Domain-general conflict monitoring predicts neural and behavioral indices of linguistic error processing during reading comprehension

Abstract

The ability to detect and respond to linguistic errors is critical for successful reading comprehension, but these skills can vary considerably across readers. In the current study, healthy adults (age 18-35) read short discourse scenarios for comprehension while monitoring for the presence of semantic anomalies. Using a factor analytic approach, we examined if performance in non-linguistic conflict monitoring tasks (Stroop, AX-CPT) would predict individual differences in neural and behavioral measures of linguistic error processing. Consistent with our hypothesis, domain-general conflict monitoring predicted both readers’ end-of-trial acceptability judgments and the amplitude of a late neural response (the P600) evoked by linguistic anomalies. Interestingly, the influence on the P600 was non-linear, suggesting that online neural responses to linguistic errors are influenced by both the effectiveness and efficiency of domain-general conflict monitoring. These relationships were also highly specific and remained after controlling for variability in working memory capacity and verbal knowledge. Finally, we found that domain-general conflict monitoring also predicted individual variability in measures of reading comprehension, and that this relationship was partially mediated by behavioral measures of linguistic error detection. These findings inform our understanding of the role of domain-general executive functions in reading comprehension, with potential implications for the diagnosis and treatment of language impairments.

Sustained attention as measured by RT variability is a strong modulator for the P600, but not the N400

“…Relatedly, the P600, but not N400, is sensitive to the attentional blink and other manipulations testing conscious vs unconscious processing of linguistics stimuli (Batterink & Neville, 2013;Kiefer, 2002;Luck et al, 1996;Rohaut & Naccache, 2017;Service et al, 2007;van Gaal et al, 2014). The P600 further correlates with indices of executive control (Brothers et al, 2021), exhibits sequential adaptation effects (Xu et al, 2021), and relates to eye movement regressions during natural reading (Dimigen et al, 2007;Metzner et al, 2017). Lastly, the P600 has also been linked to the more domain-general P3 component (Coulson et al, 1998;Sassenhagen et al, 2014;Sassenhagen & Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, 2015;Sassenhagen & Fiebach, 2019), which has been related to, for instance, stimulus saliency, surprise, and context updating (Donchin, 1981;Nieuwenhuis et al, 2005;Polich, 2007).…”