Evaluating Behavioral and Neuroimaging Data on past Tense Processing

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2886512
AutoresMark S Seidenberg (0000-0001-8519-3259, University of Southern California), James Hoeffner, James H Hoeffner
Año1998
Volumen74
Número1
Páginas104-122
Fecha de publicación1998-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaLanguage (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0097-8507 • E-ISSN: 1535-0665
EditorialProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/lan.1998.0087
OpenAlexW2026065029
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas17
Referencias citadas17

Jaeger, Lockwood, Kemmerer, Van Valin, Murphy, and Khalak 1996 ( Language 72.3) reported an experimental study that provided reaction time and PET neuroimaging data said to support Pinker's (1991) theory of inflectional morphology in which rule-governed forms and exceptions are processed by separate mechanisms. The results were also taken as evidence against connectionist accounts in which a single processing system generates both types of forms. We provide a critical analysis of the study that yields three main conclusions: First, Jaeger et al.'s data do not provide strong evidence that rule-governed forms and exceptions are processed in separate brain regions. Second, there are problems with the design of the study that contaminate critical comparisons between conditions. The results therefore afford alternative interpretations related to experiment-specific factors rather than the regular-irregular distinction. Third, the dissociations between rule-governed forms and exceptions observed in studies such as Jaeger et al.'s can be accommodated by the connectionist theory. We conclude by offering suggestions for future research that would overcome the major limitations of this study and provide more decisive evidence bearing on the issues

Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Connectionism · Functional neuroimaging · Linguistics · Neuroimaging · Functional Brain Connectivity Studies · Language Development and Disorders · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Neuroscience · Philosophy · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development