Cited by 4,377Neurobiology of Language and BilingualismReading and Literacy DevelopmentCategorization, perception, and language

Thirty years and counting: finding meaning in the N400 component of the event-related brain potential (ERP).

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Kutas, Marta, Federmeier, Kara D.·2011·Annual Review of Psychology

Abstract

We review the discovery, characterization, and evolving use of the N400, an event-related brain potential response linked to meaning processing. We describe the elicitation of N400s by an impressive range of stimulus types—including written, spoken, and signed words or pseudowords; drawings, photos, and videos of faces, objects, and actions; sounds; and mathematical symbols—and outline the sensitivity of N400 amplitude (as its latency is remarkably constant) to linguistic and nonlinguistic manipulations. We emphasize the effectiveness of the N400 as a dependent variable for examining almost every aspect of language processing and highlight its expanding use to probe semantic memory and to determine how the neurocognitive system dynamically and flexibly uses bottom-up and top-down information to make sense of the world. We conclude with different theories of the N400's functional significance and offer an N400-inspired reconceptualization of how meaning processing might unfold.

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Crossref · 10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.131123

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  1. Kutas M Van Petten C 1994 Psycholinguistics electrified: Event-related brain potential investigations Handbook of Psycholinguistics Gernsbacher MA 83 143 San Diego, California Academic Press

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Authors
Kutas, M., & Federmeier, K. D.
Affiliations
  • Departments of Cognitive Science and Neurosciences, Center for Research in Language, Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, University of California, San Diego, California 92093;
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
Venue
Annual Review of Psychology
Published
2011-01-10
Volume
62
Issue
1
Pages
621-647
ISSN
  • 0066-4308 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-2085
OpenAlex
W2141138276
Cited by
4,377
References
106
Citations by year
2026: 317 · 2025: 354 · 2024: 323 · 2023: 302 · 2022: 312 · 2021: 358 · 2020: 434 · 2019: 346 · 2018: 276 · 2017: 274 · 2016: 237 · 2015: 266 · 2014: 220 · 2013: 166 · 2012: 136
FWCI
8.31
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Annual Review of Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (R01AG008313, AG26308, R01AG026308, AG83013)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD022614, R01HD022614)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Categorization, perception, and language
Keywords
N400, event-related potentials, semantic processing, semantic memory, language processing, meaning processing, top-down processing, bottom-up processing, word recognition, pseudowords, mathematical symbols
MeSH terms
Brain, Brain Mapping, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Humans, Language, Memory

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