Incidental picture exposure affects later reading: Evidence from the N400

Language comprehenders form a mental representation of the implied shape of objects mentioned in the text. In the present study, the influence of prior visual experience on subsequent reading was assessed. In two separate phases, participants saw a picture of an object and read a text about the object, suggesting the same or a different shape. When the shapes in the two phases mismatched, ERPs during reading showed a larger N400 amplitude than when the shapes matched, suggesting that a picture presented incidentally 15 min earlier affected reading. These results further strengthen the case for the interaction of language and visual experience during language comprehension.

► Participants studied pictures of items in a particular shape.
► We recorded ERPs during reading about the items in a matching or mismatching shape.
► N400 amplitude during reading was higher after mismatching pictures.
► Pictures encountered incidentally influence later language comprehension.