Presentations

Canzi, M., & Kimper, W. (2020). Processing speech sounds in speech(-like) perception: an ERP study. Posters accepted at the British Association of Academics in Phonetics at the University of York / PhonolEEGy at Université Côte d’Azur.

Canzi, M. (2019). Don’t let me be misunderstood: Exploring early phonological and lexical processing in speech perception. Talk presented at the Manchester Forum in Linguistics (mFiL) at The University of Manchester

Canzi, M. (2019). Investigating phonological and pre-lexical mismatch in auditory perception. Invited talk presented at the Glasgow University Laboratory of Phonetics (GULP).

Thesis (Abstract)

The Phonological Mapping Negativity (PMN) ERP component has been, in the past, primarily linked to processes of phonological mapping and phonological mismatch in speech perception and spoken-word recognition. However, existing findings show inconsistencies in regards to the topographical distribution of the ERP response as well as to its cognitive function. Recently, clinical research has been published that focusses on the elicitation of the PMN as a marker of phonological processing ability in patient populations, including Wernicke’s aphasia patients. Considering the existing methodological limitations, the limited study sample and the inconsistencies among findings in the literature, an in-depth investigation into the exact function of the PMN as a response to speech stimulus presentation is required.

Experiments one to three of this PhD thesis test the elicitation of the PMN (and other ERP responses primarily linked to auditory and phonological mismatch) in a context of semantics-free phonological and acoustic mismatch. In previous research, semantic and lexical retrieval played a key role in the elicitation of the PMN, as well as playing the role of confounding variables when trying to determine the sensitivity of the ERP component to phonological information specifically. Testing phonologically-induced mismatch related responses in the absence of semantic mapping was devised to test the sensitivity of the PMN to phonological information alone.

No PMN was observed across all three experiments. Among the possible explanations, the theory that the PMN reflects phonological mapping only as a function of lexical activation appears to be the most likely. This theory would suggest that the PMN, although sensitive to phonological mapping, should be categorised primarily as a semantic response or that it should not be considered as a direct marker of phonological mapping. The need for further experimentation into the nature of the PMN and neighbouring components is addressed, as well as limitations inherent to the ERP field are discussed.

Resources

The full doctoral manuscript is currently available through open access.