A key challenge in understanding stories and conversations is the comprehension of 'anaphora', words that refer back to previously mentioned words or concepts ('antecedents'). In psycholinguistic theories, anaphor comprehension involves the initial activation of the antecedent and its subsequent integration into the unfolding representation of the narrated event. A recent proposal suggests that these processes draw upon the brain's recognition memory and language networks, respectively, and may be dissociable in patterns of neural oscillatory synchronization (Nieuwland & Martin, 2017). We addressed this proposal in an electroencephalogram (EEG) study with pre-registered data acquisition and analyses, using event-related potentials and neural oscillations. Dutch participants read two-sentence mini stories containing proper names, which were repeated or new (ease of activation) and semantically coherent or incoherent with the preceding discourse (ease of integration). Repeated names elicited smaller N400 and Late Positive Component amplitude than new names, and also an increase in theta-band (4-7 Hz) synchronization, which was largest around 240-450 ms after name onset. Discourse-coherent names elicited an increase in gamma-band (60-80 Hz) synchronization compared to discourse-incoherent names. This effect was largest around 690-1000 ms after name onset and exploratory beamformer analysis suggested a left frontal source. We argue that the initial activation and subsequent discourse-level integration of referents can be dissociated with event-related EEG activity, and are associated with respectively theta- and gamma-band activity. These findings further establish the link between memory and language through neural oscillations.

中文翻译：

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分离话语对象的激活和整合：来自ERP和振荡的证据。

理解故事和对话的一个关键挑战是对“回指”的理解，“回指”指的是先前提到的单词或概念（“先祖”）。在心理语言学理论中，照应理解涉及先行词的初始激活及其随后的整合，成为叙述事件的展开表示。最近的一项提议表明，这些过程分别利用大脑的识别记忆和语言网络，并且在神经振荡同步模式中可能是分离的（Nieuwland＆Martin，2017）。我们在脑电图（EEG）研究中通过使用事件相关电位和神经振荡对预先注册的数据采集和分析进行了研究。荷兰参与者阅读了包含专有名称的两句迷你故事，这些故事重复出现或新出现（易于激活），并且在语义上与先前的论述保持一致或不一致（易于整合）。与新名称相比，重复的名称引起的N400和晚期正分量幅度更小，并且theta频段（4-7 Hz）同步的增加，这在名称出现后的240-450 ms内最大。与语篇不连贯的名字相比，语篇连贯的名字引起了伽马波段（60-80 Hz）同步的增加。名称发作后，这种影响最大，约为690-1000 ms，探索性波束形成器分析表明为左额叶源。我们认为，指称对象的初始激活和随后的话语级别整合可以与事件相关的脑电图活动分离，和分别与θ和γ带活动有关。这些发现通过神经振荡进一步建立了记忆与语言之间的联系。