Processing word prosody-behavioral and neuroimaging evidence for heterogeneous performance in a language with variable stress.

ABSTRACT: In the present behavioral and fMRI study, we investigated for the first time interindividual variability in word stress processing in a language with variable stress position (German) in order to identify behavioral predictors and neural correlates underlying these differences. It has been argued that speakers of languages with variable stress should perform relatively well in tasks tapping into the representation and processing of word stress, given that this is a relevant feature of their language. Nevertheless, in previous studies on word stress processing large degrees of interindividual variability have been observed but were ignored or left unexplained. Twenty-five native speakers of German performed a sequence recall task using both segmental and suprasegmental stimuli. In general,

SUBMITTER: Heisterueber M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4010785 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature