Bihemispheric sensitivity to sentence anomaly

Neuropsychologia. 2001;39(13):1451-63. doi: 10.1016/s0028-3932(01)00056-2.

Abstract

This study investigated cerebral asymmetries in sensitivity to sentence-level semantic anomaly. To separate the effects of anomalous message processing from those attributable to low sentence constraint, low-constraint sentence-fragment primes were followed by target words presented to the left or right visual fields. When completed by the target word, the sentences represented either normal or anomalous messages; in addition, one-half of the sentence primes contained a word strongly related to the target. Targets presented to both the left and right visual fields were advantaged by the presence of a related word, and disadvantaged by the presence of a semantically anomalous message. Contrary to some previous claims, this result implies that the right hemisphere can construct some message-level interpretations from sentences, such that semantic anomaly is registered, even if finer gradations of sentence constraint are not. This rudimentary integration of word meanings in sentences may provide a scaffolding for right hemisphere discourse processing. In light of these findings, we propose a revised view of left/right hemisphere differences in the processes used to interpret sentence meaning.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cues
  • Dominance, Cerebral*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Models, Psychological
  • Semantics*
  • Visual Fields*