Letters rhyme

Electrophysiological evidence from children and adults
Faculty Scholarship
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Donna
Coch
Department of Education, Dartmouth College

Developmental Neurophysiology 36(3): 302-318

Author(s): Donna Coch, Priya Mitra, Elyse George, Natalie Berger

Event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral accuracy judgments were recorded in a letter name rhyming paradigm (e.g., A-J versus A-B) with 6- to 8-year-old beginning readers and adults. A typical N450 rhyming effect was evident for both children and adults, with few differences in mean amplitude or peak latency between groups. The size and timing of the electrophysiological effect were not correlated with standardized measures of phonological or reading ability, but accuracy in the ERP task was. Single letters elicit a similar ERP rhyming effect in young children and adults, suggesting the early establishment of neurocognitive systems used in the rhyme task.

Rockefeller Center Faculty Grant Proposal: "Pictures Rhyme: An Investigation of Automatic Co-Activation of Spelling and Sound."