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Abstract:
Abstract: Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while
beginning (aged 6-8 years) and skilled (college students) readers
completed a semantic classification task with 3-5 letter words.
Items were presented one at a time, and subjects were asked to
respond with a button press to common animal names (e.g., dog).
Other stimuli included high frequency words familiar to average
first graders (e.g., dress), matched low frequency words unfamiliar
to first graders (e.g., tress), and matched non-words (e.g.,
rtses). Two-thirds of the stimuli repeated immediately, with
remaining items serving as non-repeating foils. Standardized
reading tests were also administered to evaluate reading skill. ERP
repetition effects (i.e., more positive waveforms for repeated
items) were examined for subgroups of subjects. High-ability female
beginning readers showed late repetition effects for familiar words
only. Male children showed repetition effects for all categories of
real words, with larger effects for better readers; high frequency,
familiar words elicited left hemisphere or bilateral repetition
effects, while low frequency, unfamiliar words showed right
hemisphere effects. Skilled adult readers showed small, early
repetition effects that also differed by gender. Females evidenced
a more typical repetition effect, while males displayed an
atypical, bimodal effect at central sites. This complex pattern of
results will be discussed in terms of both gender and
development.
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