It is well known that attention plays a crucial role in language comprehension. However, most studies in the psycholinguistic field have focused on the interplay among linguistic modulars (such as syntax, semantics and phonology), leaving the influence of attention on language comprehension largely unknown. Given that both information structure and emotion could serve to modulate attention, we will use EEG and fMRI techniques to investigate their influences on language comprehension as well as the underlying neural mechanisms. First, we will compare the brain regions activated by information structure with the attention network localized in a spatial attention task, thereby testing whether a domain-general attention network is recruited during language comprehension. Second, the degree of attentional influences of emotion will be assessed by examining how emotional information affects its following information processing. Finally, we will study the temporal and spatial characteristics of the interaction between information structure and emotion. The findings will contribute to our understanding of the language comprehension within a general cognitive processing framework. In addition, the results will provide some theoretical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of language impairments related to attentional de
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