Neuromagnetic evidence that differences in verb and noun processing are modulated by the presence of a syntactic context

Abstract

We investigated the hypothesis that differences in the processing of verbs and nouns are modulated by the presence or absence of a syntactic context. When presented in isolation, no word category differences were observed over the left hemisphere. Verbs elicited slightly stronger magnetic fields than nouns over the right hemisphere. When presented in a minimal syntactic context, nouns elicited stronger fields than verbs over left posterior temporal regions (as indicated by root mean square signals and brain surface current density maps). Analysis of BSCD maps also indicated that verbs in context elicit stronger responses than nouns over left anterior regions.