letter similarity in lexical decision: evidence with beginning, intermediate, and adult readers.

Do length and transposed-letter effects reflect developmental changes on reading acquisition in a transparent orthography? Can computational models of visual word recognition accommodate these changes? To answer these questions, we carried out a masked priming lexical decision experiment with Spanish beginning, intermediate, and adult readers (N=36, 44, and 39; average age: 7, 11, and 22 years, respectively). Target words were either short or long (6.5 vs.

ERP correlates of transposed-letter similarity effects: are consonants processed differently from vowels?

Recent research has shown that pseudowords created by transposing letters are very effective for activating the lexical representation of their base words (e.g., relovution activates REVOLUTION).