Is Word Recognition Automatic? A Cognitive-Anatomical Approach
Abstract
It is generally accepted that two tasks will interfere to the extent that they require attention or involve shared non-attentional processing systems. The authors anatomical data from studies of blood flow during lexical processing to generated hypotheses about the conditions under which an auditory shadowing task would interfere with three common visual priming tasks. Data from blood flow studies suggest that visual priming involves automatic activation of a set of posterior visual areas that are not activated by auditory language processing. In accord with this account, we found no reduction in visual priming during simultaneous shadowing. Cueing covert visual attention involves posterior parietal areas that are not involved in auditory shadowing. However, these posterior areas are part of a unified attention system. In accord with this idea, cueing covert attention is greatly affected by simultaneous auditory shadowing. Blood flow data indicate that semantic involves both an anterior attention system and an area of lateral frontal cortex. Both these areas can also be activated by auditory information.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 30, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA197089
Entities
People
- Gordon L. Shulman
- Jennifer Sandson
- Meena Dhawan
- Michael Posner
Organizations
- University of Washington