{"690420":{"#nid":"690420","#data":{"type":"event","title":"MS Proposal by Haley Shea Barfield","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EName: Haley Shea Barfield\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Psychology \u2013 Master\u2019s Thesis Proposal Meeting\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDate:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003ETuesday, May 26, 2026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETime:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E3:30\u0026nbsp;\u2013\u0026nbsp;5:00pm\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELocation:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EVirtual\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETeams Link:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EAvailable upon request (reach out to \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:hbarfield6@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ehbarfield6@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E if interested in attending)\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThesis Chair\/Advisor:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBruce Walker, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThesis Committee Members:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMengyao Li, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERichard Catrambone, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETitle: Investigating neural correlates of thematic ambiguity resolution and ditransitive sentence processing with electroencephalography (EEG) and the event-related potential (ERP) technique\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EIn psycholinguistics, \u0022thematic relation\u0022 refers to semantic information about \u0022who is doing what (to or for whom)\u0022 in a given sentence. Within Friederici\u2019s neurocognitive model of language processing, the subprocess of thematic relations has been shown in both Phase 2 and Phase 3, meaning the precise timing of this aspect of sentence processing is not entirely clear. Part 1 of this project (Master\u2019s thesis) aims to contribute evidence toward constraining the relative timing of subprocesses within Friederici\u2019s model by examining neural activity associated with thematic role assignment, thematic reanalysis, syntactic-semantic conflict, and resolution of ambiguity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo do so, this study focuses on comprehension of stimulus sentences with three ditransitive conditions (independent variable; attributive, non-attributive\/double-object dative, and ambiguous), all following the same part-of-speech word order. Stimulus sentences are displayed using rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) during a novel classification task, following a within-subjects (repeated measures) experimental design. To achieve the objectives of Part 1 and establish the model training and testing datasets for Part 2, electroencephalographic (EEG) data (a neurophysiological dependent variable) will be collected from participants during the experimental sentence classification task and analyzed using the event-related potential (ERP) technique, testing for N400, P600, or combined N400-P600 component effects. Behavioral data including response times, classification judgments, and confidence responses (dependent variables collected via E-Prime) will be analyzed using linear mixed models (LMMs) and generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) for classification accuracy (congruence) of non-ambiguous trials. Hypotheses for the ambiguous condition include longer response times and greater amplitude for the semantic-associated N400 and\/or syntactic-associated P600 components, in comparison to non-ambiguous conditions. Longer response times may reflect increased cognitive workload during thematic reanalysis of ambiguous sentences. Approximate timing of significantly greater ERP component amplitude (i.e. in the 400ms or 600ms post-stimulus windows) may help to narrow down the positioning of thematic role assignment to either Phase 2 or Phase 3 of Friederici\u2019s model.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELooking ahead, Part 2 of this project (dissertation) will explore the intersections of neurolinguistics and emerging technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence (AI) and brain-computer interface (BCI)) by training a machine learning (ML) model to classify a subset of Part 1\u2019s collected neural data by sentence type with respect to human interpretations of structure (reserving further ML details for the dissertation proposal). Regarding future directions and broader impacts at the career scope, to provide context of long-term goals: This work (including a series of follow-up studies covering other basic sentence structures in English, anticipated to begin in the post-doctoral phase) provides an initial foundation before neural data can become useful for accurately disambiguating human intentions during language production (e.g. improving semantic alignment and accuracy of response when ambiguous prompts are given to AI agents) and could influence development of brain-based benchmarks for metalinguistic evaluation of large language models (LLMs). As neurotechnologies continue to emerge, human sentence processing research using EEG\/ERP methods could potentially help establish groundwork for future improvement of voiceless, hands-free human-computer interaction by drawing on findings from neurolinguistics to better account for the unresolved problem of ambiguous language pervasive in existing subvocalization-based BCI paradigms. Thus, the eventual development of a silent language BCI paradigm that is robust to the problem of linguistic ambiguity is a main motivator for this research and continuation of its trajectory beyond the graduate level.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInvestigating neural correlates of thematic ambiguity resolution and ditransitive sentence processing with electroencephalography (EEG) and the event-related potential (ERP) technique\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Investigating neural correlates of thematic ambiguity resolution and ditransitive sentence processing with electroencephalography (EEG) and the event-related potential (ERP) technique"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2026-05-21 15:55:26","changed_gmt":"2026-05-21 15:56:57","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-05-26T15:30:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2026-05-26T17:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-05-26T17:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-05-26 19:30:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-05-26 21:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-05-26 21:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Virtual","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"166866","name":"MS Proposal"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}