Do domain-general executive resources play a role in linguistic prediction? Re-evaluation of the evidence and a path forward
Name
NPSY_special_issue_R2_10_24_2019.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
455.84 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
5076a759a41fabd50d8283cbbc3635c5
Author(s)
Ryskin, Rachel
Levy, Roger P
Fedorenko, Evelina
Date Issued
2020
Journal
Neuropsychologia
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Citation
Ryskin, Rachel, Levy, Roger P and Fedorenko, Evelina. 2020. "Do domain-general executive resources play a role in linguistic prediction? Re-evaluation of the evidence and a path forward." Neuropsychologia, 136.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
© 2019 Most current accounts of language comprehension agree on a role for prediction, but they disagree on the importance of domain-general executive resources in predictive behavior. In this opinion piece, we briefly review the evidence for linguistic prediction, and the findings that have been used to argue that prediction draws on domain-general executive resources. The most compelling evidence is an apparent reduction in predictive behavior during language comprehension in populations with lower executive resources, such as children, older adults, and second language (L2) learners. We propose that these between-population differences can be explained without invoking executive resources. Instead, differences in the quantity and kind of language experience that these populations bring to bear may affect the probability of engaging in predictive behavior, or simply make prediction effects more difficult to detect in paradigms designed for young adult native speakers. Thus, domain-specific prediction mechanisms remain a viable possibility. We discuss ways to further test accounts of linguistic prediction that do vs. do not require domain-general executive resources, using behavioral, computational, and brain imaging approaches.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA.2019.107258
