Word class processing in adults with and without stuttering

a study on the testability of the Integrated Theory of Fluency

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-4301.2023.1.44428

Keywords:

Stuttering, Linguistic processing, Word classes, ERP´s, Theory.

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental study to test the fundamental proposition of the Integrated Theory of Fluency, which is to conceive verbal fluency as a linguistic skill. Based on Linguistics, Psycholinguistics and Neuroscience of Language, we investigate components of event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by open and closed class words in the linguistic processing of sentences, in adults with and without stuttering. The hypothesis is that since verbal fluency is a linguistic skill, its typical development is directly related to the processes of identification and access to formal features, while stuttering, being a fluency disorder, is related to difficulties in representing formal features in the mental lexicon and/or in accessing them during on-line computation. To test this hypothesis, a mixed paradigm experiment was carried out. Fourteen adults who stutter and fourteen fluent adults, with mean age of 24.6 years, participated in a task of silent sentence reading, concomitant to the recording of brain electrical activity by means of electroencephalography. The results showed that the word classes provoked distinct ERPs. The analysis of brain electrical activity underlying the categorical word identification process was the main difference between the groups. This finding contributed to the assumption of verbal fluency as a linguistic skill.

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Author Biographies

Débora Vasconcelos Correia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística (PROLING), João Pessoa, PB, Brasil.

He has a degree in Speech Therapy from the Centro Universitário de João Pessoa (UNIPÊ). She has a PhD in Linguistics from the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), with a thesis on the proposition of the Integrated Theory of Fluency awarded by ANPOLL (2023). He is a specialist in Fluency from the Federal Council of Speech Therapy and in Applied Neuroscience from the Federal University of Pernambuco. Professor, researcher and coordinator of the Flua Project at UFPB.

Janaina Weissheimer, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Estudos da Linguagem (PPGEL), Natal, RN, Brasil.

He has a degree in Portuguese-English Literature from the University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos. She has a PhD in Literature/English from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, with a post-doctoral internship at Kutas Lab (UCSD, 2014) and Bilingualism, Mind and Brain Lab (UCI, 2023), in the USA. She is a professor and researcher at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, CNPq level 2 researcher and deputy coordinator of the National Science for Education Network.

Gustavo Lopez Estivalet, Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística (PROLING), João Pessoa, PB, Brasil.

He has a degree in Letters–French Language and Literature from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). He has a PhD in Neurosciences and Cognitive Sciences at the Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), with a post-doctoral internship at the Laboratory of Language and Cognitive Processes – LabLing (UFSC, 2018). He is a professor and researcher at the Federal University of Paraíba and a member of the Language Processing Laboratory (LAPROL) at UFPB.

José Ferrari Neto, Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística (PROLING), João Pessoa, PB, Brasil.

He has a degree in Literature from the Catholic University of Petrópolis and a specialization in Portuguese from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He has a PhD in Language Studies from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, with a post-doctoral internship in Linguistics from the State University of Campinas. He is a professor and researcher at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), member of the Linguistic Processing Laboratory at UFPB and CNPq level 2 researcher.

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2024-02-20

How to Cite

Vasconcelos Correia, D., Weissheimer, J., Lopez Estivalet, G., & Ferrari Neto, J. (2024). Word class processing in adults with and without stuttering: a study on the testability of the Integrated Theory of Fluency. Letrônica, 16(1), e44428. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-4301.2023.1.44428

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Vol. 16 No. 1 (2023): Single Volume

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PSICOLINGUÍSTICA E NEUROLINGUÍSTICA EM INTERFACES

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