ERP Differences Between Literary and Non-literary Metaphors
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Authors:
Hongjun Chen Xiaoshuang Peng Qilin Lu and Huili Wang / Language and Cognitive Science / 2016,2(1): 27−53 / 2016-08-26
- Keywords: LPC; literary metaphor; metaphor neural mechanism; N400
- Abstract: In this work the distinction between literary and non-literary metaphor comprehension is addressed by neurophysiological methodology to further explore the neural mechanisms of metaphor processing and promote the understanding of the differences between literary and non-literary metaphors. We have used event-related potentials (ERPs) in experiments to examine whether differences in neural mechanisms exist between the two. Amplitudes of the N400 and the Late Positive Component (LPC) ERP components (350–400ms, 750–800ms respectively) were more negative for literary metaphors when compared with literal sentences and non-literary metaphors. This study has produced empirical evidence for the differences between literary metaphor and non-literary metaphor comprehension, which expands the relevant studies and possibly helps to advance the understanding of how metaphor in literature is employed.
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