Word naming slows picture naming but does not affect cumulative semantic interference.

Two experiments are reported which investigate the effect of processing words prior to naming target pictures. In Experiment 1, participants named (read aloud) sequences of five printed prime words and five target pictures from the same semantic category, and also sequences of five prime words from a different unrelated semantic category to the five related target pictures. Picture and words were interleaved, with two unrelated filler stimuli in between prime and target stimuli (i.e. a lag of 3 between primes and targets). Results showed that across the five target picture naming trials (i.e. across ordinal position of picture), picture naming times increased linearly, replicating the cumulative semantic interference (CSI) effect (e.g., Howard, Nickels, Coltheart, & Cole-Virtue, 2006). Related prime words slowed picture naming, replicating the effects found in paired word prime and picture target studies (e.g., Tree & Hirsh, 2003). However, the naming of the five related prime words did not modify the picture naming CSI effect, with this null result converging with findings from a different word and picture design (e.g., Navarrete, Mahon, & Caramazza, 2010). In Experiment 2, participants categorised the prime word stimuli as manmade versus natural, so that words were more fully processed at a conceptual level. The interaction between word prime relatedness and ordinal position of the named target picture was significant. These results are consistent with adjustments at the conceptual level (Belke, 2013; Roelofs, 2018) which last over several trials at least. By contrast, we conclude that the distinct word-to-picture naming interference effect from Experiment 1 must originate outside of the conceptual level and outside of the mappings between semantics and lexical representations. We discuss the results with reference to recent theoretical accounts of the CSI picture naming effect and word naming models.

A trade-off between somatosensory and auditory related brain activity during object naming but not reading.

The parietal operculum, particularly the cytoarchitectonic area OP1 of the secondary somatosensory area (SII), is involved in somatosensory feedback. Using fMRI with 58 human subjects, we investigated task-dependent differences in SII/OP1 activity during three familiar speech production tasks: object naming, reading and repeatedly saying "1-2-3." Bilateral SII/OP1 was significantly suppressed (relative to rest) during object naming, to a lesser extent when repeatedly saying "1-2-3" and not at all during reading. These results cannot be explained by task difficulty but the contrasting difference between naming and reading illustrates how the demands on somatosensory activity change with task, even when motor output (i.e., production of object names) is matched. To investigate what determined SII/OP1 deactivation during object naming, we searched the whole brain for areas where activity increased as that in SII/OP1 decreased. This across subject covariance analysis revealed a region in the right superior temporal sulcus (STS) that lies within the auditory cortex, and is activated by auditory feedback during speech production. The tradeoff between activity in SII/OP1 and STS was not observed during reading, which showed significantly more activation than naming in both SII/OP1 and STS bilaterally. These findings suggest that, although object naming is more error prone than reading, subjects can afford to rely more or less on somatosensory or auditory feedback during naming. In contrast, fast and efficient error-free reading places more consistent demands on both types of feedback, perhaps because of the potential for increased competition between lexical and sublexical codes at the articulatory level.

My word! Interference from reading object names implies a role for competition during picture name retrieval.

A related word prime has been found to interfere with picture naming after unrelated intervening trials (word-to-picture interference). Recently, Stroop-type picture-word interference effects have been interpreted in terms of a postlexical response exclusion process rather than a competitive lexical selection process. An experiment is reported that examines whether word-to-picture effects could reflect response exclusion mechanisms and, more generally, strategic processing of the word prime. Forty-eight volunteer university students named aloud sequences of semantically related (and unrelated) word primes and picture targets, separated by two unrelated filler stimuli. On half of the trials, participants were asked to count backwards in threes from a random number presented immediately after naming the prime word. They were also given a surprise recall test at the end of the naming block. Results for naming times and errors indicated a main effect of relatedness; semantic interference effects were not dependent on the unfilled gap following the word prime trial and were also not tied to episodic recall of prime words. The data indicate that slowed picture naming times are more likely to emerge from processes intrinsic to word prime naming rather than controlled processing and do not readily fit the postlexical response exclusion account. The results are considered in relation to two recent accounts of interference over unrelated trials, which refer to some form of competition at, or prior to, lexical access.

Distracted by distractors: eye movements in a dynamic inattentional blindness task.

Inattentional Blindness (IB) occurs when observers engaged in resource-consuming tasks fail to see unexpected stimuli that appear in their visual field. Eye movements were recorded in a dynamic IB task where participants tracked targets amongst distractors. During the task, an unexpected stimulus crossed the screen for several seconds. Individuals who failed to report the unexpected stimulus were deemed to be IB. Being IB was associated with making more fixations and longer gaze times on distractor stimuli, being less likely to fixate the unexpected stimulus, and having lower working memory capacity than those who were not IB. Noticing the unexpected stimulus was not contingent upon fixating it, suggesting that some individuals processed the unexpected stimulus via covert attention. The findings support earlier research on working memory and IB. In addition, IBs were less efficient attentional allocators than those who were not IB, as reflected in their eye tracking of irrelevant distractors.

Perseverant responding in children's picture naming.

Two groups of children were given pictures of animals to name as quickly as they could. The groups comprised 40 nursery aged children (mean age 3; 11) and 40 Year 2 children (mean age 6;9) attending primary school in London. The 30 animals were presented one by one, on cards, and any errors made by the children were noted. Consistent with a similar object naming study with adults (Vitkovitch, Kirby & Tyrrell, 1996) and a study with children (Gershkoff-Stowe, 2002), picture naming errors referred to earlier named objects. However, while adults showed below-chance interference from objects that had only just been named (Lag 1), children were most susceptible to interference from very recently named objects (see also Gershkoff-Stowe, 2002). Furthermore, the proportion of younger children making Lag 1 errors was higher than the proportion of older children making Lag 1 errors. The results are discussed in relation to the activation levels of lexical representations.

Will Julia Roberts harm Nicole Kidman? Semantic priming effects during face naming.

Three experiments are reported, which examine whether face naming is vulnerable to semantic competition in a similar way to object naming. Previous experiments with object naming have shown that a related prime picture presented 3 trials before a target picture results in an increase in error rate and naming latencies when compared to unrelated prime conditions. The experiments here use the same paradigm, with errors as the main dependent variable. In Experiment 1, the prime and target faces were from the same occupational category (e.g., politicians, actors), and in Experiment 2, the primes and target faces were also associated to each other. In Experiment 3, the prime was presented as a name to be read aloud. Unrelated filler stimuli intervened between prime and target. In all experiments, there was a reduction in target-naming errors in the related conditions, and in Experiment 3 this was shown to be largely a reduction in naming failures. The results suggest that related name representations for famous people are not activated in parallel and in competition, and that there is some evidence for a relatively long lasting facilitatory effect. These results require some modification to any serial account of face naming to differentiate it from the generally well-established serial account of object naming.

Semantic priming over unrelated trials: evidence for different effects in word and picture naming.

Two naming experiments are reported that replicated previous findings of semantic interference as a result of naming related word or picture primes three trials before picture targets. We also examined whether semantic interference occurred when the materials were reversed and picture or word primes were named before word targets. The interest in semantic interference during word naming followed a suggestion made by Humphreys, Lloyd-Jones, and Fias (1995) that word naming, like picture naming, may be reliant on a semantic route to name retrieval when the two stimuli are mixed. In contrast to their findings, we found no evidence for semantic interference during target word naming; in fact, we found facilitation from related picture primes. No priming was found for the related word prime and word target condition. The data allow us to rule out the possibility that word naming is reliant on a semantic route when mixed with pictures in this priming paradigm and to conclude that there is no clear evidence of semantic activation during word naming. We also conclude, in line with other research, that word naming and picture naming involve different processes.

Stroop interference and negative priming in patients with multiple sclerosis.

The experiment reported represents a preliminary assessment of the ability of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients to inhibit distracting stimuli in a selective attention task. Twenty MS and 20 matched control participants were given a card version of the Stroop colour-word interference task. Four conditions were included; neutral (strings of coloured Xs), congruent (colour and word matched), Stroop interference (colour and word conflicted) and ignored repeated (again, conflicting colour and words, but colour on trial n matched the word on trial n-1). Response times (RTs) to 30 trials in each condition were measured to the nearest second. Increased Stroop interference scores were evident for the MS patients relative to the control group. However, a negative priming effect was evident for both MS and control groups; RTs were longer for the ignored repeated condition relative to the Stroop interference condition. This suggests that both groups were able to inhibit distractors on trial n-1, and that increased Stroop interference scores, for MS patients were not due to a complete breakdown of inhibitory processing. Although negative priming effects did not differ across the groups, the possibility of a partial breakdown in inhibitory processes could not be ruled out. Other explanations for increased Stroop interference in MS patients are also briefly considered.

Inhibitory effects during object name retrieval: The effect of interval between prime and target on picture naming responses.

Three picture naming experiments are reported which examine the relationship between the apparent inhibition of a response on one trial, and naming latency on the subsequent trial. The design of each experiment involves the presentation of prime and target pairs, either presented in succession (Lag 1 condition), or separated by two intervening unrelated trials (Lag 3 condition). A control condition is also included. In Experiment 1, a speeded picture naming task is used, and naming errors are analysed. Target pictures are misnamed at above chance rates with the name of the semantically related prime picture in the Lag 3 condition. In contrast, these prime-related errors do not occur in the Lag 1 condition, suggesting a brief inhibitory effect. If primes are briefly inhibited, then target naming latencies immediately following a related prime should be quicker than target latencies in the Lag 3 condition. Experiment 2 confirms this pattern of results, using exactly the same stimuli and design, but standard naming instructions. Experiment 3 examines whether the inferred inhibition is the result of a self-inhibitory mechanism, using a repetition priming paradigm. If Lag 1 prime representations are self-inhibited, then facilitatory effects from prime/target repetition should be stronger in the Lag 3 condition, than in the Lag 1 condition. The data from Expt 3 were not consistent with this prediction. Taken together, the results of the three experiments suggest that a brief inhibitory effect occurs after retrieval of an object name, and that the inhibition may be accomplished by mechanisms other than self-inhibition.