To examine the Group × Condition interaction effect more closely, the groups were compared for primed and unprimed word conditions separately. The groups were significantly different only in the primed word condition (F = 6.391; p = .013), but not in the unprimed word condition (F = 0.248; p = .619) (Figure 2). In figure 3, attenuation of N400 amplitude (the area within the circle at the right) in the primed condition is striking in controls and not observed as strongly in alcoholics. The current source density (CSD) map of N400 response (Figure 4) reveals a strong frontal sink and a posterior source in the controls. However, while the alcoholics have a comparable response to controls for the unprimed word condition, the sink and source are severely diminished in alcoholics in the primed condition.
