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Vol.5 , No. 2, Publication Date: Apr. 27, 2018, Page: 35-43
 represents the semantic integration of information processing, the present study focuses on the N400 elicited during processing of valid Aristotelian syllogisms vs. Zeno-like paradoxes. Fifty-one healthy participants (28 males, 23 females) were investigated while performing reasoning tasks based on either valid statements or paradoxes, adjusted to induce working memory (WM). The N400 waveform was recorded while the premises / conclusions of each statement were maintained in WM. Analysis revealed that Zeno-like paradoxes elicited a more negative N400 deflection than did valid syllogisms, at a distributed scalp topography with a propensity towards posterior abductions. These results suggest that Aristotelian and paradoxical logic engage distinct electrophysiological semantic processing as reflected by the N400 ERP component.&picture=http://www.aascit.org/aascit/decorators/img/journal/906.jpg)
| [1] | Charalabos Papageorgiou, 1st Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece; University Mental Health Research Institute (UMHRI), Athens, Greece. |
| [2] | Panos Papageorgiou, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece. |
| [3] | Xanthi Stachtea, 1st Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece; University Mental Health Research Institute (UMHRI), Athens, Greece. |
| [4] | Antonio T. Alexandridis, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece. |
| [5] | Maria Margariti, 1st Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. |
| [6] | Emmanouil Rizos, 2nd Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. |
| [7] | George Chrousos, First Department of Paediatrics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. |
| [8] | Eleftheria Tsaltas, 1st Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. |
There has been a growing interest in understanding the cognitive processes that underlie human reasoning. Since the N400 component of event related potentials (ERPs) represents the semantic integration of information processing, the present study focuses on the N400 elicited during processing of valid Aristotelian syllogisms vs. Zeno-like paradoxes. Fifty-one healthy participants (28 males, 23 females) were investigated while performing reasoning tasks based on either valid statements or paradoxes, adjusted to induce working memory (WM). The N400 waveform was recorded while the premises / conclusions of each statement were maintained in WM. Analysis revealed that Zeno-like paradoxes elicited a more negative N400 deflection than did valid syllogisms, at a distributed scalp topography with a propensity towards posterior abductions. These results suggest that Aristotelian and paradoxical logic engage distinct electrophysiological semantic processing as reflected by the N400 ERP component.
Keywords
Aristotelian, Event Related Potentials, N400, Paradoxes, Reasoning, Semantic, Zeno
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