Abstract: This talk will contrast two interpretations of the double dissociation observed, in both word reading and inflectional morphology, between novel words and familiar "exceptional" or irregular words. One account assumes that items of the two different types (novel words vs. familiar exceptions) are processed by two separate mechanisms. The other assumes that all words are processed by the same integrated multi-component system, but that various characteristics of the word types make them differentially vulnerable to damage to different components of the system. Both approaches can explain the double dissociation. The talk will review reasons for preferring the integrated multi-component approach, which is embodied in the distributed developmental model of Seidenberg and McClelland and its successors, and present recent simulation results bearing on the adequacy of the integrated, multi-component account.

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