ERP markers of gender retrieval during noun production
Evidence for early processing and masculine-feminine asymmetries
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7148386 |
|---|---|
| Authors | A R Sá-Leite (0000-0003-4225-5696, Goethe University Frankfurt, corresponding author), I Padrón (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela), I Fraga (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela), D Pinal (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela), C Pinto (0000-0003-4355-7813, University of Minho), M Comesaña (University of Minho) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 274 |
| Pages | 105700 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Brain and Language (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0093-934X • E-ISSN: 1090-2155 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.bandl.2025.105700 |
| PMID | 41468779 |
| OpenAlex | W7117500043 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 71 |
It remains unclear whether agreement contexts are essential for grammatical gender selection during lexical access to nouns. Studies using the picture-word interference (PWI) paradigm address this by asking participants to name pictures with bare nouns while ignoring distractor words and by examining the gender congruency effect (GCE: faster responses for gender-congruent target-distractor pairs). However, results are inconsistent. We propose that the paradigm masks early lexical effects, leading to erratic response time findings; therefore, we combined the PWI task with EEG. Response times showed no GCE, but ERPs revealed it for masculine nouns, with larger early (80-190 ms) and mid-latency (N400) amplitudes in the incongruent condition. A main gender effect (slower responses and larger P600 for feminine nouns) suggested a higher cognitive demand for the feminine. These results indicate early gender retrieval without agreement for gender transparent nouns, challenging the PWI's suitability for detecting behavioral early gender effects
Cognition · Grammatical Gender · Lexical access · Lexical decision task · Noun · P600 · Selection (genetic algorithm) · Task (project management) · Language Development and Disorders · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |