The Neural Structural Basis of Individual Differences in Word Frequency Effect on Eye Movement Measures During Chinese Reading

doi:10.12139/j.1672-0628.2024.06.001

Abstract

Abstract:

Previous studies have demonstrated that cortical gray matter structure can predict individual reading ability which was measured by reading test tasks. However, such tasks are limited in capturing the neural morphological substrates underlying specific lexical processing during natural reading. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the structural neural basis of individual differences in lexical processing during natural Chinese reading. Given that word frequency is one of the most influential properties of a word, word frequency effect is a good indicator for individual differences in lexical processing. We used eye tracking to quantify word frequency effects in 76 adult readers during Chinese sentence reading. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was employed to measure participants’ gray matter volume (GMV), while connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) was applied to explore the morphological structural connectivity patterns associated with individual differences in word frequency effect. The results showed that word frequency effect in regression path duration was significantly and positively correlated with GMV in the left superior parietal lobule (LSPL), which suggests that LSPL plays a critical role in lexical integration. Regarding morphological structural connectivity, both positive and negative models successfully predicted word frequency effect in the number of first fixations. Additionally, the positive model successfully predicted word frequency effect in total number of fixations. These findings reveal that the individual differences in lexical processing during Chinese reading are associated with the morphological structure of specific brain regions.

Key words: word frequency effect, individual difference, eye movements, morphological structure, Chinese reading

摘要：

以往研究揭示大脑皮层灰质结构可预测个体阅读能力。然而，这些研究主要采用阅读测验任务衡量个体阅读能力，难以揭示自然阅读中词汇加工个体差异对应的大脑形态结构基础。为揭示该问题，本研究通过EyeLink 1000Plus眼动仪测量76名成人读者在中文句子阅读中的词频效应，以此衡量词汇加工个体差异；使用Prisma 3.0T MRI扫描仪采集被试的大脑灰质体积，并使用基于连接体的预测建模方法探讨词频效应个体差异的形态结构连接。结果表明，回视路径时间上的词频效应与左侧顶叶上小叶(LSPL)灰质体积显著正相关，表明左侧顶叶上小叶在词汇语义整合中发挥关键作用。在形态结构连接性上，正向和负向模型都成功预测了首次注视次数上的词频效应，正向模型还成功预测了总注视次数上的词频效应。这些结果揭示了阅读中词汇加工环节上的个体差异与特定脑区的大脑形态结构有关。

关键词: 词频效应, 个体差异, 眼动, 形态结构, 中文阅读

Xiangwen CHEN, Longge WANG, Huilan HU, Zhichao ZHANG, Mengsi WANG, Qiang WANG, Manman ZHANG. The Neural Structural Basis of Individual Differences in Word Frequency Effect on Eye Movement Measures During Chinese Reading[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2024, 22(6): 721-729.

陈相文, 王泷歌, 胡惠兰, 张志超, 王梦思, 汪强, 张慢慢. 中文阅读词频效应个体差异的脑结构基础：基于眼动指标的分析[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2024, 22(6): 721-729.

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References 0

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词频	句子
高频	节目请到的经济学家预测石油价格明年将会继续上涨。
低频	节目请到的经济学家预测稀土价格明年将会继续上涨。

词频	句子
高频	节目请到的经济学家预测石油价格明年将会继续上涨。
低频	节目请到的经济学家预测稀土价格明年将会继续上涨。

眼动指标	高频	低频
首次注视时间(ms)	231(33)	243(36)
首次注视次数	1.05(0.08)	1.08(0.12)
单次注视时间(ms)	231(34)	242(39)
凝视时间(ms)	245(42)	266(50)
回视路径时间(ms)	293(70)	318(89)
总注视时间(ms)	305(68)	349(89)
总注视次数	1.33(0.23)	1.46(0.34)

眼动指标	高频	低频
首次注视时间(ms)	231(33)	243(36)
首次注视次数	1.05(0.08)	1.08(0.12)
单次注视时间(ms)	231(34)	242(39)
凝视时间(ms)	245(42)	266(50)
回视路径时间(ms)	293(70)	318(89)
总注视时间(ms)	305(68)	349(89)
总注视次数	1.33(0.23)	1.46(0.34)

眼动指标	词频效应(低频vs.高频)
眼动指标	b	SE	t	p	95%CI
首次注视时间	0.05	0.01	4.41	<0.001	[0.03, 0.08]
首次注视次数	0.02	0.01	2.88	0.004	[0.01, 0.04]
单次注视时间	0.05	0.01	4.15	<0.001	[0.03, 0.08]
凝视时间	0.08	0.01	5.79	<0.001	[0.05, 0.11]
回视路径时间	0.08	0.02	4.36	<0.001	[0.05, 0.12]
总注视时间	0.12	0.02	7.02	<0.001	[0.09, 0.16]
总注视次数	0.08	0.01	5.35	<0.001	[0.05, 0.10]