Discourse reference processing
Referential form, discourse prominence, and the cognitive, spatial, and neural mechanisms supporting discourse representations.
Referential form and discourse representations
This research examines the relationship between referential form, discourse prominence, and access to representations in memory. We investigate how names, pronouns, and definite descriptions support referent identification and discourse integration, and how their processing depends on linguistic and contextual constraints.
Reading-time, eye-tracking, and other behavioral studies examine how informational function and processing demands constrain comprehension. Cross-linguistic comparisons distinguish general constraints on reference processing from those associated with particular grammatical and discourse structures. Complementary ERP and fMRI studies characterize the temporal dynamics and neural systems supporting referential retrieval and integration; brain-stimulation studies examine the contribution of parietal cortex to these processes.
Related publications →The repeated name penalty
The repeated name penalty provides a test case for theories relating referential form to discourse prominence and memory. Our work examines how the informational function of an anaphor interacts with its processing cost, as articulated in the informational load hypothesis.
We investigate the linguistic and discourse conditions governing repeated-name and pronoun effects, including their relationship to reference acceptability and patterns of language use. Related work addresses focus and noun-phrase anaphors in spoken comprehension and the discourse function and processing cost of referential expressions.
Related publications →Reference across languages
Cross-linguistic work examines the processing of repeated names, overt pronouns, and null subjects. Comparisons across languages test the interaction of discourse prominence, grammatical constraints, and referential form, including variation in repeated name and overt pronoun penalties.
Studies of Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese address how referential inventories, syntactic structure, implicit causality, and consequentiality constrain reference processing in native and nonnative comprehension.
Related publications →Language, reference & space
We examine whether spatial representations contribute to the establishment, maintenance, and retrieval of discourse referents in the absence of visible referents or explicit visual-spatial cues. Current work tests whether auditory-source location provides an index for subsequent reference processing and whether spatial indexing supports discourse representation across modalities.
Studies investigate the retention of auditory-source location during language comprehension. Related work examines interactions among syntactic structure, response space, and effector-specific motor responses, as well as parietal contributions to spatial-language processing.
Related publications →Neural bases of discourse reference
We investigate neural mechanisms supporting the maintenance and retrieval of discourse representations, with an emphasis on the interaction of referential form, discourse context, and memory demands. ERP and fMRI studies examine responses to names and pronouns in sentence and discourse contexts, the representation of plural discourse entities, and the contribution of spatial brain systems to personal-reference tracking.
Current research uses transcranial direct current stimulation to examine the contribution of superior parietal cortex to reference processing during reading comprehension.
Related publications →