1
|
Carreiras M, Quiñones I, Chen HA, Vázquez‐Araujo L, Small D, Frost R. Sniffing out meaning: Chemosensory and semantic neural network changes in sommeliers. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26564. [PMID: 38339911 PMCID: PMC10823763 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Wine tasting is a very complex process that integrates a combination of sensation, language, and memory. Taste and smell provide perceptual information that, together with the semantic narrative that converts flavor into words, seem to be processed differently between sommeliers and naïve wine consumers. We investigate whether sommeliers' wine experience shapes only chemosensory processing, as has been previously demonstrated, or if it also modulates the way in which the taste and olfactory circuits interact with the semantic network. Combining diffusion-weighted images and fMRI (activation and connectivity) we investigated whether brain response to tasting wine differs between sommeliers and nonexperts (1) in the sensory neural circuits representing flavor and/or (2) in the neural circuits for language and memory. We demonstrate that training in wine tasting shapes the microstructure of the left and right superior longitudinal fasciculus. Using mediation analysis, we showed that the experience modulates the relationship between fractional anisotropy and behavior: the higher the fractional anisotropy the higher the capacity to recognize wine complexity. In addition, we found functional differences between sommeliers and naïve consumers affecting the flavor sensory circuit, but also regions involved in semantic operations. The former reflects a capacity for differential sensory processing, while the latter reflects sommeliers' ability to attend to relevant sensory inputs and translate them into complex verbal descriptions. The enhanced synchronization between these apparently independent circuits suggests that sommeliers integrated these descriptions with previous semantic knowledge to optimize their capacity to distinguish between subtle differences in the qualitative character of the wine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Carreiras
- BCBL, Basque center of Cognition, Brain and LanguageDonostia‐San SebastianSpain
- IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for ScienceBilbaoSpain
- Department of Basque Language and CommunicationUniversity of the Basque Country EHU/UPVBilbaoSpain
| | - Ileana Quiñones
- IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for ScienceBilbaoSpain
- Biodonostia Health Research InstituteDonostia‐San SebastianSpain
| | - H. Alexander Chen
- Yale School of MedicineNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- The Modern Diet and Physiology Research CenterNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | | | - Dana Small
- Yale School of MedicineNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- The Modern Diet and Physiology Research CenterNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Ram Frost
- BCBL, Basque center of Cognition, Brain and LanguageDonostia‐San SebastianSpain
- The Hebrew UniversityJerusalemIsrael
- Haskins LaboratoriesNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Repetto C, Rodella C, Conca F, Santi GC, Catricalà E. The Italian Sensorimotor Norms: Perception and action strength measures for 959 words. Behav Res Methods 2023; 55:4035-4047. [PMID: 36307624 PMCID: PMC10700458 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-02004-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Neuroscience research has provided evidence that semantic information is stored in a distributed brain network involved in sensorimotor and linguistic processing. More specifically, according to the embodied cognition accounts, the representation of concepts is deemed as grounded in our bodily states. For these reasons, normative measures of words should provide relevant information about the extent to which each word embeds perceptual and action properties. In the present study, we collected ratings for 959 Italian nouns and verbs from 398 volunteers, recruited via an online platform. The words were mostly taken from the Italian adaptation of the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW). A pool of 145 verbs was added to the original set. All the words were rated on 11 sensorimotor dimensions: six perceptual modalities (vision, audition, taste, smell, touch, and interoception) and five effectors (hand-arm, foot-leg, torso, mouth, head). The new verbs were also rated on the ANEW dimensions. Results showed good reliability and consistency with previous studies. Relations between perceptual and motor dimensions are described and interpreted, along with relations between the sensorimotor and the affective dimensions. The currently developed dataset represents an important novelty, as it includes different word classes, i.e., both nouns and verbs, and integrates ratings of both sensorimotor and affective dimensions, along with other psycholinguistic parameters; all features only partially accomplished in previous studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Repetto
- Deptarment of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123, Milan, Italy.
| | - Claudia Rodella
- Deptarment of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Gemelli 1, 20123, Milan, Italy.
| | | | - Gaia Chiara Santi
- ICoN Cognitive Neuroscience center, Institute for Advanced Studies, IUSS, Pavia, Italy
| | - Eleonora Catricalà
- IRCCS Mondino Neurological Institute, Pavia, Italy
- ICoN Cognitive Neuroscience center, Institute for Advanced Studies, IUSS, Pavia, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Dove G. Concepts require flexible grounding. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2023; 245:105322. [PMID: 37713771 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2023.105322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023]
Abstract
Research on semantic memory has a problem. On the one hand, a robust body of evidence implicates sensorimotor regions in conceptual processing. On the other hand, a different body of evidence implicates a modality independent semantic system. The standard solution to this tension is to posit a hub-and-spoke system with modality independent hubs and modality specific spokes. In this paper, I argue in support of an alternative view of grounding which remains committed to neural reenactment but emphasizes the multimodal and multilevel nature of the semantic system. This view is built upon the recognition that abstraction is a design feature of concepts. Semantic memory employs hierarchically structured representations to capture different degrees of abstraction. Grounding does not work the way that many embodied approaches have assumed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Guy Dove
- Department of Philosophy, University of Louisville, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Lee J, Shin JA. The cross-linguistic comparison of perceptual strength norms for Korean, English and L2 English. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1188909. [PMID: 37538997 PMCID: PMC10395129 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1188909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to establish perceptual strength norms for 1,000 words in the languages of Korean, English, and L2 English, in order to investigate the similarity and difference across languages as well as the influence of the environment on semantic processing. The perceptual strength norms, which are a collection of word profiles that summarize how a word is experienced through different sensory modalities including the five common senses and interoception, provide a valuable tool for testing embodiment cognition theory. The results of this study demonstrated that language users had parallel sensory experiences with concepts, and that L2 learners were also able to associate their sensory experiences with linguistic concepts. Additionally, the results highlighted the importance of incorporating interoception as a sensory modality in the development of perceptual strength norms, as it had a negative correlation with both vision and concreteness. This study was the first to establish norms for Korean and L2 English and directly compare languages using the identical and translation-equivalent word list.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonghyun Lee
- Department of English Language and Literature, College of Humanities, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Ah Shin
- Department of English Language and Literature, College of Humanities, Dongguk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Stevenson RJ, Francis HM, Wylie F, Hughes A. The psychological basis of reductions in food desire during satiety. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:221404. [PMID: 37234507 PMCID: PMC10206460 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Satiety-the reduced desire to eat, drink or have sex in their respective aftermath-is particularly important for feeding, where it assists energy balance. During satiety, the anticipated pleasure of eating is far less than the actual pleasure of eating. Here we examine two accounts of this effect: (i) satiety signals inhibit retrieval of pleasant food memories that form desirable images, allowing unpleasant memories into mind; (ii) feelings of fullness reflect what eating would be like now, negating the need for imagery. To test these accounts, participants undertook two tasks pre- and post-lunch: (i) judging desire for palatable foods either with or without imagery impairing manipulations; (ii) explicitly recollecting food memories. Impairing imagery reduced desire equally, when hungry and sated. Food-memory recollections became more negative/less positive when sated, with this correlating with changes in desire. These findings support the first account and suggest imagery is used when hungry and when sated to simulate eating, and that the content of these memory-based simulations changes with state. The nature of this process and its implications for satiety more generally are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richard J. Stevenson
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Heather M. Francis
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Fiona Wylie
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Alannah Hughes
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Khatin-Zadeh O, Farsani D, Hu J, Eskandari Z, Banaruee H. Gestural Embodiment of Intensifiers in Iconic, Metaphoric, and Beat Gestures. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:bs13020174. [PMID: 36829403 PMCID: PMC9952557 DOI: 10.3390/bs13020174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the gestural embodiment of intensifiers in iconic and metaphoric gestures when these words are used with literal and metaphoric statements. We asked a group of Persian native speakers to listen to and then retell a set of Persian stories. In these stories, a number of intensifiers were used with literal and metaphoric sentences. The results showed that when an intensifier was used with a literal sentence, there was a higher probability of using an iconic or beat gesture than when there was no intensifier in the sentence. Also, when an intensifier was used with a metaphoric sentence, there was a higher probability of using a metaphoric or beat gesture than when the sentence contained no intensifier. These results suggested that an intensifier in a literal or metaphoric sentence can strengthen the mental simulation and the embodiment of objects, ideas, or situations. When an intensifier is used with a literal or metaphoric sentence, the strength of activation in the premotor areas may be amplified and spread to motor areas. In contrast, when no such intensifier is used in a literal or metaphoric sentence, there is a higher probability of simulation in premotor areas without spreading to the primary motor areas. The production of an internal force and expressing emphasis are two other possibilities that may explain the higher use of gestures with intensifiers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Omid Khatin-Zadeh
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
| | - Danyal Farsani
- Department of Teacher Education, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
- Correspondence:
| | - Jiehui Hu
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
| | - Zahra Eskandari
- Department of English, Chabahar Maritime University, Chabahar 99717-56499, Iran
| | - Hassan Banaruee
- Department of English, American, and Celtic Studies, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
The Impact of Manner Adverb on the Gestural Embodiment of Actions Described by Literal and Metaphoric Sentences. Behav Sci (Basel) 2023; 13:bs13020155. [PMID: 36829384 PMCID: PMC9952255 DOI: 10.3390/bs13020155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the impact of manner adverbs on the gestural embodiment of actions that are described by literal and metaphoric sentences. We asked a group of participants to read and then orally retell four stories. Each story had two versions. In one version, literal and metaphoric sentences describing literal and metaphorical actions did not include manner adverbs. In the other version of each story, the same sentences included a manner adverb that provided more information about literal or metaphoric actions. Participants' reproductions of stories were recorded with a camera and were analyzed to make a comparison between gestures that accompanied sentences that included a manner adverb and sentences that did not include a manner adverb. The results showed that when literal and metaphoric sentences included a manner adverb, there was a higher probability of using a gesture than when these sentences were used without a manner adverb. In other words, using a manner adverb increases the probability of using a gesture with literal and metaphorical sentences. Therefore, it is suggested that adding a manner adverb to a literal or metaphoric sentence can strengthen the process of embodiment of the action described in that sentence. We present two explanations for this observation.
Collapse
|
8
|
Bredikhin D, Agranovich O, Ulanov M, Koriakina M, Shestakova AN, Kadieva D, Kopytin G, Ermolovich E, Bermúdez-Margaretto B, Shtyrov Y, Jääskeläinen IP, Blagovechtchenski E. Altered evoked responses for motor-related words in children with upper limb motor impairments. Clin Neurophysiol 2023; 145:11-21. [PMID: 36395708 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2022.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBPP) and amyoplasia, the classical type of arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, manifest themselves as highly limited mobility of the upper limb. At the same time, according to the embodiment cognition theories, the motor impairments might lead to the alteration of cognitive functions in OBPP/amyoplasia patients. In the current study, we examined whether OBPP/amyoplasia children exhibit altered processing of motor-related verbs. METHODS We conducted a case-control study using clinical population and control children. Oddball series were used to elicit mismatch negativity (MMN) EEG responses. The series consisted of limb-related verbs (deviant stimuli) and matched pseudowords (standard stimuli). 27 patients and 32 control children were included in the analysis. RESULTS We showed that MMN waveforms differed between OBPP/amyoplasia children and their control peers in the frontal and temporal electrodes when the stimuli contained hand-related verbs. In particular, the MMN peak latency in the OBPP/amyoplasia children was significantly delayed as compared with the healthy controls. At the same time, neither series with leg-related verbs nor series of pseudowords resulted in statistically significant differences. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest altered processing of hand-related verbs in OBPP/amyoplasia children with hand-related disabilities. SIGNIFICANCE Our results contribute to the growing evidence in support of the theory of embodied cognition, which proposes that various domains of cognition are shaped by bodily interactions with the environment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dimitri Bredikhin
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia.
| | - Olga Agranovich
- Federal State Budgetary Institution the Turner Scientific Research Institute for Children's Orthopedics under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 196603 St. Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Maxim Ulanov
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia.
| | - Maria Koriakina
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia; Federal State Budgetary Institution the Turner Scientific Research Institute for Children's Orthopedics under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 196603 St. Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Anna N Shestakova
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia.
| | - Dzerassa Kadieva
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia.
| | - Grigory Kopytin
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia.
| | - Evgenia Ermolovich
- Federal State Budgetary Institution the Turner Scientific Research Institute for Children's Orthopedics under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 196603 St. Petersburg, Russia.
| | - Beatriz Bermúdez-Margaretto
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia; Facultad de Psicología, Instituto de Integración en la Comunidad - INICO, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Yury Shtyrov
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia; Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN), Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Iiro P Jääskeläinen
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia; Brain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, School of Science, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland.
| | - Evgeny Blagovechtchenski
- Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia; Federal State Budgetary Institution the Turner Scientific Research Institute for Children's Orthopedics under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 196603 St. Petersburg, Russia.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Kuhnke P, Beaupain MC, Arola J, Kiefer M, Hartwigsen G. Meta-analytic evidence for a novel hierarchical model of conceptual processing. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 144:104994. [PMID: 36509206 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Conceptual knowledge plays a pivotal role in human cognition. Grounded cognition theories propose that concepts consist of perceptual-motor features represented in modality-specific perceptual-motor cortices. However, it is unclear whether conceptual processing consistently engages modality-specific areas. Here, we performed an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis across 212 neuroimaging experiments on conceptual processing related to 7 perceptual-motor modalities (action, sound, visual shape, motion, color, olfaction-gustation, and emotion). We found that conceptual processing consistently engages brain regions also activated during real perceptual-motor experience of the same modalities. In addition, we identified multimodal convergence zones that are recruited for multiple modalities. In particular, the left inferior parietal lobe (IPL) and posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) are engaged for three modalities: action, motion, and sound. These "trimodal" regions are surrounded by "bimodal" regions engaged for two modalities. Our findings support a novel model of the conceptual system, according to which conceptual processing relies on a hierarchical neural architecture from modality-specific to multimodal areas up to an amodal hub.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Kuhnke
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig University, Germany.
| | - Marie C Beaupain
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Johannes Arola
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig University, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Spence C. Behavioural Nudges, Physico-Chemical Solutions, and Sensory Strategies to Reduce People’s Salt Consumption. Foods 2022; 11:foods11193092. [PMID: 36230166 PMCID: PMC9563062 DOI: 10.3390/foods11193092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
This narrative historical review examines the wide range of approaches that has been trialled/suggested in order to reduce the consumption of salt. While sodium is an essential micronutrient, there is widespread evidence that high levels of consumption are leading to various negative health outcomes. This review summarises the evidence relating to the various approaches that have been put forward to date to help reduce salt consumption over the years, while also highlighting a number of important questions that remains for future research. Solutions to reducing salt consumption include everything from the gradual reduction in salt in foods through to the reduction in the number/size of holes in saltshakers (what one might consider a behavioural nudge). Physico-chemical solutions have included salt replacers, such as monosodium glutamate (MSG) through to the asymmetric distribution of salt in processed (e.g., layered) foods. A wide range of sensory approaches to modulating expected and perceived saltiness have also been suggested, including the use of salty aromas, as well as suggesting the use of colour cues, sonic seasoning, and even textural primes. It is currently unclear whether different salty aromas can be combined to increase odour-induced taste enhancement (OITE) effectiveness. In the years ahead, it will be interesting to assess how long such solutions remain effective, as well as whether different solutions can be combined to help reduce salt consumption without having to compromise on taste/flavour
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charles Spence
- Department of Experimental Psychology, New Radcliffe House, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6BW, UK
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Tomasino B, Pellitteri G, Bax F, Marini A, Surcinelli A, Gigli GL, Valente M. Multisensory mental representation in covid-19 patients and the possibility of long-lasting gustatory and olfactory dysfunction in the CNS. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7340. [PMID: 35513422 PMCID: PMC9069215 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-11119-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Gustatory (GD) and olfactory (OD) dysfunctions are the most frequent neurological manifestations of COVID-19. We used mental imagery as an experimental psychological paradigm to access olfactory and gustatory brain representations in 80 Italian COVID-19 adult patients (68.75% reported both OD and GD). COVID-19 patients with OD + GD have a significantly and selectively decreased vividness of odor and taste imagery, indicating that COVID-19 has an effect on their chemosensory mental representations. OD + GD length and type influenced the status of mental chemosensory representations. OD + GD were become all COVID-19 negative at the time of testing. Data suggest that patients are not explicitly aware of long-term altered chemosensory processing. However, differences emerge when their chemosensory function is implicitly assessed using self-ratings. Among patients developing OD + GD, self-ratings of chemosensory function (taste, flavor) were significantly lower as compared to those who did not. At the level of mental representation, such differences can be further detected, in terms of a reduced ability to mentally activate an odor or taste mental image. Our study shows that COVID-19 infection not only frequently causes hyposmia and dysgeusia, but that may also alter the mental representations responsible for olfactory and gustatory perception.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Tomasino
- Scientific Institute IRCCS "Eugenio Medea", Polo Regionale del Friuli Venezia Giulia, Via della Bontà, 7, 33078, San Vito Al Tagliamento, PN, Italy.
| | - Gaia Pellitteri
- Clinical Neurology, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy.,Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Francesco Bax
- Clinical Neurology, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy.,Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Alessandro Marini
- Clinical Neurology, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy.,Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Andrea Surcinelli
- Clinical Neurology, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy.,Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Gian Luigi Gigli
- Clinical Neurology, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy.,Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| | - Mariarosaria Valente
- Clinical Neurology, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Udine, Italy.,Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine (DAME), University of Udine, Udine, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Han P, Qin M, Zhou L, Chen H. Generating odour imagery enhances brain activity in individuals with low subjective olfactory imagery ability. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:1961-1971. [PMID: 35322487 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Olfactory imagery (OI) is defined as the generation of odour images in the mind. There are large inter-individual differences regarding OI abilities. However, the neural representations of OI among individuals with high or low OI abilities are less understood. Participants with high or low OI abilities evaluated using the Vividness of Olfactory Imagery Questionnaire were recruited in this study. Brain activations were measured during a word cueing OI and visual imagery (VI) tasks using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In addition, the OI task was divided into two parts. In one part, OI was performed for 8 s (long imagery generation time) and in the other part for 2 s (short imagery generation time). Ratings of the overall imagery vividness were collected at the end of each task. The vividness of OI during short OI was lower among participants with low OI abilities compared to participants with high OI abilities. Brain imaging results showed that participants with low OI ability had stronger brain activation of the supplementary motor area and the superior frontal cortex, compared to participants with higher OI abilities during the short versus long imagery generation time conditions. These results suggest that when generating odour images in a relatively short period of time (e.g., 2 s), people with either high or low OI abilities may have adopted different approaches, resulting in diverse brain activation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pengfei Han
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Min Qin
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Luyi Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hong Chen
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Kapatsinski V. Morphology in a Parallel, Distributed, Interactive Architecture of Language Production. Front Artif Intell 2022; 5:803259. [PMID: 35310958 PMCID: PMC8927966 DOI: 10.3389/frai.2022.803259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
How do speakers produce novel words? This programmatic paper synthesizes research in linguistics and neuroscience to argue for a parallel distributed architecture of the language system, in which distributed semantic representations activate competing form chunks in parallel. This process accounts for both the synchronic phenomenon of paradigm uniformity and the diachronic process of paradigm leveling; i.e., the shaping or reshaping of relatively infrequent forms by semantically-related forms of higher frequency. However, it also raises the question of how leveling is avoided. A negative feedback cycle is argued to be responsible. The negative feedback cycle suppresses activated form chunks with unintended semantics or connotations and allows the speaker to decide when to begin speaking. The negative feedback cycle explains away much of the evidence for paradigmatic mappings, allowing more of the grammar to be described with only direct form-meaning mappings/constructions. However, there remains an important residue of cases for which paradigmatic mappings are necessary. I show that these cases can be accounted for by spreading activation down paradigmatic associations as the source of the activation is being inhibited by negative feedback. The negative feedback cycle provides a mechanistic explanation for several phenomena in language change that have so far eluded usage-based accounts. In particular, it provides a mechanism for degrammaticalization and affix liberation (e.g., the detachment of -holic from the context(s) in which it occurs), explaining how chunks can gain productivity despite occurring in a single fixed context. It also provides a novel perspective on paradigm gaps. Directions for future work are outlined.
Collapse
|
14
|
Borelli E, Butera C, Katirai A, Adams TCE, Aziz-Zadeh L. Impact of motor stroke on novel and conventional action metaphor comprehension. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2022; 226:105081. [PMID: 35051790 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies indicate that damage to motor brain regions impacts comprehension of literal action-related language. However, whether such damage also impacts comprehension of action-metaphors remains unknown. Such a finding would support the notion that metaphors are grounded in sensorimotor representations. Here we tested this hypothesis by comparing comprehension of novel, conventional, and frozen action and non-action metaphors in 14 right-handed adults with right-sided mild to moderate paresis following left hemisphere motor stroke and 23 neurotypical participants. Consistent with our hypothesis, results indicated that only in the stroke group, accuracy for action metaphors was significantly lower than for non-action metaphors. Further, in the stroke group, accuracy was significantly worse in the following pattern: novel < conventional < frozen action metaphors. These results strongly support the notion that motor-related brain regions are important not only for literal action-related language comprehension, but also for action-related metaphor comprehension, especially for less familiar metaphors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Borelli
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy; Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy; Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Christiana Butera
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Andrew Katirai
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Thomas C E Adams
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lisa Aziz-Zadeh
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Nagata K, Kunii N, Shimada S, Fujitani S, Takasago M, Saito N. Spatiotemporal target selection for intracranial neural decoding of abstract and concrete semantics. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:5544-5554. [PMID: 35169837 PMCID: PMC9753048 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Decoding the inner representation of a word meaning from human cortical activity is a substantial challenge in the development of speech brain-machine interfaces (BMIs). The semantic aspect of speech is a novel target of speech decoding that may enable versatile communication platforms for individuals with impaired speech ability; however, there is a paucity of electrocorticography studies in this field. We decoded the semantic representation of a word from single-trial cortical activity during an imageability-based property identification task that required participants to discriminate between the abstract and concrete words. Using high gamma activity in the language-dominant hemisphere, a support vector machine classifier could discriminate the 2-word categories with significantly high accuracy (73.1 ± 7.5%). Activities in specific time components from two brain regions were identified as significant predictors of abstract and concrete dichotomy. Classification using these feature components revealed that comparable prediction accuracy could be obtained based on a spatiotemporally targeted decoding approach. Our study demonstrated that mental representations of abstract and concrete word processing could be decoded from cortical high gamma activities, and the coverage of implanted electrodes and time window of analysis could be successfully minimized. Our findings lay the foundation for the future development of semantic-based speech BMIs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Keisuke Nagata
- Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
| | - Naoto Kunii
- Corresponding author: Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Tokyo, 73-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
| | - Seijiro Shimada
- Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
| | - Shigeta Fujitani
- Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
| | - Megumi Takasago
- Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
| | - Nobuhito Saito
- Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Visani E, Sebastiano DR, Duran D, Garofalo G, Magliocco F, Silipo F, Buccino G. The Semantics of Natural Objects and Tools in the Brain: A Combined Behavioral and MEG Study. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12010097. [PMID: 35053840 PMCID: PMC8774003 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12010097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Current literature supports the notion that the recognition of objects, when visually presented, is sub-served by neural structures different from those responsible for the semantic processing of their nouns. However, embodiment foresees that processing observed objects and their verbal labels should share similar neural mechanisms. In a combined behavioral and MEG study, we compared the modulation of motor responses and cortical rhythms during the processing of graspable natural objects and tools, either verbally or pictorially presented. Our findings demonstrate that conveying meaning to an observed object or processing its noun similarly modulates both motor responses and cortical rhythms; being natural graspable objects and tools differently represented in the brain, they affect in a different manner both behavioral and MEG findings, independent of presentation modality. These results provide experimental evidence that neural substrates responsible for conveying meaning to objects overlap with those where the object is represented, thus supporting an embodied view of semantic processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Visani
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Davide Rossi Sebastiano
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Dunja Duran
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Gioacchino Garofalo
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, University San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy;
| | - Fabio Magliocco
- Centro Psico-Sociale di Seregno—Azienda Socio-Sanitaria Territoriale di Vimercate, 20871 Vimercate, Italy;
| | - Francesco Silipo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, Viale Salvatore Venuta, 88100 Germaneto, Italy;
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, University San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Mazzuca C, Fini C, Michalland AH, Falcinelli I, Da Rold F, Tummolini L, Borghi AM. From Affordances to Abstract Words: The Flexibility of Sensorimotor Grounding. Brain Sci 2021; 11:1304. [PMID: 34679369 PMCID: PMC8534254 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11101304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The sensorimotor system plays a critical role in several cognitive processes. Here, we review recent studies documenting this interplay at different levels. First, we concentrate on studies that have shown how the sensorimotor system is flexibly involved in interactions with objects. We report evidence demonstrating how social context and situations influence affordance activation, and then focus on tactile and kinesthetic components in body-object interactions. Then, we turn to word use, and review studies that have shown that not only concrete words, but also abstract words are grounded in the sensorimotor system. We report evidence that abstract concepts activate the mouth effector more than concrete concepts, and discuss this effect in light of studies on adults, children, and infants. Finally, we pinpoint possible sensorimotor mechanisms at play in the acquisition and use of abstract concepts. Overall, we show that the involvement of the sensorimotor system is flexibly modulated by context, and that its role can be integrated and flanked by that of other systems such as the linguistic system. We suggest that to unravel the role of the sensorimotor system in cognition, future research should fully explore the complexity of this intricate, and sometimes slippery, relation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Mazzuca
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
| | - Chiara Fini
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Arthur Henri Michalland
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- Department of Psychology, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier, EPSYLON EA 4556, 34199 Montpellier, France
| | - Ilenia Falcinelli
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
| | - Federico Da Rold
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
| | - Luca Tummolini
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Anna M. Borghi
- Body Action Language Lab (BALLAB), Sapienza University of Rome and ISTC-CNR, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.M.); (C.F.); (A.H.M.); (I.F.); (F.D.R.); (L.T.)
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), 00185 Rome, Italy
- Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Abstract
Adult semantic memory has been traditionally conceptualized as a relatively static memory system that consists of knowledge about the world, concepts, and symbols. Considerable work in the past few decades has challenged this static view of semantic memory, and instead proposed a more fluid and flexible system that is sensitive to context, task demands, and perceptual and sensorimotor information from the environment. This paper (1) reviews traditional and modern computational models of semantic memory, within the umbrella of network (free association-based), feature (property generation norms-based), and distributional semantic (natural language corpora-based) models, (2) discusses the contribution of these models to important debates in the literature regarding knowledge representation (localist vs. distributed representations) and learning (error-free/Hebbian learning vs. error-driven/predictive learning), and (3) evaluates how modern computational models (neural network, retrieval-based, and topic models) are revisiting the traditional "static" conceptualization of semantic memory and tackling important challenges in semantic modeling such as addressing temporal, contextual, and attentional influences, as well as incorporating grounding and compositionality into semantic representations. The review also identifies new challenges regarding the abundance and availability of data, the generalization of semantic models to other languages, and the role of social interaction and collaboration in language learning and development. The concluding section advocates the need for integrating representational accounts of semantic memory with process-based accounts of cognitive behavior, as well as the need for explicit comparisons of computational models to human baselines in semantic tasks to adequately assess their psychological plausibility as models of human semantic memory.
Collapse
|
19
|
Macedonia M, Lehner AE, Repetto C. Positive effects of grasping virtual objects on memory for novel words in a second language. Sci Rep 2020; 10:10760. [PMID: 32612096 PMCID: PMC7329851 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67539-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Theories of embodied cognition describe language processing and representation as inherently connected to the sensorimotor experiences collected during acquisition. While children grasp their world, collect bodily experiences and name them, in second language (L2), students learn bilingual word lists. Experimental evidence shows that embodiment by mean of gestures enhances memory for words in L2. However, no study has been conducted on the effects of grasping in L2. In a virtual scenario, we trained 46 participants on 18 two- and three-syllabic words of Vimmi, an artificial corpus created for experimental purposes. The words were assigned concrete meanings of graspable objects. Six words were learned audio-visually, by reading the words projected on the wall and by hearing them. Another 6 words were trained by observation of virtual objects. Another 6 words were learned by observation and additional grasping the virtual objects. Thereafter participants were subministered free, cued recall, and reaction time tests in order to assess the word retention and the word recognition. After 30 days, the recall tests were repeated remotely to assess the memory in the long term. The results show that grasping of virtual objects can lead to superior memory performance and to lower reaction times during recognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Macedonia
- Department of Information Engineering, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria.
- Linz Center of Mechatronics GmbH, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria.
- Lise Meitner Research Group "Cognition and Plasticity", Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - A E Lehner
- Department of Linguistics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - C Repetto
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
García AM, Hesse E, Birba A, Adolfi F, Mikulan E, Caro MM, Petroni A, Bekinschtein TA, Del Carmen García M, Silva W, Ciraolo C, Vaucheret E, Sedeño L, Ibáñez A. Time to Face Language: Embodied Mechanisms Underpin the Inception of Face-Related Meanings in the Human Brain. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:6051-6068. [PMID: 32577713 PMCID: PMC7673477 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In construing meaning, the brain recruits multimodal (conceptual) systems and embodied (modality-specific) mechanisms. Yet, no consensus exists on how crucial the latter are for the inception of semantic distinctions. To address this issue, we combined electroencephalographic (EEG) and intracranial EEG (iEEG) to examine when nouns denoting facial body parts (FBPs) and nonFBPs are discriminated in face-processing and multimodal networks. First, FBP words increased N170 amplitude (a hallmark of early facial processing). Second, they triggered fast (~100 ms) activity boosts within the face-processing network, alongside later (~275 ms) effects in multimodal circuits. Third, iEEG recordings from face-processing hubs allowed decoding ~80% of items before 200 ms, while classification based on multimodal-network activity only surpassed ~70% after 250 ms. Finally, EEG and iEEG connectivity between both networks proved greater in early (0–200 ms) than later (200–400 ms) windows. Collectively, our findings indicate that, at least for some lexico-semantic categories, meaning is construed through fast reenactments of modality-specific experience.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adolfo M García
- Universidad de San Andrés, B1644BID Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), MM5502GKA Mendoza, Argentina.,Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, 9170020 Santiago, Chile.,Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, CA 94158 San Francisco, USA
| | - Eugenia Hesse
- Universidad de San Andrés, B1644BID Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustina Birba
- Universidad de San Andrés, B1644BID Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Federico Adolfi
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ezequiel Mikulan
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences "L. Sacco", University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Miguel Martorell Caro
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Petroni
- Instituto de Ingeniería Biomédica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1063ACV Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Laboratorio de Inteligencia Artificial Aplicada, Departamento de Computación, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, ICC-CONICET, C1063ACV Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - María Del Carmen García
- Programa de Cirugía de Epilepsia, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, C1181ACH, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Walter Silva
- Programa de Cirugía de Epilepsia, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, C1181ACH, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Carlos Ciraolo
- Programa de Cirugía de Epilepsia, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, C1181ACH, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Esteban Vaucheret
- Programa de Cirugía de Epilepsia, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, C1181ACH, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucas Sedeño
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Universidad de San Andrés, B1644BID Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, CA 94158 San Francisco, USA.,Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, 8320000, Santiago, Chile.,Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, 080003, Barranquilla, Colombia
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Popp M, Trumpp NM, Sim EJ, Kiefer M. Brain Activation During Conceptual Processing of Action and Sound Verbs. Adv Cogn Psychol 2020; 15:236-255. [PMID: 32494311 PMCID: PMC7251527 DOI: 10.5709/acp-0272-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Grounded cognition approaches to conceptual representations postulate a close link between conceptual knowledge and the sensorimotor brain systems. The present fMRI study tested, whether a feature-specific representation of concepts, as previously demonstrated for nouns, can also be found for action- and sound-related verbs. Participants were presented with action- and soundrelated verbs along with pseudoverbs while performing a lexical decision task. Sound-related verbs activated auditory areas in the temporal cortex, whereas action-related verbs activated brain regions in the superior frontal gyrus and the cerebellum, albeit only at a more liberal threshold. This differential brain activation during conceptual verb processing partially overlapped with or was adjacent to brain regions activated during the functional localizers probing sound perception or action execution. Activity in brain areas involved in the processing of action information was parametrically modulated by ratings of action relevance. Comparisons of action- and sound-related verbs with pseudoverbs revealed activation for both verb categories in auditory and motor areas. In contrast to proposals of strong grounded cognition approaches, our study did not demonstrate a considerable overlap of activations for action- and sound-related verbs and for the corresponding functional localizer tasks. However, in line with weaker variants of grounded cognition theories, the differential activation pattern for action- and sound-related verbs was near corresponding sensorimotor brain regions depending on conceptual feature relevance. Possibly, action-sound coupling resulted in a mutual activation of the motor and the auditory system for both action- and sound-related verbs, thereby reducing the effect sizes for the differential contrasts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Margot Popp
- Ulm University, Department of Psychiatry, Ulm, Germany
| | | | - Eun-Jin Sim
- Ulm University, Department of Psychiatry, Ulm, Germany
| | - Markus Kiefer
- Ulm University, Department of Psychiatry, Ulm, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Boulenger V, Martel M, Bouvet C, Finos L, Krzonowski J, Farnè A, Roy AC. Feeling better: Tactile verbs speed up tactile detection. Brain Cogn 2020; 142:105582. [PMID: 32422452 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Embodiment of action-related language into the motor system has been extensively documented. Yet the case of sensory words, especially referring to touch, remains overlooked. We investigated the influence of verbs denoting tactile sensations on tactile perception. In Experiment 1, participants detected tactile stimulations on their forearm, preceded by tactile or non-tactile verbs by one of three delays (170, 350, 500 ms) reflecting different word processing stages. Results revealed shorter reaction times to tactile stimulations following tactile than non-tactile verbs, irrespective of delay. To ensure that priming pertained to tactile, and not motor, verb properties, Experiment 2 compared the impact of tactile verbs to both action and non-tactile verbs, while stimulations were delivered on the index finger. No priming emerged following action verbs, therefore not supporting the motor-grounded interpretation. Facilitation by tactile verbs was however not observed, possibly owing to methodological changes. Experiment 3, identical to Experiment 2 except that stimulation was delivered to participants' forearm, replicated the priming effect. Importantly, tactile stimulations were detected faster after tactile than after both non-tactile and action verbs, indicating that verbs' tactile properties engaged resources shared with sensory perception. Our findings suggest that language conveying tactile information can activate somatosensory representations and subsequently promote tactile detection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Véronique Boulenger
- Laboratory Dynamique du Langage CNRS/Lyon 2 University UMR5596, Maisons des Sciences de l'Homme, 14 avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon, France.
| | - Marie Martel
- Laboratory Dynamique du Langage CNRS/Lyon 2 University UMR5596, Maisons des Sciences de l'Homme, 14 avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon, France; Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EY, London, England, United Kingdom
| | - Cécile Bouvet
- Laboratory Dynamique du Langage CNRS/Lyon 2 University UMR5596, Maisons des Sciences de l'Homme, 14 avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Livio Finos
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Battisti, 241, 35121 Padova, Italy
| | - Jennifer Krzonowski
- Laboratory Dynamique du Langage CNRS/Lyon 2 University UMR5596, Maisons des Sciences de l'Homme, 14 avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team - ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, Lyon 1 University, 16 avenue du Doyen Lépine, 69500 Bron, France; Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Palazzo Fedrigotti - corso Bettini, 31, 38068 -TN Rovereto, Italy
| | - Alice Catherine Roy
- Laboratory Dynamique du Langage CNRS/Lyon 2 University UMR5596, Maisons des Sciences de l'Homme, 14 avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon, France
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
The functional relevance of dorsal motor systems for processing tool nouns– evidence from patients with focal lesions. Neuropsychologia 2020; 141:107384. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 11/17/2019] [Accepted: 02/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
|
24
|
Harpaintner M, Sim EJ, Trumpp NM, Ulrich M, Kiefer M. The grounding of abstract concepts in the motor and visual system: An fMRI study. Cortex 2020; 124:1-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
|
25
|
Visual and auditory perceptual strength norms for 3,596 French nouns and their relationship with other psycholinguistic variables. Behav Res Methods 2020; 51:2094-2105. [PMID: 31016685 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-019-01254-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Perceptual experience plays a critical role in the conceptual representation of words. Higher levels of semantic variables such as imageability, concreteness, and sensory experience are generally associated with faster and more accurate word processing. Nevertheless, these variables tend to be assessed mostly on the basis of visual experience. This underestimates the potential contributions of other perceptual modalities. Accordingly, recent evidence has stressed the importance of providing modality-specific perceptual strength norms. In the present study, we developed French Canadian norms of visual and auditory perceptual strength (i.e., the modalities that have major impact on word processing) for 3,596 nouns. We then explored the relationship between these newly developed variables and other lexical, orthographic, and semantic variables. Finally, we demonstrated the contributions of visual and auditory perceptual strength ratings to visual word processing beyond those of other semantic variables related to perceptual experience (e.g., concreteness, imageability, and sensory experience ratings). The ratings developed in this study are a meaningful contribution toward the implementation of new studies that will shed further light on the interaction between linguistic, semantic, and perceptual systems.
Collapse
|
26
|
Vukovic N, Shtyrov Y. Learning with the wave of the hand: Kinematic and TMS evidence of primary motor cortex role in category-specific encoding of word meaning. Neuroimage 2019; 202:116179. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Revised: 09/05/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
|
27
|
Human brain responses to gustatory and food stimuli: A meta-evaluation of neuroimaging meta-analyses. Neuroimage 2019; 202:116111. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Revised: 08/15/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
|
28
|
Macedonia M. Embodied Learning: Why at School the Mind Needs the Body. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2098. [PMID: 31632311 PMCID: PMC6779792 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite all methodological efforts made in the last three decades, Western instruction grounds on traditional principles. Most educational programs follow theories that are mentalistic, i.e., they separate the mind from the body. At school, learners sit, watch, listen, and write. The aim of this paper is to present embodied learning as an alternative to mentalistic education. Similarly, this paper wants to describe embodied learning from a neuroscientific perspective. After a brief historical overview, I will review studies highlighting the behavioral effectiveness of embodied instruction in second language learning, mathematics and spatial thinking. On this base, I will discuss some of the brain mechanisms driving embodied learning and describe its advantages, clearly pleading in favor of instructional practice that reunites body and mind.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Macedonia
- Institute of Information Engineering, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Linz Center of Mechatronics GmbH, Linz, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Speed LJ, Majid A. Grounding language in the neglected senses of touch, taste, and smell. Cogn Neuropsychol 2019; 37:363-392. [DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2019.1623188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura J. Speed
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, England
| | - Asifa Majid
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York, England
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Montani V, Chanoine V, Stoianov IP, Grainger J, Ziegler JC. Steady state visual evoked potentials in reading aloud: Effects of lexicality, frequency and orthographic familiarity. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2019; 192:1-14. [PMID: 30826643 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2019.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Revised: 07/16/2018] [Accepted: 01/24/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The present study explored the possibility to use Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEPs) as a tool to investigate the core mechanisms in visual word recognition. In particular, we investigated three benchmark effects of reading aloud: lexicality (words vs. pseudowords), frequency (high-frequency vs. low-frequency words), and orthographic familiarity ('familiar' versus 'unfamiliar' pseudowords). We found that words and pseudowords elicited robust SSVEPs. Words showed larger SSVEPs than pseudowords and high-frequency words showed larger SSVEPs than low-frequency words. SSVEPs were not sensitive to orthographic familiarity. We further localized the neural generators of the SSVEP effects. The lexicality effect was located in areas associated with early level of visual processing, i.e. in the right occipital lobe and in the right precuneus. Pseudowords produced more activation than words in left sensorimotor areas, rolandic operculum, insula, supramarginal gyrus and in the right temporal gyrus. These areas are devoted to speech processing and/or spelling-to-sound conversion. The frequency effect involved the left temporal pole and orbitofrontal cortex, areas previously implicated in semantic processing and stimulus-response associations respectively, and the right postcentral and parietal inferior gyri, possibly indicating the involvement of the right attentional network.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Montani
- Aix-Marseille University and CNRS, Brain and Language Research Institute, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3, France.
| | - Valerie Chanoine
- Aix-Marseille University, Institute of Language, Communication and the Brain, Brain and Language Research Institute, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Ivilin Peev Stoianov
- Aix-Marseille University and CNRS, LPC, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3, France; Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Via Martiri della Libertà 2, 35137 Padova, Italy
| | - Jonathan Grainger
- Aix-Marseille University and CNRS, LPC, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3, France
| | - Johannes C Ziegler
- Aix-Marseille University and CNRS, LPC, 3 Place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3, France
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Normative ratings for perceptual and motor attributes of 750 object concepts in Spanish. Behav Res Methods 2019; 50:1632-1644. [PMID: 29052168 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-017-0970-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Subjective ratings of perceptual and motor attributes were obtained for a set of 750 concrete concepts in Spanish by requiring scale-based judgments from a sample of university students (N = 539). Following on the work of Amsel, Urbach, and Kutas (2012), the seven attributes were color, motion, sound, smell, taste, graspability, and pain. Normative data based on the obtained ratings are provided as a tool for future investigations. Additionally, the relationships of these attributes to other lexical dimensions (e.g., familiarity, frequency, concreteness) and the factorial organization of concepts around the main components were analyzed. The pattern of results is consistent with prior findings that highlight the relevance of dimensions related to survival as being crucially involved in conceptual processing.
Collapse
|
32
|
Buccino G, Colagè I, Silipo F, D'Ambrosio P. The concreteness of abstract language: an ancient issue and a new perspective. Brain Struct Funct 2019; 224:1385-1401. [PMID: 30830283 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-019-01851-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
This paper addresses the debated issue of abstract language in the framework of embodiment. First, we discuss the notion of abstractness in the light of the Western philosophical thought, with a focus on the English empiricist tradition. Second, we review the most relevant psychological models and neuroscientific empirical findings on abstract language. It turns out that abstract words are not such, because their meaning is "far from experience", but, because of the high complexity of the attached experiential clusters. Finally, we spell out the consequences of this understanding of abstractness in relation to the neural mechanisms subserving abstract language processing. If abstract words, as compared to concrete ones, imply an increasing complexity of the associated experiential clusters, then the processing of abstract language relies on the recruitment of several neural substrates coding for those experiences. We forward that, at the neural level, this complexity is coded by means of three main mechanisms: (1) the recruitment of the motor representations of different biological effectors (abstract meaning as effector-unspecific); (2) the recruitment of different systems, including sensory, motor, and emotional ones (abstract meaning as multi-systemic); (3) the recruitment of neural substrates coding for social contexts and levels of self-relatedness (abstract meaning as dynamic). As compared to the current approaches in the literature on abstract language that combine embodiment with some a-modal aspects, our proposal is fully embodied and rules out additional aspects. Our proposal may spur future empirical research on abstract language in the embodied approach.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Buccino
- University San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 58, 20132, Milan, Italy. .,Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy.
| | - Ivan Colagè
- Faculty of Philosophy, Pontifical University Antonianum, Via Merulana 124, 00185, Rome, Italy.,DISF Research Centre, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Via dei Pianellari, 49, 00186, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Silipo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, University "Magna Graecia" of Catanzaro, Viale Salvatore Venuta, 88100, Germaneto, Italy
| | - Paolo D'Ambrosio
- Interdisciplinary Anthropology Group, Pontifical University Antonianum, Via Merulana 124, 00185, Rome, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Han P, Croy I, Raue C, Bensafi M, Larsson M, Cavazzana A, Hummel T. Neural processing of odor-associated words: an fMRI study in patients with acquired olfactory loss. Brain Imaging Behav 2019; 14:1164-1174. [DOI: 10.1007/s11682-019-00062-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
|
34
|
Abstract
Modality exclusivity norms have been developed in different languages for research on the relationship between perceptual and conceptual systems. This paper sets up the first modality exclusivity norms for Chinese, a Sino-Tibetan language with semantics as its orthographically relevant level. The norms are collected through two studies based on Chinese sensory words. The experimental designs take into consideration the morpho-lexical and orthographic structures of Chinese. Study 1 provides a set of norms for Mandarin Chinese single-morpheme words in mean ratings of the extent to which a word is experienced through the five sense modalities. The degrees of modality exclusivity are also provided. The collected norms are further analyzed to examine how sub-lexical orthographic representations of sense modalities in Chinese characters affect speakers’ interpretation of the sensory words. In particular, we found higher modality exclusivity rating for the sense modality explicitly represented by a semantic radical component, as well as higher auditory dominant modality rating for characters with transparent phonetic symbol components. Study 2 presents the mean ratings and modality exclusivity of coordinate disyllabic compounds involving multiple sense modalities. These studies open new perspectives in the study of modality exclusivity. First, links between modality exclusivity and writing systems have been established which has strengthened previous accounts of the influence of orthography in the processing of visual information in reading. Second, a new set of modality exclusivity norms of compounds is proposed to show the competition of influence on modality exclusivity from different linguistic factors and potentially allow such norms to be linked to studies on synesthesia and semantic transparency.
Collapse
|
35
|
Abstract
The senses of taste and smell developed early in evolution and are of high ecological and clinical relevance in humans. Chemosensory systems function, in large part, as hazard avoidance systems, thereby ensuring survival. Moreover, they play a critical role in nutrition and in determining the flavor of foods and beverages. Their dysfunction has been shown to be a key element of early stages of a number of diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Advanced neuroimaging methods provide a unique means for understanding, in vivo, neural and psychological processing of smell, taste, and flavor, and how diseases can impact such processing. This chapter provides, from a neuroimaging perspective, a comprehensive overview of the anatomy and physiology involved in the odor and taste processing in the central nervous system. Some methodological challenges associated with chemosensory neuroimaging research are discussed. Multisensory integration, the mechanisms that enable holistic sensory experiences, is emphasized.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonas K Olofsson
- Gösta Ekman Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Jessica Freiherr
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
|
37
|
Harpaintner M, Trumpp NM, Kiefer M. The Semantic Content of Abstract Concepts: A Property Listing Study of 296 Abstract Words. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1748. [PMID: 30283389 PMCID: PMC6156367 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2018] [Accepted: 08/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The relation of abstract concepts to the modality-specific systems is discussed controversially. According to classical approaches, the semantic content of abstract concepts can only be coded by amodal or verbal-symbolic representations distinct from the sensory and motor systems, because abstract concepts lack a clear physical referent. Grounded cognition theories, in contrast, propose that abstract concepts do not depend only on the verbal system, but also on a variety of modal systems involving perception, action, emotion and internal states. In order to contribute to this debate, we investigated the semantic content of abstract concepts using a property generation task. Participants were asked to generate properties for 296 abstract concepts, which are relevant for constituting their meaning. These properties were categorized by a coding-scheme making a classification into modality-specific and verbal contents possible. Words were additionally rated with regard to concreteness/abstractness and familiarity. To identify possible subgroups of abstract concepts with distinct profiles of generated features, hierarchical cluster analyses were conducted. Participants generated a substantial proportion of introspective, affective, social, sensory and motor-related properties, in addition to verbal associations. Cluster analyses revealed different subcategories of abstract concepts, which can be characterized by the dominance of certain conceptual features. The present results are therefore compatible with grounded cognition theories, which emphasize the importance of linguistic, social, introspective and affective experiential information for the representation of abstract concepts. Our findings also indicate that abstract concepts are highly heterogeneous requiring the investigation of well-specified subcategories of abstract concepts, for instance as revealed by the present cluster analyses. The present study could thus guide future behavioral or imaging work further elucidating the representation of abstract concepts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Markus Kiefer
- Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Basso F, Petit O, Le Bellu S, Lahlou S, Cancel A, Anton JL. Taste at first (person) sight: Visual perspective modulates brain activity implicitly associated with viewing unhealthy but not healthy foods. Appetite 2018; 128:242-254. [PMID: 29906489 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2017] [Revised: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Every day, people are exposed to images of appetizing foods that can lead to high-calorie intake and contribute to overweight and obesity. Research has documented that manipulating the visual perspective from which eating is viewed helps resist temptation by altering the appraisal of unhealthy foods. However, the neural basis of this effect has not yet been examined using neuroimaging methods. Moreover, it is not known whether the benefits of this strategy can be observed when people, especially overweight, are not explicitly asked to imagine themselves eating. Last, it remains to be investigated if visual perspective could be used to promote healthy foods. The present work manipulated camera angles and tested whether visual perspective modulates activity in brain regions associated with taste and reward processing while participants watch videos featuring a hand grasping (unhealthy or healthy) foods from a plate during functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI). The plate was filmed from the perspective of the participant (first-person perspective; 1PP), or from a frontal view as if watching someone else eating (third-person perspective; 3PP). Our findings reveal that merely viewing unhealthy food cues from a 1PP (vs. 3PP) increases activity in brain regions that underlie representations of rewarding (appetitive) experiences (amygdala) and food intake (superior parietal gyrus). Additionally, our results show that ventral striatal activity is positively correlated with body mass index (BMI) during exposure to unhealthy foods from a 1PP (vs. 3PP). These findings suggest that unhealthy foods should be promoted through third-person (video) images to weaken the reward associated with their simulated consumption, especially amongst overweight people. It appears however that, as such, manipulating visual perspective fails to enhance the perception of healthy foods. Their promotion thus requires complementary solutions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric Basso
- Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK.
| | - Olivia Petit
- Kedge Business School, Domaine de Luminy, Rue Antoine Bourdelle, 13009 Marseille France
| | - Sophie Le Bellu
- Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK
| | - Saadi Lahlou
- Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK
| | - Aïda Cancel
- Timone Institute of Neuroscience, UMR 7289, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France; Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Nîmes, Nîmes, France
| | - Jean-Luc Anton
- Centre d'IRM Fonctionnelle Cérébrale, Timone Institute of Neuroscience, UMR 7289, CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Ziegler JC, Montant M, Briesemeister BB, Brink TT, Wicker B, Ponz A, Bonnard M, Jacobs AM, Braun M. Do Words Stink? Neural Reuse as a Principle for Understanding Emotions in Reading. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:1023-1032. [PMID: 29668395 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
How do we understand the emotional content of written words? Here, we investigate the hypothesis that written words that carry emotions are processed through phylogenetically ancient neural circuits that are involved in the processing of the very same emotions in nonlanguage contexts. This hypothesis was tested with respect to disgust. In an fMRI experiment, it was found that the same region of the left anterior insula responded whether people observed facial expressions of disgust or whether they read words with disgusting content. In a follow-up experiment, it was found that repetitive TMS over the left insula in comparison with a control site interfered with the processing of disgust words to a greater extent than with the processing of neutral words. Together, the results support the hypothesis that the affective processes we experience when reading rely on the reuse of phylogenetically ancient brain structures that process basic emotions in other domains and species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Mario Braun
- University of Salzburg and Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Pomp J, Bestgen AK, Schulze P, Müller CJ, Citron FMM, Suchan B, Kuchinke L. Lexical olfaction recruits olfactory orbitofrontal cortex in metaphorical and literal contexts. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2018; 179:11-21. [PMID: 29482170 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2018.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2017] [Revised: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 02/11/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The investigation of specific lexical categories has substantially contributed to advancing our knowledge on how meaning is neurally represented. One sensory domain that has received particularly little attention is olfaction. This study aims to investigate the neural representation of lexical olfaction. In an fMRI experiment, participants read olfactory metaphors, their literal paraphrases, and literal olfactory sentences. Regions of interest were defined by a functional localizer run of odor processing. We observed activation in secondary olfactory areas during metaphorical and literal olfactory processing, thus extending previous findings to the novel source domain of olfaction. Previously reported enhanced activation in emotion-related areas due to metaphoricity could not be replicated. Finally, no primary olfactory cortex was found active during lexical olfaction processing. We suggest that this absence is due to olfactory hedonicity being crucial to understand the meaning of the current olfactory expressions. Consequently, the processing of olfactory hedonicity recruits secondary olfactory areas.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Pomp
- Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany; Institute of Psychology, University of Münster, Fliednerstrasse 21, 48149 Münster, Germany.
| | - Anne-Kathrin Bestgen
- Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Patrick Schulze
- Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Christina J Müller
- Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany; International Psychoanalytic University, Stromstrasse 1, 10555 Berlin, Germany
| | - Francesca M M Citron
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Fylde College, Lancaster LA1 4YF, UK
| | - Boris Suchan
- Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany
| | - Lars Kuchinke
- Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801 Bochum, Germany; International Psychoanalytic University, Stromstrasse 1, 10555 Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Dreyer FR, Pulvermüller F. Abstract semantics in the motor system? – An event-related fMRI study on passive reading of semantic word categories carrying abstract emotional and mental meaning. Cortex 2018; 100:52-70. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.10.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Revised: 05/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
|
42
|
Moseley RL, Pulvermüller F. What can autism teach us about the role of sensorimotor systems in higher cognition? New clues from studies on language, action semantics, and abstract emotional concept processing. Cortex 2018; 100:149-190. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Revised: 05/17/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
|
43
|
Speed LJ, Majid A. An Exception to Mental Simulation: No Evidence for Embodied Odor Language. Cogn Sci 2018; 42:1146-1178. [PMID: 29442364 PMCID: PMC6001635 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2017] [Revised: 10/30/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Do we mentally simulate olfactory information? We investigated mental simulation of odors and sounds in two experiments. Participants retained a word while they smelled an odor or heard a sound, then rated odor/sound intensity and recalled the word. Later odor/sound recognition was also tested, and pleasantness and familiarity judgments were collected. Word recall was slower when the sound and sound‐word mismatched (e.g., bee sound with the word typhoon). Sound recognition was higher when sounds were paired with a match or near‐match word (e.g., bee sound with bee or buzzer). This indicates sound‐words are mentally simulated. However, using the same paradigm no memory effects were observed for odor. Instead it appears odor‐words only affect lexical‐semantic representations, demonstrated by higher ratings of odor intensity and pleasantness when an odor was paired with a match or near‐match word (e.g., peach odor with peach or mango). These results suggest fundamental differences in how odor and sound‐words are represented.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Asifa Majid
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University.,Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Yoris A, Abrevaya S, Esteves S, Salamone P, Lori N, Martorell M, Legaz A, Alifano F, Petroni A, Sánchez R, Sedeño L, García AM, Ibáñez A. Multilevel convergence of interoceptive impairments in hypertension: New evidence of disrupted body-brain interactions. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 39:1563-1581. [PMID: 29271093 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2017] [Accepted: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Interoception, the sensing of visceral body signals, involves an interplay between neural and autonomic mechanisms. Clinical studies into this domain have focused on patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders, showing that damage to relevant brain mechanisms can variously alter interoceptive functions. However, the association between peripheral cardiac-system alterations and neurocognitive markers of interoception remains poorly understood. To bridge this gap, we examined multidimensional neural markers of interoception in patients with early stage of hypertensive disease (HTD) and healthy controls. Strategically, we recruited only HTD patients without cognitive impairment (as shown by neuropsychological tests), brain atrophy (as assessed with voxel-based morphometry), or white matter abnormalities (as evidenced by diffusion tensor imaging analysis). Interoceptive domains were assessed through (a) a behavioral heartbeat detection task; (b) measures of the heart-evoked potential (HEP), an electrophysiological cortical signature of attention to cardiac signals; and (c) neuroimaging recordings (MRI and fMRI) to evaluate anatomical and functional connectivity properties of key interoceptive regions (namely, the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex). Relative to controls, patients exhibited poorer interoceptive performance and reduced HEP modulations, alongside an abnormal association between interoceptive performance and both the volume and functional connectivity of the above regions. Such results suggest that peripheral cardiac-system impairments can be associated with abnormal behavioral and neurocognitive signatures of interoception. More generally, our findings indicate that interoceptive processes entail bidirectional influences between the cardiovascular and the central nervous systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adrián Yoris
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sofía Abrevaya
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sol Esteves
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Paula Salamone
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Nicolás Lori
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging and Neuroscience (LANEN), INECO Neurosciences Oroño, Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Rosario, Argentina.,Diagnóstico Médico Oroño, Grupo Oroño, Rosario, Argentina.,ICVS/3Bs & Centre Algoritmi, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Miguel Martorell
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustina Legaz
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Florencia Alifano
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Petroni
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Instituto de Ingeniería Biomédica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Deptartamento de Computación, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ramiro Sánchez
- Metabolic and Arterial Hypertension Unit, Favaloro Foundation Hospital, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucas Sedeño
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Adolfo M García
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla, Colombia.,Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Santiago, Chile.,Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Australian Research Council (ACR), Sydney, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Cortical networks for reference-frame processing are shared by language and spatial navigation systems. Neuroimage 2017; 161:120-133. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.08.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Revised: 08/12/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
|
46
|
Compared to self-immersion, mindful attention reduces salivation and automatic food bias. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13839. [PMID: 29062033 PMCID: PMC5653876 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13662-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Immersing ourselves in food images can sometimes make it feel subjectively real, as if the actual food were right in front of us. Excessive self-immersion into mental content, however, is a hallmark of psychological distress, and of several psychiatric conditions. Being aware that imagined events are not necessarily an accurate depiction of reality is a key feature of psychotherapeutic approaches akin to mindfulness-based interventions. Yet, it is still largely unknown to what extent one's engagement with mental content, considering it as real, biases one's automatic tendencies toward the world. In this study, we measured the change in subjective realism induced by a self-immersion and a mindful attention instruction, using self-reports and saliva volumes. Then, we measured behaviorally the impact of subjective realism changes on automatic approach bias toward attractive food (FAB) using an approach-avoidance task. We found a reduction in saliva volume, followed by a reduction in FAB in the mindful condition compared to the immersed condition. During the immersed condition only, saliva volumes, state and trait measures of subjective realism, and food craving traits were positively correlated with FAB values, whereas meditation experience was negatively correlated to it. We conclude that mindful attention instructions can de-automatize food bias.
Collapse
|
47
|
Papies EK, Best M, Gelibter E, Barsalou LW. The Role of Simulations in Consumer Experiences and Behavior: Insights from the Grounded Cognition Theory of Desire. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1086/693110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
|
48
|
Zhao B, Dang J, Zhang G. EEG source reconstruction evidence for the noun-verb neural dissociation along semantic dimensions. Neuroscience 2017; 359:183-195. [PMID: 28729063 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.07.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2016] [Revised: 07/10/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
One of the long-standing issues in neurolinguistic research is about the neural basis of word representation, concerning whether grammatical classification or semantic difference causes the neural dissociation of brain activity patterns when processing different word categories, especially nouns and verbs. To disentangle this puzzle, four orthogonalized word categories in Chinese: unambiguous nouns (UN), unambiguous verbs (UV), ambiguous words with noun-biased semantics (AN), and ambiguous words with verb-biased semantics (AV) were adopted in an auditory task for recording electroencephalographic (EEG) signals from 128 electrodes on the scalps of twenty-two subjects. With the advanced current density reconstruction (CDR) algorithm and the constraint of standardized low-resolution electromagnetic tomography, the spatiotemporal brain dynamics of word processing were explored with the results that in multiple time periods including P1 (60-90ms), N1 (100-140ms), P200 (150-250ms) and N400 (350-450ms), noun-verb dissociation over the parietal-occipital and frontal-central cortices appeared not only between the UN-UV grammatical classes but also between the grammatically identical but semantically different AN-AV pairs. The apparent semantic dissociation within one grammatical class strongly suggests that the semantic difference rather than grammatical classification could be interpreted as the origin of the noun-verb neural dissociation. Our results also revealed that semantic dissociation occurs from an early stage and repeats in multiple phases, thus supporting a functionally hierarchical word processing mechanism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Zhao
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cognitive Computing and Application, School of Computer Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
| | - Jianwu Dang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cognitive Computing and Application, School of Computer Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China; Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan.
| | - Gaoyan Zhang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cognitive Computing and Application, School of Computer Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China.
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Birba A, García-Cordero I, Kozono G, Legaz A, Ibáñez A, Sedeño L, García AM. Losing ground: Frontostriatal atrophy disrupts language embodiment in Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 80:673-687. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2017] [Revised: 07/25/2017] [Accepted: 07/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
|
50
|
Pulvermüller F. Neural reuse of action perception circuits for language, concepts and communication. Prog Neurobiol 2017; 160:1-44. [PMID: 28734837 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2017.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2017] [Revised: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 07/13/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Neurocognitive and neurolinguistics theories make explicit statements relating specialized cognitive and linguistic processes to specific brain loci. These linking hypotheses are in need of neurobiological justification and explanation. Recent mathematical models of human language mechanisms constrained by fundamental neuroscience principles and established knowledge about comparative neuroanatomy offer explanations for where, when and how language is processed in the human brain. In these models, network structure and connectivity along with action- and perception-induced correlation of neuronal activity co-determine neurocognitive mechanisms. Language learning leads to the formation of action perception circuits (APCs) with specific distributions across cortical areas. Cognitive and linguistic processes such as speech production, comprehension, verbal working memory and prediction are modelled by activity dynamics in these APCs, and combinatorial and communicative-interactive knowledge is organized in the dynamics within, and connections between APCs. The network models and, in particular, the concept of distributionally-specific circuits, can account for some previously not well understood facts about the cortical 'hubs' for semantic processing and the motor system's role in language understanding and speech sound recognition. A review of experimental data evaluates predictions of the APC model and alternative theories, also providing detailed discussion of some seemingly contradictory findings. Throughout, recent disputes about the role of mirror neurons and grounded cognition in language and communication are assessed critically.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Friedemann Pulvermüller
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy & Humanities, WE4, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany; Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Berlin 10117 Berlin, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|