Low-frequency neural responses synchronize to distinct structural rather than lexical features during sentence comprehension

Abstract

Language comprehension involves the integration of single words (lexical units) into phrases and sentences (multi-word structures). Previous frequency-tagging studies have found that low-frequency neural responses synchronize to the frequency of multi-word structures. However, it is currently unclear how exactly structural and lexical processes jointly impact these synchronization findings. The present magnetoencephalography experiment implemented the frequency-tagging paradigm in the visual modality with written words to investigate neural synchronization to multi-word sentences varying in internal structure (reversed word orders between verb-initial Spanish and verb-final Basque sentences) and in lexical content (real words and pseudo words). We find converging evidence that neural responses largely synchronize to structural rather than lexical features. This was observed as robust phase synchronization strength to the frequency of sentences containing reversed structures, with certain lexical modulations depending on language-specific structural features. Crucially, we also found shifted phase angle dynamics between the reversed structures of Spanish and Basque sentences independently of word-level lexical characteristics. Together, these findings suggest that neural synchronization to multi-word structures is largely driven by distinct structural features operating via two segregated neural dimensions: frequency coding for the coarser aspects (i.e., timescale/duration) and phase representing the finer-grained aspects (i.e., internal structure) of multi-word structures. Our findings thus advance key insights into the core components of the neural mechanisms supporting language comprehension. Highlights Neural synchronization to sentences is driven by structural (not lexical) features. Robust sentence-frequency synchronization across languages varying in structure. Phase angle is selectively sensitive to cross-linguistic structural differences. Lexical modulations depend on language-specific structure. Structure synchronization segregates into two dimensions: frequency and phase.