Spoken word processing and the effect of phonemic mismatch in aphasia and dyslexia

TitleSpoken word processing and the effect of phonemic mismatch in aphasia and dyslexia
Publication TypePresentation
Year of Publication2006
Conference NameDag van de Fonetiek 2006
AuthorsJanse, Esther, Elise de Bree, and Susanne Brouwer
PublisherNederlandse Vereniging voor Fonetische Wetenschappen
Conference LocationUtrecht, The Netherlands
Abstract

Initial lexical activation in typical populations is a direct reflection of the goodness of fit between the presented stimulus and the intended target. In this study, lexical activation was investigated upon presentation of polysyllabic pseudowords (such as procodile) for two atypical populations: aphasic and dyslexic adults. Results of an auditory lexical decision task supported the hypothesis that sensitivity to phonemic mismatch was lower in both atypical populations, compared to their respective control groups. However, whereas the dyslexic participants were outperformed by their controls only for minimal word-initial mismatches, lexical decision accuracy of the aphasic participants was lower across the board. Both atypical groups were affected by the acoustic/perceptual difference between the changed and canonical word form. The results are discussed in terms of lexical access and the role of verbal working memory.