Crowded words can be processed semantically: Evidence from an ERP study

• The ERP technique was used to investigate semantic processing of crowded words.
• The results showed that the N400 component was elicited by unconscious crowded words.
• The findings provide ERP evidence for the semantic processing of crowded words.
• The results suggest that the features of the crowded words are integrated correctly.

The term “crowding” refers to impaired peripheral object identification due to the presence of nearby objects. In this study, event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to investigate semantic processing of crowded Chinese words by combining a crowding task with a semantic-priming paradigm. Results showed that the N400 component, an index of semantic processing, was elicited by both crowded and uncrowded words. These results suggest that words were processed semantically despite crowding, and that features of the crowded words were integrated correctly.