On the other end of the processing continuum, the fact that, e.g., N400 repetition effects are seen even for pseudowords with little resemblance to known words – i.e., stimuli that are not represented in the mental lexicon and thus presumably cannot have associated semantics -- has led others to postulate that the N400 reflects processing stages prior to word recognition and semantic access, such as orthographic and/or phonological analysis (Deacon et al 2004). The strengths and weaknesses of this pre-recognition view are a mirror image of the integration view: this framework provides a straightforward explanation for basic lexical level influences on the N400 but no obvious account of discourse effects and their precedence in shaping N400 patterns. Moreover, as this account is word-specific, N400 effects to non-word stimuli must be assumed to arise from functionally similar – but nevertheless distinct – neural activity.
