Havas, V. 1 , de Diego-Balaguer, R. 1, 2, 3 & Rodriguez-Fornells, A. 1, 2, 3
1 Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group [Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-] IDIBELL, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
2 Dept. of Basic Psychology, Campus Bellvitge, University of Barcelona, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
3 Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
In the present study we investigated the processes underlying word learning in adults and their neural correlates using event-related potentials (ERP). Two ERP experiments were conduced in which Spanish participants were exposed to Hungarian words in two ERP-sessions (one week apart). The amount of exposition of the new-words was carefully controlled: (i) two presentations (1st day and 2nd day), (ii) three presentations (two during 1st day and one during the 2nd day) and (iii) multiple presentations during the first day. Using this design and introducing several control conditions (legal pseudowords and Spanish words) we evaluated the ERP modulations depending on the amount of exposition to the new-words and were able to track the different ERP changes associated to same-day repetition vs. one-week repetition. Interestingly, we observed the modulation of two components which has been previously associated to fast word learning: the P2 and the N4. The evolution of the P2 and N4 depended on the number of presentations and the intra-day or between-day presentations. These results might be discussed considering how learners could be able to extract regularities of the new language in a fast and flexible way and in which degree memory consolidation processes influenced the present P2/N4 modulations.