Institute for Cognitive Science  Dir. Pr. Marc Jeannerod - HOEN Michel - - Neuroscience PhD Student - Team :  "Sequential Cognition and Language" Dir. PhD Peter-Ford DOMINEY

Where to Contact me :

Institut des Sciences Cognitives
UMR 5015 CNRS-UCBL
67, Bd Pinel 69675 Bron Cedex
Phone : (+33) 437-911-265
Mail : hoen@isc.cnrs.fr

EDUCATION :

 - 1997 - 1998 : "Licence" in Biology and Cellular Physiology
                             at the Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg

 - 1998 - 1999 : "Maîtrise" in Physiology, Cellular Physiology and
                             Neuroscience (ULP)

 - 1999 - 2000 : DEA in  Cognitive Neuroscience
                            Claude Bernard University in Lyon

 - 2000 - 2001 : PhD Student in Cognitive Neuroscience
                            Founded by a grant of the French Research Minister
                            Directed by PhD Peter-Ford DOMINEY

Research Interest :

We are developing a new way, using Abstract Sequences, to study the neurophysiological basis of Syntactic Structure processing.
My Work adresses the question of isolating the possible similarities and/or Differences between processing Abstract Structures (Sequences of symbols) and Syntactic Structures (Sentences), using High-Density Event Related Potentials (ERPs).

Especially, I work on sequences that have an abstract structure determined by the presence of a particular "Function Element" (by analogy with the Function words in language). One example could be : the letter "X" in the sequence : A B C X B C A, where the presence of  "X" would allways indicate an Abstract Structure like : 1 2 3 X 2 3 1
Using such sequences, we investigate the Cognitive functions associated with certain language-related ERP Effects.

Recently I worked on the effect called LAN "Left Anterior Negativity", associated in language studies, with the extraction of the Syntactic Structure of a sentence from particular words, when the Syntactic Structure of the sentence is Complex or non-canonical (Kluender R. and Kutas M., 1993 ; Rösler F. et al., 1998). We have shown that the reading of the Function Element "X" in sequences like the one given as example, is also associated with a LAN effect, when compared to the letter "Z" in sequences like A B C Z D E F, where no Abstract Structure is present.
Suggesting that the LAN effect could reflect a general serial order transformation processing that could be relevant to syntactic processing.

Papers :

- Hoen M. and Dominey PF., " ERP analysis of Cognitive sequencing : a left anterior
    negativity related to structural transformation processing "
    Neuroreport 11(14) Sept. 2000 pp : 3187 – 3191.

Download a Pdf version of this article 
 

Other Communications :

Posters :

- Hoen M. and Dominey PF., " A Non-linguistic correlate of function-word processing revealed by event-related potentials." FENS 2000. Forum of european neuroscience, Brighton, UK, June 2000.
Abstract in European Journal of Neuroscience 12(Supp.11) 2000 p : 169.

- Hoen M. and Dominey PF., " Expression of a syntactic processing ERP signature in a cognitive sequencing task " AMLaP 2000. Architectures and Mechanisms of Language Processing, Leiden, The Netherlands, September 2000.

- Hoen M. and Dominey PF., " What can abstract sequences tell us about Langage-related evoked potentials ? " ESCOP 2001. European Society for Cognitive Psychology, Edinburgh, Scotland, September 2001.

- Hoen M. and Dominey PF., " Event-related brain potentials of abstract sequencing give a new insight towards the neurophysiology of syntactic processing. " First joint meeting of the European Brain and Behaviour Society (EBBS) and European Behavioural Pharmacology Society, Marseille, France, September 2001. Abstract in Behavioural Pharmacology 12(Supp.1) Aug. 2001 p : S48