Semantic processing during morphological priming: An ERP study

• We examined morphological and semantic priming using French words.
• We measured behavioral responses and event-related potentials.
• Behaviorally, morphological priming was larger than semantic priming.
• In the ERP data, semantic priming arises later than morphological priming.
• The results are consistent with theories integrating morpho-semantic processing.

Previous research has yielded conflicting results regarding the onset of semantic processing during morphological priming. The present study was designed to further explore the time-course of morphological processing using event-related potentials (ERPs). We conducted a primed lexical decision study comparing a morphological (LAVAGE – laver [washing – wash]), a semantic (LINGE – laver [laundry – wash]), an orthographic (LAVANDE – laver [lavender – wash]), and an unrelated control condition (HOSPICE – laver [nursing home – wash]), using the same targets across the four priming conditions. The behavioral data showed significant effects of morphological and semantic priming, with the magnitude of morphological priming being significantly larger than the magnitude of semantic priming. The ERP data revealed significant morphological but no semantic priming at 100–250 ms. Furthermore, a reduction of the N400 amplitude in the morphological condition compared to the semantic and orthographic condition demonstrates that the morphological priming effect was not entirely due to the semantic or orthographic overlap between the prime and the target. The present data reflect an early process of semantically blind morphological decomposition, and a later process of morpho-semantic decomposition, which we discuss in the context of recent morphological processing theories.