Schedule of Events | Symposia

L2-Specific vs. General Bilingual Factors in Predictive Processing: Linking Aperiodic EEG Activity and N400 Facilitation in Sentence Contexts

Poster Session E - Monday, March 31, 2025, 2:30 – 4:30 pm EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Katherine Sendek¹ (ksendek@ucdavis.edu), Tamara Swaab¹; ¹University of California - Davis

It is debated whether bilinguals predict in their second language (L2), with current theories proposing differences in predictive processing between bilinguals and monolinguals due to either L2-specific differences in experience or general bilingual effects. However, few studies have investigated neural effects of bilingual language experience on prediction. In the present study we examined effects of language experience on sentence processing within Mandarin-English bilinguals using EEG during reading, compared to English monolinguals. The goals of the study were to isolate the potential impact of bilingual experience (L2-specific or general bilingual) on prediction and examine if neural differences modulate predictive processing. We measured the amplitude of the N400 to critical words that were either highly predictable or not in sentence context, and the slope of the aperiodic oscillatory activity in the 0-30Hz range prior to the onset of the critical words. Previous findings from our lab in monolinguals showed that a steeper aperiodic slope was associated with larger N400 effects, reflecting enhanced prediction facilitation. Preliminary results of the present study showed a significant N400 effect of cloze probability for both groups, supporting the presence of bilingual prediction in L2. Moreover, the aperiodic slope was significantly steeper overall for bilinguals, suggesting heightened predictive activity, possibly resulting from the need to manage two linguistic systems. Finally, we replicated our finding that a steeper aperiodic slope was associated with greater N400 effects. This relationship was modulated by bilingual experience within bilinguals, but did not indicate an impact of L2-specific factors over general bilingual ones.

Topic Area: LANGUAGE: Semantic