How and when top-down information modulates visual-orthographic processing is an essential question in reading research. In a previous study, we showed that task modulation of print-tuning started at around 170 ms after stimulus presentation in the N1 offset of the ERP, while the N1 onset was yet unaffected. Here we test how prior category-level expectation affects visual-orthographic processing. Familiar, left/right-structured Chinese characters and stroke number matched, unfamiliar Korean characters were presented, while expectation about the upcoming stimuli was manipulated with green and blue colored frames (high Chinese vs. high Korean expectation). EEG data of 18 native Chinese speakers were recorded while participants performed an expectation judgment task. Results from occipito-temporal and whole map analyses revealed that effects of prior expectation changed throughout the N1. Accordingly in the N1 onset, a print tuning main effect was found, with a stronger N1 to Chinese characters than Korean characters, irrespective of expectation. In the N1 offset, an expectation-by-character interaction was observed at the whole map level, with a more negative N1 to Korean characters than Chinese characters when expecting a Chinese character, but no such difference when expecting a Korean character. Moreover, the expectation-by-character interaction continued to the N250, with similar responses to Chinese and Korean characters under the Chinese expectation condition, while less negative N250 to Korean than Chinese under the Korean expectation condition. Taken together, the current study provides evidence that prior category-level expectation starts to take effect at an early stage even within 200 ms by facilitating the processing of expected stimuli, suggesting that category-level expectation can influence early visual-orthographic processing during word recognition.

中文翻译：

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在视觉拼字处理的早期阶段，自上而下的类别级别期望与自下而上的感官输入之间的交互作用。

自上而下的信息如何以及何时调制视觉正交处理是阅读研究中的一个基本问题。在先前的研究中，我们表明，在ERP的N1偏移中出现刺激后，打印调整的任务调制大约在170毫秒后开始，而N1发作尚未受到影响。在这里，我们测试先前类别级别的期望如何影响视觉正交处理。呈现了熟悉的，左右结构的汉字和笔画编号匹配的，不熟悉的韩文字符，同时使用绿色和蓝色框架操纵了对即将到来的刺激的期望（汉高对朝鲜的期望很高）。在参与者执行预期判断任务时，记录了18位以中文为母语的人的脑电数据。枕颞和全图分析的结果表明，在整个N1期间，先前期望的影响发生了变化。因此，在N1开始时，发现打印调整的主要效果，与预期的汉字相比，汉字的N1更强。在N1偏移量中，在整个地图级别上观察到了逐字符的交互作用，当期望汉字时，韩文字符对汉字的N1负数要比负汉字的负数大，但期望韩文字符时，N1负数对汉字的负数却没有这种差异。此外，按字符的交互作用一直持续到N250，在汉语预期条件下，对汉字和朝鲜字符的响应相似，而在朝鲜预期条件下，对朝鲜语的负N250较中文少。在一起