Open AccessElectroencephalographic characteristics of word finding during phonological and semantic verbal fluency tasks
Author(s) -
Mousavi Najva,
Nazari Mohammad Ali,
Babapour Jalil,
Jahan Ali
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
neuropsychopharmacology reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.661
H-Index - 13
ISSN - 2574-173X
DOI - 10.1002/npr2.12129
Subject(s) - verbal fluency test , psychology , temporal lobe , electroencephalography , cognitive psychology , fluency , frontal lobe , audiology , recall , semantic memory , vocabulary , semantics (computer science) , cognition , neuropsychology , neuroscience , linguistics , computer science , epilepsy , medicine , philosophy , mathematics education , programming language
Aims Verbal Fluency is sensitive to brain damage and is employed to assess language abilities like the size of vocabulary and the semantic‐lexical networks’ integrity and executive functioning abilities particularly inhibition, working memory, and self‐monitoring. Various studies revealed oscillatory changes related to word retrieval during different tasks. However, there are not enough studies on electroencephalographic characteristics of word retrieval routes (phonological or semantic pathway) during free recall. The purpose of our study was to investigate electroencephalography power relationship with semantic and phonological word finding routes during verbal fluency. Methods In this within‐subject study, the electroencephalography of 20 healthy participants was recorded during written category and letter fluency tasks and compared with the rest state. Absolute power of the signals in delta (1‐3.5 Hz), theta (4‐7.5 Hz), alpha (8‐12 Hz), and beta (12.5‐30 Hz) was calculated in three lobes (frontal, parietal, and temporal). Results A repeated measures ANOVA showed significant interaction of condition × lobe × frequency × side ( P < .001). Post hoc test for each lobe showed significant changes in the absolute power of delta, theta and beta for frontal, delta and theta for parietal, and theta and beta for temporal lobes ( P ‐values < .05). Conclusion Searching the words by phonological entries is associated with decreased beta and increased theta in left frontal lobe. These changes are not necessary for semantic word retrieval strategy.