![]() Here, we applied a technique, rapid invisible frequency tagging (RIFT) 25 in combination with magnetoencephalography (MEG) to measure parafoveal processing, i.e., attention allocated to upcoming words in the parafovea. For instance, a few studies applied the gaze-contingent boundary paradigm and found a delayed parafoveal-on-foveal effect, where the fixation durations for word n + 1 were modulated by the preview difficulty of word n + 2 22, 23, 24. However, while eye-tracking studies have been hugely informative, the technique only indirectly measures parafoveal processing. This is based on the finding that fixation durations on a given foveated word is not impacted by the lexical frequency of the upcoming parafoveal word, the parafoveal-on-foveal effect 19, 20, 21. Most studies based on eye-tracking have produced data in support of serial attention shift models. According to this framework, lexical information of both foveal and parafoveal words is extracted in parallel. ![]() In contrast, parallel graded processing models assume that attention is allocated to several words within a reader’s perceptual span in a graded way 16, 17 (for a recent model see the OB1- reader 18). According to the mechanism described in the E-Z Reader model, the parafoveal processing can explain, for example, word skipping effects 15. Serial attention shift models maintain that lexical processing is restricted to one word at a time 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, but that attention can be shifted to the next word before the eyes do, allowing significant parafoveal processing 14. Lexical information which is related to word frequency (i.e., how often a given word occurs in the language) is important for word recognition and impacts how we move our eyes (for a review see ref. How much and what type of information is previewed from the parafoveal area is highly controversial for eye movement control models 6. This finding shows that parafoveal information plays a critical role in fluent reading regardless of its relatively low visual acuity. It is well known that reading is severely impaired when masking out the parafoveal area (i.e., 2–5 visual degrees to the current fixation) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Yet, we know little about the neuronal mechanism underlying natural reading. Given the importance of written text for communication, individuals with reading disabilities are highly disadvantaged in modern society. Humans have developed the remarkable skill of reading, allowing for efficient acquisition of information from busy pages or screens of text.
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