Processing Russian inflectional morphology: a PET study of verb generation

Abstract

For many years, acquisition of verbal morphology has been an issue of much debate within linguistic theory, research on first and second language acquisition, mental grammar representation, and cognitive processing. The proponents of the Dual Mechanism account claim that regularly inflected forms are computed by a ruleprocessing system, while morphologically irregular forms are processed in associative memory. The opposite Single Mechanism account claims that both regular and irregular forms are processed in associative memory. In the present PET study significant rCBF increase in the anterior cingulate gyrus of the left hemisphere (24 BA) was shown for regular verb generation.This may support the rule-based (de)compositional account.