Dependent mechanism of Chinese prepositions processing in the brain: evidence from event-related potentials.

Objective: To compare the event-related potentials (ERPs) waves of verbs and prepositions in the brain.
Methods: We recorded ERPs in the brain while participants judged the legality of the collocation for verbs and prepositions.
Results: Both verbs and prepositions elicited a negativity at the frontal site in 230-330 ms and 350-500 ms window. No difference was seen in 230-330 ms and 350-500 ms window; In difference waves, a negativity was elicited in the left and right hemisphere at about 270-400 ms and 470-600 ms window for both open and closed-class words.
Conclusion: These may demonstrate that prepositions in modern Chinese are probably not a separate class from verbs and that N280 may be not a specific component for only prepositions (or closed-class words).