S. Featherston et al., Brain potentials in the processing of complex sentences: An ERP study of control and raising constructions, J PSYCHOLIN, 29(2), 2000, pp. 141-154
In the present study we made use of Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) to exam
ine raising and subject control constructions in German. Our most salient r
esult is that the ERPs elicited at the empty subject position of a raising
construction are clearly different from those elicited at the corresponding
position of an otherwise identical subject control construction, the forme
r producing a stronger P600. We argue that this result provides an electrop
hysiological correlate of the theoretical distinction between NP trace and
PRO.