The interplay between semantic and phonological constraints during spoken-word comprehension

This study addresses how top-down predictions driven by phonological and semantic information interact on spoken-word comprehension. To do so, we measured event-related potentials to words embedded in sentences that varied in the degree of semantic constraint (high or low) and in regional accent (congruent or incongruent) with respect to the target word pronunciation. The data showed a negative amplitude shift following phonological mismatch (target pronunciation incongruent with respect to sentence regional accent). Here, we show that this shift is modulated by sentence-level semantic constraints over latencies encompassing auditory (N100) and lexical (N400) components. These findings suggest a fast influence of top-down predictions and the interplay with bottom-up processes at sublexical and lexical levels of analysis.