Beyond bad: early ERP correlates of written swearword processing

The aim of the study was to analyse brain responses to offensive words and compare them with non-vulgar negative words. We hypothesised differences in ERP amplitudes within the first 200 ms after the word’s onset and late modulation related to the processing of vulgar words. Twenty-five volunteers viewed briefly presented (500 ms) sets (each n = 20) of vulgar, negative, and neutral adjectives. Four time windows were analysed, corresponding to the N1 (80–120 ms), the P150 (130–180 ms), the N400 (350–450 ms), and the late positive potential (LPP, 500–700 ms) components of the ERP. There were no differences noted on the earliest component. There was a significant result on the P150 with the highest amplitudes evoked to negative adjectives and the lowest amplitudes evoked to the vulgar adjectives. The effect indicates less demanding attentional engagement for offensive language during the first lexico-semantic analysis stage. There was also LPP modulation with the highest amplitudes evoked in response to the vulgar words. Swearwords seem to be a special category marked early and late in visual processing, based not on valence or arousal attributes, but rather on social taboo defiance, which does not necessitate heightened levels of attentional capture, but engages more elaborate semantic re-analysis.

本研究旨在分析大脑对冒犯性词汇的脑响应，并将其与非粗俗负面词汇进行对比。本研究提出如下假设：在词汇起始后的前200毫秒内，事件相关电位（Event-Related Potential，ERP）的振幅存在差异，且与粗俗词汇加工相关的晚期调制效应亦存在差异。25名志愿者观看了时长为500毫秒的快速呈现词汇组，每组包含20个粗俗、负面及中性形容词。本研究分析了四个时间窗口，分别对应ERP的N1（80–120毫秒）、P150（130–180毫秒）、N400（350–450毫秒）以及晚正电位（Late Positive Potential，LPP，500–700毫秒）成分。最早的脑电成分未观察到显著差异。P150成分呈现出显著效应：负面形容词诱发的振幅最高，粗俗形容词诱发的振幅最低。该效应表明，在首个词汇语义分析阶段，冒犯性语言所需的注意投入程度更低。此外，晚正电位（LPP）亦存在调制效应：粗俗词汇诱发的振幅最高。脏话似乎属于一类特殊范畴，其在视觉加工的早期与晚期阶段均被标记，且并非基于效价或唤醒度属性，而是基于对社会禁忌的违背；这类词汇无需引发更高程度的注意捕获，却会触发更精细的语义再分析过程。