Think! Evidence

The nature of the working memory system underlying language processing and its relationship to the long-term memory system

Show simple item record

dc.contributor Nancy Kanwisher.
dc.contributor Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.
dc.contributor Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.
dc.creator Fedorenko, Evelina Georgievna
dc.date 2008-03-27T18:33:19Z
dc.date 2008-03-27T18:33:19Z
dc.date 2007
dc.date 2007
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40975
dc.identifier 213297745
dc.description Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, 2007.
dc.description Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-145).
dc.description This thesis examines two questions concerning the working memory system underlying language processing: (1) To what extent is the working memory system underlying language processing domain-specific? and (2) What is the relationship between the working memory system and the long-term memory system in language processing? In Chapter 1, I describe ten experiments investigating the extent to which the working memory system underlying linguistic integrations is domain-specific. I argue that the results of these experiments demonstrate that at least some aspects of the working memory system used for linguistic integrations are not domain-specific, being involved in arithmetic, and possibly, musical processing. In Chapter 2, I describe six experiments investigating the relationship between the two retrieval operations that are required when an incoming word is integrated into an evolving structure: the retrieval of the lexical properties of the word from long-term memory and the retrieval of its structural dependents from working memory. I demonstrate that the relative ease or difficulty of retrieving the lexical properties of an incoming word affect the difficulty of retrieving its structural dependents. I therefore argue that the two retrieval operations rely on overlapping pools of resources.
dc.description by Evelina G. Fedorenko.
dc.description Ph.D.
dc.format 171 leaves
dc.format application/pdf
dc.language eng
dc.publisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology
dc.rights M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
dc.rights http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
dc.subject Brain and Cognitive Sciences.
dc.title The nature of the working memory system underlying language processing and its relationship to the long-term memory system
dc.type Thesis


Files in this item

Files Size Format View
213297745-MIT.pdf 14.06Mb application/pdf View/Open

Files in this item

Files Size Format View
213297745-MIT.pdf 14.06Mb application/pdf View/Open

Files in this item

Files Size Format View
213297745-MIT.pdf 14.06Mb application/pdf View/Open

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record

Search Think! Evidence


Browse

My Account