1. Sachiko Kiyama 1,2, Katsuo Tamaoka 2, Rinus Verdonschot 2,3,4,5 & Kalinka Timmer 4,5 1. National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (NCGG), Japan: ZUA04776@nifty.com 1. National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (NCGG), Japan: ZUA04776@nifty.com 2. Nagoya University, Japan 2. Nagoya University, Japan 3. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan 3. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan 4. Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), the Netherland 4. Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), the Netherland 5. Leiden University Center for Linguistics (LUCL), the Netherland 5. Leiden University Center for Linguistics (LUCL), the Netherland ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 24652080 and No. 23320106). The authors thank Nobuhiro Saito for his help in stimuli recording. Attention switching trait in recognition of Japanese sentence-final particle ne: An ERP study KEYWORDS : Japanese sentence-final particle, Interpersonal function, Autistic trait, Attention switching, LPP (late positive potential) INTERPERSONAL FUNCTION OF JAPANESE SENTENCE-FINAL PARTICLE NE Japanese sentence-final particles work as pragmatic function words, such that their appropriateness cannot be decided unless contexts and/or interpersonal relationships are set. By using the most typical sentence-final particle ne, a speaker assume that hearer’s knowledge about the information is equivalent to the speaker’s, and thus assert common ground with hearer. In conversations, native Japanese speakers add the particle ne to about 10% of their utterances (Kiyama, 2005). In addition, Japanese children begin to use ne even at the age of two (e.g., Kajikawa, Amano, & Kondo, 2004). However, autistic children/adults seldom use ne (e.g., Watamaki, 1997). The abovementioned observations lead to the assumption that sensitivity to sentence-final particle ne may be affected by individual autistic traits. The present study conducted an event-related potential (ERP) experiment to explore native speakers’ individual differences in comprehension of Japanese sentence-final particle ne, in comparison with another commonly-used particle yo which conveys that the given information belongs to speaker. Twenty-four right-handed native Japanese speakers heard short dialogs in which sentence-final particles ne and yo were presented at the end of the last utterance, and made judgments on whether the sentence-final particles were appropriately used or not, as quickly as possible. Based on a pretest, we manipulated appropriate and inappropriate uses of sentence-final particles within an identical dialog: Materials: 1) Appropriate ne and inappropriate yo (description of speaker’s matter) Kondo onsen ni ikunda. I’m going to a hot spring. Honto ni onsen ga sukidane/yo You really like hot springs. 2) Appropriate yo and inappropriate ne ( comment to the interlocutor’s matter). Ohiru-gohan tabeta? Did you eat lunch? Kingo de udon tabetane/yo I ate noodle in the neighborhood. Behavioral Data: A regression analysis showed that the lower participants scored in attention switching (i.e., skilled in attention switching) which is a sub-category of AQ, the more quickly anomalous ne and yo were rejected (ne : p <.01, yo : p <.05). METHOD RESULTS The present ERP results suggest that native speakers with higher skill in attention switching are more sensible to Japanese sentence-final particle ne, while attention switching trait had no significant effects on yo. Previous studies have observed LPP for emotion-related stimuli (Brown, et al., 2012; Hajcak, et al., 2007; Zhang, et al., 2012). The particle ne may be related to emotion processing of relationship between speaker and hearer. ERP Data: After principal component analysis (PCA) of generic data, the mean amplitude in the 470- 900ms time window for ne and the 470-800ms time window for yo were analyzed by utilizing a linear mixed effect (LME) model (Baayen, 2008), setting participant group (high/low score in AQ-switching), appropriate/inappropriate condition, and presented particle (i.e., yo and ne) as fixed variables, and participant and channel as random variables. ERPs of ne processing DISCUSSION Participants skilled in attention switching Participants less-skilled in attention switching In ne condition, we found a significant interaction of app/inapp x AQ x region (p <.05). yo In yo condition, no significant effects concerning app/inapp factor were found. Late positive potentials (LPPs) of ne processing were observed especially in posterior region of participants with lower score in AQ switching (i.e., skilled in attention switching). REFERENCES (selected) Brown, S. B. R. E., Steenbergen, H. Band, G. P. 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