This thesis presents Elliphant, a machine learning system for classifying Spanish subject ellipsis as either referential or non-referential. Linguistically motivated features are incorporated in a system which performs a ternary classification: verbs with explicit subjects, verbs with omitted but referential subjects (zero pronouns), and verbs with no subject (impersonal constructions). To the ...

The neural bases of the association between negative affectivity and self-focus remain unknown in healthy subjects. Building on the role of the cortical midline structures (CMS) in self-referential processing, we hypothesized that negative affectivity in healthy subjects would be associated with an increased activation of the CMS during self-referential processing. We presented positive and neg...

The spontaneous index finger and other referential pointing in 3 adult, laboratory chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) who have not received language training is reported. Of 256 total observed points, 254 were emitted in the presence of a human to objects in the environment; therefore, the points were communicative. Indicators of intentional communication used by the subjects included attention-gett...

this study investigates the relationship between extraversion/introversion personality dimension and the use of strategic competence (sc) in oral referential communication by iranian efl learners. referential communication refers to a kind of guided communication in which the referents (or topics) are given to the speakers to convey their meanings to the listeners. 50 sophomore english students...

This study used positron emission tomography (PET) to identify the brain substrate of self-referential reflective activity and to investigate its relationship with brain areas that are active during the resting state. Thirteen healthy volunteers performed reflective tasks pertaining to three different matters (the self, another person, and social issues) while they were scanned. Rest scans were...

the purpose of this study was to investigate two different techniques for testing reading comprehension questions. differences are measured by two different types of questions including inferential and referential questions. to answer the referential questions, the reader is required to move beyond the level of sentence comprehension and understand the relationship among the sentences. while, i...

Empathy is the ability to identify with or make a vicariously experience of another person's feelings or thoughts based on memory and/or self-referential mental simulation. The default mode network in particular is related to self-referential empathy. In order to elucidate the possible neural mechanisms underlying empathy, we investigated the functional connectivity of the default mode network ...

Lack of insight (unawareness of illness) is a common and clinically relevant feature of schizophrenia. Reduced levels of self-referential processing have been proposed as a mechanism underlying poor insight. The default mode network (DMN) has been implicated as a key node in the circuit for self-referential processing. We hypothesized that during resting state the DMN network would show decreas...

traditional work on pro-drop languages identified a set of parametric values ‎associated with the availability of null subjects, including the presence of null ‎expletive subjects. in the same vein, but more within the framework of minimalist ‎program, i will discuss while referential subjects may optionally be overt or covert ‎in the persian, expletives are obligatorily null. in this regard, a...