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Antoine S, Grisoni L, Tomasello R, Pulvermüller F. The prediction potential indexes the meaning and communicative function of upcoming utterances. Cortex 2024; 177:346-362. [PMID: 38917725 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Prediction has a fundamental role in language processing. However, predictions can be made at different levels, and it is not always clear whether speech sounds, morphemes, words, meanings, or communicative functions are anticipated during dialogues. Previous studies reported specific brain signatures of communicative pragmatic function, in particular enhanced brain responses immediately after encountering an utterance used to request an object from a partner, but relatively smaller ones when the same utterance was used for naming the object. The present experiment now investigates whether similar neuropragmatic signatures emerge in recipients before the onset of upcoming utterances carrying different predictable communicative functions. Trials started with a context question and object pictures displayed on the screen, raising the participant's expectation that words from a specific semantic category (food or tool) would subsequently be used to either name or request one of the objects. Already 600 msec before utterance onset, a larger prediction potential was observed when a request was anticipated relative to naming expectation. As this result is congruent with the neurophysiological difference previously observed right after the critical utterance, the anticipatory brain activity may index predictions about the social-communicative function of upcoming utterances. In addition, we also found that the predictable semantic category of the upcoming word was likewise reflected in the anticipatory brain potential. Thus, the neurophysiological characteristics of the prediction potential can capture different types of upcoming linguistic information, including semantic and pragmatic aspects of an upcoming utterance and communicative action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salomé Antoine
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
| | - Luigi Grisoni
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany; Cluster of Excellence 'Matters of Activity. Image Space Material', Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rosario Tomasello
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany; Cluster of Excellence 'Matters of Activity. Image Space Material', Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Friedemann Pulvermüller
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany; Cluster of Excellence 'Matters of Activity. Image Space Material', Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Berlin, Germany.
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2
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Tonna M. The Evolution of Symbolic Thought: At the Intersection of Schizophrenia Psychopathology, Ethnoarchaeology, and Neuroscience. Cult Med Psychiatry 2024:10.1007/s11013-024-09873-5. [PMID: 38995487 DOI: 10.1007/s11013-024-09873-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
The human capacity for symbolic representation arises, evolutionarily and developmentally, from the exploitation of a widespread sensorimotor network, along a fundamental continuity between embodied and symbolic modes of experience. In this regard, the fine balancing between constrained sensorimotor connections (responsible for self-embodiment processing) and more untethered neural associations (responsible for abstract and symbolic processing) is context dependent and plastically neuromodulated, thus intersubjectively constructed within a specific socio-cultural milieu. Instead, in the schizophrenia spectrum this system falls off catastrophically, due to an unbalance toward too unconstrained sensorimotor connectivity, leading to a profound distortion of self/world relation with a symbolic activity detached from its embodied ground. For this very reason, however, schizophrenia psychopathology may contribute to unveil, in a distorted or magnified way, ubiquitous structural features of human symbolic activity, beneath the various, historically determined cultural systems. In this respect, a comparative approach, linking psychopathology and ethnoarchaeology, allows highlight the following invariant formal characteristics of symbolic processing: (1) Emergence of salient perceptive fragments, which stand out from the perceptual field. (2) Spreading of a multiplicity of new significances with suspension of common-sense meaning. (3) Dynamic and passive character through which meaning proliferation is experienced. This study emphasizes the importance of fine-grained psychopathology to elucidate, within a cross-disciplinary framework, the evolutionarily and developmental pathways that shape the basic structures of human symbolization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Tonna
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatric Unit, University of Parma, Ospedale Maggiore, Padiglione Braga, Viale A. Gramsci 14, 43126, Parma, Italy.
- Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy.
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3
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Marji M, Schwartz C, Nguyen T, Kupfer AS, Blais C, Restrepo MA, Glenberg AM. Learning to Listen: Changes in Children's Brain Activity Following a Listening Comprehension Intervention. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:585. [PMID: 39062408 PMCID: PMC11273652 DOI: 10.3390/bs14070585] [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: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
"Are you LISTENING?" may be one of the most frequent questions preschoolers hear from their parents and teachers, but can children be taught to listen carefully-and thus better comprehend language-and if so, what changes occur in their brains? Twenty-seven four- and five-year-old children were taught a language simulation strategy to use while listening to stories: first, they practiced moving graphics on an iPad to correspond to the story actions, and then they practiced imagining the movements. Compared to a control condition, children in the intervention answered comprehension questions more accurately when imagining moving the graphics and on a measure of transfer using a new story without any instruction and with only immovable graphics. Importantly, for children in the intervention, the change in comprehension from the first to the sixth day was strongly correlated with changes in EEG mu and alpha desynchronization, suggesting changes in motor and visual processing following the intervention. Thus, the data are consistent with our hypothesis that a language simulation listening comprehension intervention can improve children's listening comprehension by teaching children to align visual and motor processing with language comprehension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Marji
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; (M.M.); (C.S.); (T.N.); (A.S.K.); (C.B.)
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1202 W Johnson St, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Cody Schwartz
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; (M.M.); (C.S.); (T.N.); (A.S.K.); (C.B.)
| | - Tri Nguyen
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; (M.M.); (C.S.); (T.N.); (A.S.K.); (C.B.)
| | - Anne S. Kupfer
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; (M.M.); (C.S.); (T.N.); (A.S.K.); (C.B.)
| | - Chris Blais
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; (M.M.); (C.S.); (T.N.); (A.S.K.); (C.B.)
| | - Maria Adelaida Restrepo
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33620, USA;
| | - Arthur M. Glenberg
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, 950 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; (M.M.); (C.S.); (T.N.); (A.S.K.); (C.B.)
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1202 W Johnson St, Madison, WI 53706, USA
- INICO, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Salamanca, Avda. de la Merced, 109-131, 37005 Salamanca, Spain
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Donggui C, Jingan S, Ruiming W. Differences in perceptual representations in multilinguals' first, second, and third language. Front Hum Neurosci 2024; 18:1408411. [PMID: 39010892 PMCID: PMC11246912 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1408411] [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: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Two experiments were conducted to investigate the differences in perceptual representations among multilingual individuals. In Experiment 1, the immediate sentence-picture verification paradigm was used to investigate perceptual representations in the working memory stage. The results suggest a match effect within the first language (Cantonese), but not within the second language (Mandarin) or the third language (English), showing perceptual representations only in first language comprehension. In Experiment 2, the delayed sentence-picture verification paradigm was used to investigate perceptual representations in long-term memory. Similarly, the results suggest a match effect within the first language (Mandarin), but not within the second language (English). The findings of both experiments suggest that the first language was perceptually represented, regardless of whether it was Cantonese or Mandarin, regardless of the processing in working memory or long-term memory. No evidence was found for perceptual representations in the later-learned languages, regardless of high or low proficiency. Our study has implications for theories of language comprehension and embodied cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Donggui
- School of Foreign Languages, Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents, Ministry of Education, & Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Su Jingan
- Guangzhou No.18 Middle School, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wang Ruiming
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents, Ministry of Education, & Center for Studies of Psychological Application, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
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5
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Friedrich J, Fischer MH, Raab M. Invariant representations in abstract concept grounding - the physical world in grounded cognition. Psychon Bull Rev 2024:10.3758/s13423-024-02522-3. [PMID: 38806790 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-024-02522-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
Grounded cognition states that mental representations of concepts consist of experiential aspects. For example, the concept "cup" consists of the sensorimotor experiences from interactions with cups. Typical modalities in which concepts are grounded are: The sensorimotor system (including interoception), emotion, action, language, and social aspects. Here, we argue that this list should be expanded to include physical invariants (unchanging features of physical motion; e.g., gravity, momentum, friction). Research on physical reasoning consistently demonstrates that physical invariants are represented as fundamentally as other grounding substrates, and therefore should qualify. We assess several theories of concept representation (simulation, conceptual metaphor, conceptual spaces, predictive processing) and their positions on physical invariants. We find that the classic grounded cognition theories, simulation and conceptual metaphor theory, have not considered physical invariants, while conceptual spaces and predictive processing have. We conclude that physical invariants should be included into grounded cognition theories, and that the core mechanisms of simulation and conceptual metaphor theory are well suited to do this. Furthermore, conceptual spaces and predictive processing are very promising and should also be integrated with grounded cognition in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jannis Friedrich
- German Sport University Cologne, Germany, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933, Cologne, Germany.
| | - Martin H Fischer
- Psychology Department, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, House 14 D - 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Markus Raab
- German Sport University Cologne, Germany, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933, Cologne, Germany
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Rabini G, Meli C, Prodomi G, Speranza C, Anzini F, Funghi G, Pierotti E, Saviola F, Fumagalli GG, Di Giacopo R, Malaguti MC, Jovicich J, Dodich A, Papagno C, Turella L. Tango and physiotherapy interventions in Parkinson's disease: a pilot study on efficacy outcomes on motor and cognitive skills. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11855. [PMID: 38789492 PMCID: PMC11126665 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62786-6] [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: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Pharmacological treatments in Parkinson's disease (PD), albeit effective in alleviating many motor symptoms, have limited effects in non-motor signatures as cognitive impairment, as well as in other aspects included postural instability. Consequently, complementary interventions are nowadays a prerogative of clinical practice managing PD symptomatology. In this pilot longitudinal study, we recruited twenty-four PD patients participating in one of two interventions: adapted Argentine Tango or group-based physiotherapy. Participants underwent a motor and neuropsychological evaluation before and after four months of activities, carried out twice a week. We found a general stabilization of motor and cognitive abilities, with significant improvements in several motor skills, mainly pertaining to static and dynamic balance, similarly in both groups. At cognitive level, we measured a significant improvement in both groups in the Action Naming task. Interestingly, only PD patients in the Tango group improved their performance in the test measuring facial emotion recognition. These findings highlight the crucial role that physical activities have in the stabilization and slowdown of disease's progression in PD. They further highlight the beneficial effects of a group-based physical intervention, which, especially in the case of Tango, could lead to behavioral ameliorations in domains other than the motor, such as emotion recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Rabini
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy.
| | - Claudia Meli
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Giulia Prodomi
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Chiara Speranza
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Federica Anzini
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Giulia Funghi
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Enrica Pierotti
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Francesca Saviola
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
- Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Giorgio Giulio Fumagalli
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Raffaella Di Giacopo
- Neurology Unit, Rovereto Hospital, Azienda Provinciale per i Servizi Sanitari (APSS) di Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Maria Chiara Malaguti
- Neurology Unit, Rovereto Hospital, Azienda Provinciale per i Servizi Sanitari (APSS) di Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Jorge Jovicich
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Alessandra Dodich
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Costanza Papagno
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
| | - Luca Turella
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences-CIMeC, University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, 38068, Rovereto, TN, Italy
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7
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Holmes CA, Cooney SM, Dempsey P, Newell FN. Developmental changes in the visual, haptic, and bimodal perception of geometric angles. J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 241:105870. [PMID: 38354447 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2024.105870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Geometrical knowledge is typically taught to children through a combination of vision and repetitive drawing (i.e. haptics), yet our understanding of how different spatial senses contribute to geometric perception during childhood is poor. Studies of line orientation suggest a dominant role of vision affecting the calibration of haptics during development; however, the associated multisensory interactions underpinning angle perception are unknown. Here we examined visual, haptic, and bimodal perception of angles across three age groups of children: 6 to 8 years, 8 to 10 years, and 10 to 12 years, with age categories also representing their class (grade) in primary school. All participants first learned an angular shape, presented dynamically, in one of three sensory tracing conditions: visual only, haptic only, or bimodal exploration. At test, which was visual only, participants selected a target angle from four possible alternatives with distractor angle sizes varying relative to the target angle size. We found a clear improvement in accuracy of angle perception with development for all learning modalities. Angle perception in the youngest group was equally poor (but above chance) for all modalities; however, for the two older child groups, visual learning was better than haptics. Haptic perception did not improve to the level of vision with age (even in a comparison adult group), and we found no specific benefit for bimodal learning over visual learning in any age group, including adults. Our results support a developmental increment in both spatial accuracy and precision in all modalities, which was greater in vision than in haptics, and are consistent with previous accounts of cross-sensory calibration in the perception of geometric forms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinne A Holmes
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Sarah M Cooney
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland; School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Paula Dempsey
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Fiona N Newell
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland; Department of Psychology, New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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8
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Feng X, Xu S, Li Y, Liu J. Body size as a metric for the affordable world. eLife 2024; 12:RP90583. [PMID: 38547366 PMCID: PMC10987089 DOI: 10.7554/elife.90583] [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] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
The physical body of an organism serves as a vital interface for interactions with its environment. Here, we investigated the impact of human body size on the perception of action possibilities (affordances) offered by the environment. We found that the body size delineated a distinct boundary on affordances, dividing objects of continuous real-world sizes into two discrete categories with each affording distinct action sets. Additionally, the boundary shifted with imagined body sizes, suggesting a causal link between body size and affordance perception. Intriguingly, ChatGPT, a large language model lacking physical embodiment, exhibited a modest yet comparable affordance boundary at the scale of human body size, suggesting the boundary is not exclusively derived from organism-environment interactions. A subsequent fMRI experiment offered preliminary evidence of affordance processing exclusively for objects within the body size range, but not for those beyond. This suggests that only objects capable of being manipulated are the objects capable of offering affordance in the eyes of an organism. In summary, our study suggests a novel definition of object-ness in an affordance-based context, advocating the concept of embodied cognition in understanding the emergence of intelligence constrained by an organism's physical attributes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinran Feng
- Department of Psychology & Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Tsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Shan Xu
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Yuannan Li
- Department of Psychology & Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Tsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Jia Liu
- Department of Psychology & Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Tsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
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9
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Kaup B, Ulrich R, Bausenhart KM, Bryce D, Butz MV, Dignath D, Dudschig C, Franz VH, Friedrich C, Gawrilow C, Heller J, Huff M, Hütter M, Janczyk M, Leuthold H, Mallot H, Nürk HC, Ramscar M, Said N, Svaldi J, Wong HY. Modal and amodal cognition: an overarching principle in various domains of psychology. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2024; 88:307-337. [PMID: 37847268 PMCID: PMC10857976 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-023-01878-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023]
Abstract
Accounting for how the human mind represents the internal and external world is a crucial feature of many theories of human cognition. Central to this question is the distinction between modal as opposed to amodal representational formats. It has often been assumed that one but not both of these two types of representations underlie processing in specific domains of cognition (e.g., perception, mental imagery, and language). However, in this paper, we suggest that both formats play a major role in most cognitive domains. We believe that a comprehensive theory of cognition requires a solid understanding of these representational formats and their functional roles within and across different domains of cognition, the developmental trajectory of these representational formats, and their role in dysfunctional behavior. Here we sketch such an overarching perspective that brings together research from diverse subdisciplines of psychology on modal and amodal representational formats so as to unravel their functional principles and their interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Kaup
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Rolf Ulrich
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Karin M Bausenhart
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Donna Bryce
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
| | - Martin V Butz
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, University of Tübingen, Sand 14, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - David Dignath
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Carolin Dudschig
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Volker H Franz
- Department of Computer Science, University of Tübingen, Sand 14, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Claudia Friedrich
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Caterina Gawrilow
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jürgen Heller
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Markus Huff
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
- Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mandy Hütter
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Markus Janczyk
- Department of Psychology, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Hartmut Leuthold
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hanspeter Mallot
- Department of Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hans-Christoph Nürk
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Michael Ramscar
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nadia Said
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jennifer Svaldi
- Department of Psychology, Fachbereich Psychologie, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), partner site, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hong Yu Wong
- Department of Philosophy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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10
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Shtyrov Y, Efremov A, Kuptsova A, Wennekers T, Gutkin B, Garagnani M. Breakdown of category-specific word representations in a brain-constrained neurocomputational model of semantic dementia. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19572. [PMID: 37949997 PMCID: PMC10638411 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41922-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The neurobiological nature of semantic knowledge, i.e., the encoding and storage of conceptual information in the human brain, remains a poorly understood and hotly debated subject. Clinical data on semantic deficits and neuroimaging evidence from healthy individuals have suggested multiple cortical regions to be involved in the processing of meaning. These include semantic hubs (most notably, anterior temporal lobe, ATL) that take part in semantic processing in general as well as sensorimotor areas that process specific aspects/categories according to their modality. Biologically inspired neurocomputational models can help elucidate the exact roles of these regions in the functioning of the semantic system and, importantly, in its breakdown in neurological deficits. We used a neuroanatomically constrained computational model of frontotemporal cortices implicated in word acquisition and processing, and adapted it to simulate and explain the effects of semantic dementia (SD) on word processing abilities. SD is a devastating, yet insufficiently understood progressive neurodegenerative disease, characterised by semantic knowledge deterioration that is hypothesised to be specifically related to neural damage in the ATL. The behaviour of our brain-based model is in full accordance with clinical data-namely, word comprehension performance decreases as SD lesions in ATL progress, whereas word repetition abilities remain less affected. Furthermore, our model makes predictions about lesion- and category-specific effects of SD: our simulation results indicate that word processing should be more impaired for object- than for action-related words, and that degradation of white matter should produce more severe consequences than the same proportion of grey matter decay. In sum, the present results provide a neuromechanistic explanatory account of cortical-level language impairments observed during the onset and progress of semantic dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yury Shtyrov
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience (CFIN), Institute for Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Aleksei Efremov
- Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
- Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Anastasia Kuptsova
- Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Thomas Wennekers
- School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Boris Gutkin
- Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, Russia
- Département d'Etudes Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
| | - Max Garagnani
- Department of Computing, Goldsmiths - University of London, London, UK.
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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11
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Pulvermüller F. Neurobiological mechanisms for language, symbols and concepts: Clues from brain-constrained deep neural networks. Prog Neurobiol 2023; 230:102511. [PMID: 37482195 PMCID: PMC10518464 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
Neural networks are successfully used to imitate and model cognitive processes. However, to provide clues about the neurobiological mechanisms enabling human cognition, these models need to mimic the structure and function of real brains. Brain-constrained networks differ from classic neural networks by implementing brain similarities at different scales, ranging from the micro- and mesoscopic levels of neuronal function, local neuronal links and circuit interaction to large-scale anatomical structure and between-area connectivity. This review shows how brain-constrained neural networks can be applied to study in silico the formation of mechanisms for symbol and concept processing and to work towards neurobiological explanations of specifically human cognitive abilities. These include verbal working memory and learning of large vocabularies of symbols, semantic binding carried by specific areas of cortex, attention focusing and modulation driven by symbol type, and the acquisition of concrete and abstract concepts partly influenced by symbols. Neuronal assembly activity in the networks is analyzed to deliver putative mechanistic correlates of higher cognitive processes and to develop candidate explanations founded in established neurobiological principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Friedemann Pulvermüller
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and 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; Cluster of Excellence 'Matters of Activity', Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany.
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12
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Ibáñez A, Kühne K, Miklashevsky A, Monaco E, Muraki E, Ranzini M, Speed LJ, Tuena C. Ecological Meanings: A Consensus Paper on Individual Differences and Contextual Influences in Embodied Language. J Cogn 2023; 6:59. [PMID: 37841670 PMCID: PMC10573819 DOI: 10.5334/joc.228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Embodied theories of cognition consider many aspects of language and other cognitive domains as the result of sensory and motor processes. In this view, the appraisal and the use of concepts are based on mechanisms of simulation grounded on prior sensorimotor experiences. Even though these theories continue receiving attention and support, increasing evidence indicates the need to consider the flexible nature of the simulation process, and to accordingly refine embodied accounts. In this consensus paper, we discuss two potential sources of variability in experimental studies on embodiment of language: individual differences and context. Specifically, we show how factors contributing to individual differences may explain inconsistent findings in embodied language phenomena. These factors include sensorimotor or cultural experiences, imagery, context-related factors, and cognitive strategies. We also analyze the different contextual modulations, from single words to sentences and narratives, as well as the top-down and bottom-up influences. Similarly, we review recent efforts to include cultural and language diversity, aging, neurodegenerative diseases, and brain disorders, as well as bilingual evidence into the embodiment framework. We address the importance of considering individual differences and context in clinical studies to drive translational research more efficiently, and we indicate recommendations on how to correctly address these issues in future research. Systematically investigating individual differences and context may contribute to understanding the dynamic nature of simulation in language processes, refining embodied theories of cognition, and ultimately filling the gap between cognition in artificial experimental settings and cognition in the wild (i.e., in everyday life).
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustín Ibáñez
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago de Chile, Chile
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés and CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), California, US
- Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Dublin, Ireland, IE
| | - Katharina Kühne
- Potsdam Embodied Cognition Group, Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, DE
| | - Alex Miklashevsky
- Potsdam Embodied Cognition Group, Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, DE
| | - Elisa Monaco
- Laboratory for Cognitive and Neurological Sciences, Department of Neuroscience and Movement Science, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, CH
| | - Emiko Muraki
- Department of Psychology & Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, CA
| | | | | | - Cosimo Tuena
- Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, IT
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13
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Körner A, Castillo M, Drijvers L, Fischer MH, Günther F, Marelli M, Platonova O, Rinaldi L, Shaki S, Trujillo JP, Tsaregorodtseva O, Glenberg AM. Embodied Processing at Six Linguistic Granularity Levels: A Consensus Paper. J Cogn 2023; 6:60. [PMID: 37841668 PMCID: PMC10573585 DOI: 10.5334/joc.231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Language processing is influenced by sensorimotor experiences. Here, we review behavioral evidence for embodied and grounded influences in language processing across six linguistic levels of granularity. We examine (a) sub-word features, discussing grounded influences on iconicity (systematic associations between word form and meaning); (b) words, discussing boundary conditions and generalizations for the simulation of color, sensory modality, and spatial position; (c) sentences, discussing boundary conditions and applications of action direction simulation; (d) texts, discussing how the teaching of simulation can improve comprehension in beginning readers; (e) conversations, discussing how multi-modal cues improve turn taking and alignment; and (f) text corpora, discussing how distributional semantic models can reveal how grounded and embodied knowledge is encoded in texts. These approaches are converging on a convincing account of the psychology of language, but at the same time, there are important criticisms of the embodied approach and of specific experimental paradigms. The surest way forward requires the adoption of a wide array of scientific methods. By providing complimentary evidence, a combination of multiple methods on various levels of granularity can help us gain a more complete understanding of the role of embodiment and grounding in language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita Körner
- Department of Psychology, University of Kassel, DE
| | - Mauricio Castillo
- Center for Basic Research in Psychology, University of the Republic of Uruguay, UY
| | | | | | - Fritz Günther
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, DE
| | - Marco Marelli
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, IT
| | | | - Luca Rinaldi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, IT
| | - Samuel Shaki
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ariel University, IL
| | - James P. Trujillo
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, NL
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, NL
| | - Oksana Tsaregorodtseva
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, DE
- Linguistic Anthropology Laboratory, Tomsk State University, RU
| | - Arthur M. Glenberg
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, US
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, US
- INICO, Universidad de Salamanca, ES
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14
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León JA, Martínez-Huertas JÁ, Moreno JD, Martín LA. Strong versus weak embodiment: Spatial iconicity in physical, abstract, and social semantic categories. Scand J Psychol 2023; 64:574-581. [PMID: 36843286 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12909] [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: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Perceptual and action systems seem to be related to complex cognitive processes, but the scope of grounded or embodied cognition has been questioned. Zwaan and Yaxley (2003) proposed that cognitive processes of making semantic relatedness judgments can be facilitated when word pairs are presented in ways that their referents maintain their iconic configuration rather than their reverse-iconic configuration (the spatial iconicity effect). This effect has been observed in different semantic categories using specific experiments, but it is known that embodiment is highly dependent on task demands. METHOD The present study analyzed the spatial iconicity effect in three semantic categories (physical, abstract, and social) using the same experimental criteria to determine the scope of embodied cognition. In this reaction-time experiment, 75 participants judged the semantic relatedness of 384 word pairs whose experimental items were presented in their iconic or reverse-iconic configurations. RESULTS Two mixed-effects models with crossed random effects revealed that the interaction between word meaning and spatial position was present only for physical concepts but neither for abstract nor social concepts. CONCLUSIONS Within the framework of strong and weak embodiment theories, the data support weak embodiment theory as the most explicative one.
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Affiliation(s)
- José A León
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Calle Iván Pavlo, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - Lorena A Martín
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Calle Iván Pavlo, Madrid, Spain
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15
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Wei Y, Knoeferle P. Causal inference: relating language to event representations and events in the world. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1172928. [PMID: 37790219 PMCID: PMC10543908 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1172928] [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: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Events are not isolated but rather linked to one another in various dimensions. In language processing, various sources of information-including real-world knowledge, (representations of) current linguistic input and non-linguistic visual context-help establish causal connections between events. In this review, we discuss causal inference in relation to events and event knowledge as one aspect of world knowledge, and their representations in language comprehension. To evaluate the mechanism and time course of causal inference, we gather insights from studies on (1) implicit causality/consequentiality as a specific form of causal inference regarding the protagonists of cause/consequence events, and (2) the processing of causal relations. We highlight the importance of methodology in measuring causal inference, compare the results from different research methods, and emphasize the contribution of the visual-world paradigm to achieve a better understanding of causal inference. We recommend that further investigations of causal inference consider temporally sensitive measures and more detailed contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yipu Wei
- School of Chinese as a Second Language, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Pia Knoeferle
- Department of German Studies and Linguistics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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16
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Suggate SP, Karle VL, Kipfelsberger T, Stoeger H. The effect of fine motor skills, handwriting, and typing on reading development. J Exp Child Psychol 2023; 232:105674. [PMID: 37003153 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105674] [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: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Discussions on the contribution of motor skills and processes to learning to read has a long history. Previous work is essentially divided into two separate strands, namely the contributions of fine motor skills (FMS) to reading and the influence of writing versus typing. In the current 2 × 2 × 3 mixed, single-blind, and randomly assigned experiment, we tested both strands together. A total of 87 children learned to decode pseudowords in either typing or writing conditions in which their FMS were either impaired or not. Decoding gains were measured at pretest, posttest, and follow-up, with FMS and working memory included as participant variable predictors. Findings indicated that FMS and working memory predicted decoding gains. Importantly, children performed best when typing if in the impaired FMS condition. Results have implications for motor representation theories of writing and for instruction of children with FMS impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian P Suggate
- Department of Education, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK; Department of Education, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Viktoria L Karle
- Department of Education, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Tanja Kipfelsberger
- Department of Education, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Heidrun Stoeger
- Department of Education, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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17
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Pexman PM, Diveica V, Binney RJ. Social semantics: the organization and grounding of abstract concepts. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210363. [PMID: 36571120 PMCID: PMC9791475 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
concepts, like justice and friendship, are central features of our daily lives. Traditionally, abstract concepts are distinguished from other concepts in that they cannot be directly experienced through the senses. As such, they pose a challenge for strongly embodied models of semantic representation that assume a central role for sensorimotor information. There is growing recognition, however, that it is possible for meaning to be 'grounded' via cognitive systems, including those involved in processing language and emotion. In this article, we focus on the specific proposal that social significance is a key feature in the representation of some concepts. We begin by reviewing recent evidence in favour of this proposal from the fields of psycholinguistics and neuroimaging. We then discuss the limited extent to which there is consensus about the definition of 'socialness' and propose essential next steps for research in this domain. Taking one such step, we describe preliminary data from an unprecedented large-scale rating study that can help determine how socialness is distinct from other facets of word meaning. We provide a backdrop of contemporary theories regarding semantic representation and social cognition and highlight important predictions for both brain and behaviour. This article is part of the theme issue 'Concepts in interaction: social engagement and inner experiences'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Penny M. Pexman
- Department of Psychology and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada, T2N 1N4
| | - Veronica Diveica
- School of Human and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2AS, UK
| | - Richard J. Binney
- School of Human and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2AS, UK
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18
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Martin-Martinez C, Valenzuela PL, Martinez-Zamora M, Martinez-de-Quel Ó. School-based physical activity interventions and language skills: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Sci Med Sport 2023; 26:140-148. [PMID: 36609085 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2022.12.007] [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: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES School-based physical activity (PA) interventions have proven beneficial for improving cognitive performance and overall academic achievement, but their benefits on language skills remain unclear. We aimed to assess the effects of school-based PA interventions on language skills in children and adolescents. DESIGN Systematic review with meta-analysis. METHODS A systematic search was performed in PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus until September 10th, 2022. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that performed a school-based PA intervention in children/adolescents and that assessed language-related outcomes (i.e., reading, spelling, vocabulary, verbal fluency, comprehension and grammar) or language school grades. Random effect meta-analyses were conducted to pool study results. RESULTS Thirty-one studies (18,651 participants) were finally included. Significant benefits were observed for reading (standardized mean difference [SMD]: 0.15; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.08, 0.22), vocabulary (SMD: 0.71; 95%CI: 0.44, 0.97), and comprehension (SMD: 0.24; 95%CI: 0.09, 0.40), with a non-significant trend (p = 0.083) also observed for language school grades (SMD: 0.40; 95%CI: -0.05, 0.86). No significant benefits were observed for spelling or verbal fluency (both p > 0.05), and no meta-analysis could be performed for grammar skills. No consistent differences were observed between integrated (i.e., performing PA along with the academic content) and non-integrated PA interventions (e.g., extra physical education lessons). CONCLUSIONS School-based PA interventions appear as an effective strategy for improving different language-related skills, although further research is needed to determine how interventions' and participants' characteristics moderate these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Martin-Martinez
- Department of Didactics of Language, Arts and Physical Education, University Complutense of Madrid, Spain
| | - Pedro L Valenzuela
- Research Institute of the Hospital 12 de Octubre ("imas12", PaHerg group), Spain; Department of Systems Biology, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain. https://twitter.com/pl_valenzuela
| | - Marcos Martinez-Zamora
- Department of Didactics of Language, Arts and Physical Education, University Complutense of Madrid, Spain
| | - Óscar Martinez-de-Quel
- Department of Didactics of Language, Arts and Physical Education, University Complutense of Madrid, Spain; Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences-INEF, Technical University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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19
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Tonna M, Lucarini V, Borrelli DF, Parmigiani S, Marchesi C. Disembodiment and Language in Schizophrenia: An Integrated Psychopathological and Evolutionary Perspective. Schizophr Bull 2023; 49:161-171. [PMID: 36264669 PMCID: PMC9810023 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbac146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Different hypotheses have flourished to explain the evolutionary paradox of schizophrenia. In this contribution, we sought to illustrate how, in the schizophrenia spectrum, the concept of embodiment may underpin the phylogenetic and developmental pathways linking sensorimotor processes, the origin of human language, and the construction of a basic sense of the self. In particular, according to an embodied model of language, we suggest that the reuse of basic sensorimotor loops for language, while enabling the development of fully symbolic thought, has pushed the human brain close to the threshold of a severe disruption of self-embodiment processes, which are at the core of schizophrenia psychopathology. We adopted an inter-disciplinary approach (psychopathology, neuroscience, developmental biology) within an evolutionary framework, to gain an integrated, multi-perspectival model on the origin of schizophrenia vulnerability. A maladaptive over-expression of evolutionary-developmental trajectories toward language at the expense of embodiment processes would have led to the evolutionary "trade-off" of a hyper-symbolic activity to the detriment of a disembodied self. Therefore, schizophrenia psychopathology might be the cost of long-term co-evolutive interactions between brain and language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Tonna
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatric Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
- Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy
| | - Valeria Lucarini
- Université Paris Cité, Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris (IPNP), INSERM U1266, Paris, France
| | | | - Stefano Parmigiani
- Department of Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Unit of Behavioral Biology, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Carlo Marchesi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Psychiatric Unit, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
- Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy
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20
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Montalti M, Calbi M, Cuccio V, Umiltà MA, Gallese V. Is motor inhibition involved in the processing of sentential negation? An assessment via the Stop-Signal Task. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2023; 87:339-352. [PMID: 33905001 PMCID: PMC9873753 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01512-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
In the last decades, the embodied approach to cognition and language gained momentum in the scientific debate, leading to evidence in different aspects of language processing. However, while the bodily grounding of concrete concepts seems to be relatively not controversial, abstract aspects, like the negation logical operator, are still today one of the main challenges for this research paradigm. In this framework, the present study has a twofold aim: (1) to assess whether mechanisms for motor inhibition underpin the processing of sentential negation, thus, providing evidence for a bodily grounding of this logic operator, (2) to determine whether the Stop-Signal Task, which has been used to investigate motor inhibition, could represent a good tool to explore this issue. Twenty-three participants were recruited in this experiment. Ten hand-action-related sentences, both in affirmative and negative polarity, were presented on a screen. Participants were instructed to respond as quickly and accurately as possible to the direction of the Go Stimulus (an arrow) and to withhold their response when they heard a sound following the arrow. This paradigm allows estimating the Stop Signal Reaction Time (SSRT), a covert reaction time underlying the inhibitory process. Our results show that the SSRT measured after reading negative sentences are longer than after reading affirmative ones, highlighting the recruitment of inhibitory mechanisms while processing negative sentences. Furthermore, our methodological considerations suggest that the Stop-Signal Task is a good paradigm to assess motor inhibition's role in the processing of sentence negation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Montalti
- grid.10383.390000 0004 1758 0937Department of Medicine and Surgery Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Marta Calbi
- grid.10383.390000 0004 1758 0937Department of Medicine and Surgery Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Valentina Cuccio
- grid.10438.3e0000 0001 2178 8421Department of Cognitive, Psychological, Pedagogical Sciences and Cultural Studies, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Maria Alessandra Umiltà
- grid.10383.390000 0004 1758 0937Department of Food and Drug, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Vittorio Gallese
- grid.10383.390000 0004 1758 0937Department of Medicine and Surgery Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy ,grid.7468.d0000 0001 2248 7639Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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21
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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.
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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.
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22
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Dupont W, Papaxanthis C, Lebon F, Madden-Lombardi C. Does the Motor Cortex Want the Full Story? The Influence of Sentence Context on Corticospinal Excitability in Action Language Processing. Neuroscience 2022; 506:58-67. [PMID: 36328232 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The reading of action verbs has been shown to activate motor areas, whereby sentence context may serve to either globally strengthen this activation or to selectively sharpen it. To investigate this issue, we manipulated the presence of manual actions and sentence context, assessing the level of corticospinal excitability by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation. We hypothesized that context would serve to sharpen the neural representation of the described actions in the motor cortex, reflected in context-specific modulation of corticospinal excitability. Participants silently read manual action verbs and non-manual verbs, preceded by a full sentence (rich context) or not (minimal context). Transcranial magnetic stimulation pulses were delivered at rest or shortly after verb presentation. The coil was positioned over the cortical representation of the right first dorsal interosseous (pointer finger). We observed a general increase of corticospinal excitability while reading both manual action and non-manual verbs in minimal context, whereas the modulation was action-specific in rich context: corticospinal excitability increased while reading manual verbs, but did not differ from baseline for non-manual verbs. These findings suggest that sentence context sharpens motor representations, activating the motor cortex when relevant and eliminating any residual motor activation when no action is present.
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Affiliation(s)
- W Dupont
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000 Dijon, France.
| | - C Papaxanthis
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000 Dijon, France
| | - F Lebon
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000 Dijon, France; Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), France
| | - C Madden-Lombardi
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000 Dijon, France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France
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23
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Muraki EJ, Siddiqui IA, Pexman PM. Quantifying children's sensorimotor experience: Child body-object interaction ratings for 3359 English words. Behav Res Methods 2022; 54:2864-2877. [PMID: 35112287 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-01798-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Body-object interaction (BOI) ratings measure how easily the human body can physically interact with a word's referent. Previous research has found that words higher in BOI tend to be processed more quickly and accurately in tasks such as lexical decision, semantic decision, and syntactic classification, suggesting that sensorimotor information is an important aspect of lexical knowledge. However, limited research has examined the importance of sensorimotor information from a developmental perspective. One barrier to addressing such theoretical questions has been a lack of semantic dimension ratings that take into account child sensorimotor experience. The goal of the current study was to collect Child BOI rating norms. Parents of children aged 5 to 9 years old were asked to rate words according to how easily an average 6-year-old child can interact with each word's referent. The relationships of Child and Adult BOI ratings with other lexical semantic dimensions were assessed, as well as the relationships of Child and Adult BOI ratings with age of acquisition. Child BOI ratings were more strongly related to valence and sensory experience ratings than Adult BOI ratings and were a better predictor of three different measures of age of acquisition. The results suggest that child-centric ratings such as those reported here provide a more sensitive measure of children's experience that can be used to address theoretical questions in embodied cognition from a developmental perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emiko J Muraki
- Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - Israa A Siddiqui
- Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Penny M Pexman
- Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada
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24
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Pan X, Li X. Book review of the adaptable mind: What neuroplasticity and neural reuse tells us about language and cognition. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:978196. [DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.978196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
From the works of Noam Chomsky to Jerry Fodor, the modularity of mind has been deeply rooted in cognitive science. From the “modular” perspective, cognition consists of functionally and anatomically isolable subsystems. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume a language module or a hardwired language organ that is functionally and anatomically different from the other cognitive modules (e.g., vision, olfaction, motor). However, evidence from neuroscience casts doubt on this modular hypothesis. It has been shown that many brain regions are likely to be reused and recycled by various neural communities in order to serve various cognitive functions. If this is the case, language and other cognitive faculties should not be considered modules, since they cannot be realized in special-purpose, special-structure regions. Therefore, it is time to change our understanding of our brains.
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25
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Shebani Z, Carota F, Hauk O, Rowe JB, Barsalou LW, Tomasello R, Pulvermüller F. Brain correlates of action word memory revealed by fMRI. Sci Rep 2022; 12:16053. [PMID: 36163225 PMCID: PMC9512810 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19416-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding language semantically related to actions activates the motor cortex. This activation is sensitive to semantic information such as the body part used to perform the action (e.g. arm-/leg-related action words). Additionally, motor movements of the hands/feet can have a causal effect on memory maintenance of action words, suggesting that the involvement of motor systems extends to working memory. This study examined brain correlates of verbal memory load for action-related words using event-related fMRI. Seventeen participants saw either four identical or four different words from the same category (arm-/leg-related action words) then performed a nonmatching-to-sample task. Results show that verbal memory maintenance in the high-load condition produced greater activation in left premotor and supplementary motor cortex, along with posterior-parietal areas, indicating that verbal memory circuits for action-related words include the cortical action system. Somatotopic memory load effects of arm- and leg-related words were observed, but only at more anterior cortical regions than was found in earlier studies employing passive reading tasks. These findings support a neurocomputational model of distributed action-perception circuits (APCs), according to which language understanding is manifest as full ignition of APCs, whereas working memory is realized as reverberant activity receding to multimodal prefrontal and lateral temporal areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zubaida Shebani
- Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK.
- Psychology Department, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
| | - Francesca Carota
- Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
- Max-Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Wundtlaan 1, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Olaf Hauk
- Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
| | - James B Rowe
- Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge University, Cambridge, CB2 2QQ, UK
| | - Lawrence W Barsalou
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Rosario Tomasello
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence 'Matters of Activity. Image Space Material', Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099, Berlin, Germany
| | - Friedemann Pulvermüller
- Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence 'Matters of Activity. Image Space Material', Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099, Berlin, Germany
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26
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The action-sentence compatibility effect (ACE): Meta-analysis of a benchmark finding for embodiment. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 230:103712. [PMID: 36103797 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The embodied account of language comprehension has been one of the most influential theoretical developments in the recent decades addressing the question how humans comprehend and represent language. To examine its assumptions, many studies have made use of behavioral paradigms involving basic compatibility effects. The action-sentence compatibility effect (ACE) is one of the most influential of these compatibility effects and is the most widely cited evidence for the embodied account of language comprehension. However, recently there have been difficulties in extending or even in reliably replicating the ACE. The conflicting findings concerning the ACE and its extensions lead to the discussion of whether the ACE is indeed a reliable effect. In a first step we conducted a meta-analysis using a random-effects model. This analysis revealed a small but significant effect size of the ACE. Furthermore, the task-parameter Delay occurred as a factor of interest in whether the ACE appears with positive or negative effect direction. A second meta-analytic approach (Fisher's method) supports these findings. Additionally, an analysis of publication bias suggests that there is bias in the ACE literature. In post-hoc analyses of the recent multi-lab investigation of the ACE (Morey et al., 2021), evidence for individual differences in the ACE was found. However, further analyses indicate that these differences are likely due to item-specific variability and the specific way in which items were assigned to conditions in the counterbalancing lists.
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27
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Walkington C, Nathan MJ, Wang M, Schenck K. The Effect of Cognitive Relevance of Directed Actions on Mathematical Reasoning. Cogn Sci 2022; 46:e13180. [PMID: 36036165 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13180] [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: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Theories of grounded and embodied cognition offer a range of accounts of how reasoning and body-based processes are related to each other. To advance theories of grounded and embodied cognition, we explore the cognitive relevance of particular body states to associated math concepts. We test competing models of action-cognition transduction to investigate the cognitive relevance of directed actions to students' mathematical reasoning in the area of geometry. The hypotheses we test include (1) that cognitively relevant directed actions have a direct effect on performance (direct cognitive relevance hypothesis), (2) that cognitively relevant directed actions lead to more frequent production of gestures during explanations, which leads to improved performance (mediated cognitive relevance hypothesis), and (3) that performance effects of directed actions are influenced by the presence or absence of gesture production during mathematical explanations (moderated cognitive relevance hypothesis). We explore these hypotheses in an experiment where high school students (N = 85) evaluated the truth of geometry conjectures after performing cognitively relevant or cognitively irrelevant directed actions while playing a movement-based video game. Contrary to the direct and mediated cognitive relevance hypotheses, we found no overall differences in performance or gesture production between relevant and irrelevant conditions. Consistent with the moderated cognitive relevance hypothesis, cognitive relevance influenced mathematical performance, as measured by the accuracy of students' intuitions, insights, and the validity of their proofs, provided that students produced certain kinds of gestures during mathematical explanations (i.e., with explanatory gestures as the moderator). Implications for theories of grounded and embodied cognition and the design of embodied forms of educational interventions are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mitchell J Nathan
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin - Madison
| | - Min Wang
- Department of Teaching and Learning, Southern Methodist University
| | - Kelsey Schenck
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin - Madison
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28
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Laricchiuta D, Termine A, Fabrizio C, Passarello N, Greco F, Piras F, Picerni E, Cutuli D, Marini A, Mandolesi L, Spalletta G, Petrosini L. Only Words Count; the Rest Is Mere Chattering: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to the Verbal Expression of Emotional Experience. Behav Sci (Basel) 2022; 12:bs12080292. [PMID: 36004863 PMCID: PMC9404916 DOI: 10.3390/bs12080292] [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: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The analysis of sequences of words and prosody, meter, and rhythm provided in an interview addressing the capacity to identify and describe emotions represents a powerful tool to reveal emotional processing. The ability to express and identify emotions was analyzed by means of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia (TSIA), and TSIA transcripts were analyzed by Natural Language Processing to shed light on verbal features. The brain correlates of the capacity to translate emotional experience into words were determined through cortical thickness measures. A machine learning methodology proved that individuals with deficits in identifying and describing emotions (n = 7) produced language distortions, frequently used the present tense of auxiliary verbs, and few possessive determiners, as well as scarcely connected the speech, in comparison to individuals without deficits (n = 7). Interestingly, they showed high cortical thickness at left temporal pole and low at isthmus of the right cingulate cortex. Overall, we identified the neuro-linguistic pattern of the expression of emotional experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Laricchiuta
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-065-0170-3077
| | | | | | - Noemi Passarello
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
| | - Francesca Greco
- Department of Communication and Social Research, Sapienza University of Rome, 00198 Rome, Italy
| | | | | | - Debora Cutuli
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University “Sapienza” of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Marini
- Department of Languages, Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities, Federico II University of Naples, 80138 Naples, Italy
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29
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Wu W, Morales M, Patel T, Pickering MJ, Hoffman P. Modulation of brain activity by psycholinguistic information during naturalistic speech comprehension and production. Cortex 2022; 155:287-306. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2022.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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30
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Negri A, Castiglioni M, Caldiroli CL, Barazzetti A. Language and Intelligence: A Relationship Supporting the Embodied Cognition Hypothesis. J Intell 2022; 10:jintelligence10030042. [PMID: 35893273 PMCID: PMC9326655 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence10030042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive science has gathered robust evidence supporting the hypothesis that cognitive processes do not occur in an amodal format but take shape through the activation of the sensorimotor systems of the agent body, which works as simulation system upon which concepts, words, and thought are based. However, studies that have investigated the relationship between language and cognitive processes, as both embedded processes, are very rare. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that intelligence is associated with referential competence, conceived as the ability to find words to refer to our subjective and perceptual experience, and to evoke understanding of this experience in the listener. We administered the WAIS-IV test to 32 nonclinical subjects and collected autobiographical narratives from them through the Relationship Anecdotes Paradigm Interview. The narratives were analyzed linguistically by applying computerized measures of referential competence. Intelligence scores were found to correlate with the use in narratives of words related to somatic and sensory sensations, while they were not associated with other measures of referential competence related to more abstract domains of experience or based on vivid or reflective dimensions of language style. The results support the hypothesis that sensorimotor schemas have an intrinsic role in language and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Attà Negri
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| | - Marco Castiglioni
- Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy; (M.C.); (C.L.C.)
| | - Cristina Liviana Caldiroli
- Department of Human Sciences for Education, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy; (M.C.); (C.L.C.)
| | - Arianna Barazzetti
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy;
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31
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Dickson DS, Grenier AE, Obinyan BO, Wicha NYY. When multiplying is meaningful in memory: Electrophysiological signature of the problem size effect in children. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 219:105399. [PMID: 35231834 PMCID: PMC9054599 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Children are less fluent at verifying the answers to larger single-digit arithmetic problems compared with smaller ones. This problem size effect may reflect the structure of memory for arithmetic facts. In the current study, typically developing third to fifth graders judged the correctness of single-digit multiplication problems, presented as a sequence of three digits, that were either small (e.g., 4 3 12 vs. 4 3 16) or large (e.g., 8 7 56 vs. 8 7 64). We measured the N400, an index of access to semantic memory, along with accuracy and response time. The N400 was modulated by problem size only for correct solutions, with larger amplitude for large problems than for small problems. This suggests that only solutions that exist in memory (i.e., correct solutions) reflect a modulation of semantic access likely based on the relative frequency of encountering small versus large problems. The absence of an N400 problem size effect for incorrect solutions suggests that the behavioral problem size effects were not due to differences in initial access to memory but instead were due to a later stage of cognitive processing that was reflected in a post-N400 main effect of problem size. A second post-N400 main effect of correctness at occipital electrodes resembles the beginning of an adult-like brain response observed in prior studies. In sum, event-related brain potentials revealed different cognitive processes for correct and incorrect solutions. These results allude to a gradual transition to an adult-like brain response, from verifying multiplication problems using semantic memory to doing so using more automatic categorization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle S Dickson
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Amandine E Grenier
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Bianca O Obinyan
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Nicole Y Y Wicha
- Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA.
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32
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Wang Z, Zhang Z, Sun Y. Different Neural Information Flows Affected by Activity Patterns for Action and Verb Generation. Front Psychol 2022; 13:802756. [PMID: 35401310 PMCID: PMC8987928 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.802756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Shared brain regions have been found for processing action and language, including the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the premotor cortex (PMC), and the inferior parietal lobule (IPL). However, in the context of action and language generation that shares the same action semantics, it is unclear whether the activity patterns within the overlapping brain regions would be the same. The changes in effective connectivity affected by these activity patterns are also unclear. In this fMRI study, participants were asked to perform hand action and verb generation tasks toward object pictures. We identified shared and specific brain regions for the two tasks in the left PMC, IFG, and IPL. The mean activation level and multi-voxel pattern analysis revealed that the activity patterns in the shared sub-regions were distinct for the two tasks. The dynamic causal modeling results demonstrated that the information flows for the two tasks were different across the shared sub-regions. These results provided the first neuroimaging evidence that the action and verb generation were task context driven in the shared regions, and the distinct patterns of neural information flow across the PMC-IFG-IPL neural network were affected by the polymodal processing in the shared regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zijian Wang
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zuo Zhang
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Yaoru Sun
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Yaoru Sun,
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33
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Abrahamson D, Mechsner F. Toward Synergizing Educational Research and Movement Sciences: a Dialogue on Learning as Developing Perception for Action. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10648-022-09668-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
What could possibly be a meaningful conversation between educational researchers and movement scientists? Curiously, they have much in common. Both groups of researchers increasingly (1) appreciate the human capacity to enact perceptually guided movement as an overarching psychological model of thinking, problem-solving, and learning; (2) theorize the development of perceptual structures, including actual and imaginary percepts, as a key epistemic vehicle for solving motor-control problems; and (3) promote a view of abstract thinking as movement-grounded and movement-oriented perceptual dynamics. Probing toward theoretical synergy between these traditionally disparate fields of research, the present article is built as an interdisciplinary conversation between two researchers—of mathematics education and movement science, respectively—who become aware of their intellectual alignment, garner new insights and inspirations from each other’s work, and speculate on implications of this concordance for their fields. Future exploration into the unity of movement and cognition could enrich dialogue between manifold disciplines, with the overall goal of clarifying, developing, and integrating an interdisciplinary common foundation and framework for the benefit of education.
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34
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Xin X, Zhang Q. The Inhibition Effect of Affordances in Action Picture Naming: An ERP Study. J Cogn Neurosci 2022; 34:951-966. [PMID: 35303083 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
How quickly are different kinds of conceptual knowledge activated in action picture naming? Using a masked priming paradigm, we manipulated the prime category type (artificial vs. natural), prime action type (precision, power, vs. neutral grip), and target action type (precision vs. power grip) in action picture naming, while electrophysiological signals were measured concurrently. Naming latencies showed an inhibition effect in the congruent action type condition compared with the neutral condition. ERP results showed that artificial and natural category primes induced smaller waveforms in precision or power action primes than neutral primes in the time window of 100-200 msec. Time-frequency results consistently presented a power desynchronization of the mu rhythm in the time window of 0-210 msec with precision action type artificial objects compared with neutral primes, which localized at the supplementary motor, precentral and postcentral areas in the left hemisphere. These findings suggest an inhibitory effect of affordances arising at conceptual preparation in action picture naming and provide evidence for embodied cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Xin
- Renmin University of China, Beijing
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35
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Chai X, Ma M. Exploring Relationships Between L2 Chinese Character Writing and Reading Acquisition From Embodied Cognitive Perspectives: Evidence From HSK Big Data. Front Psychol 2022; 12:779190. [PMID: 35264991 PMCID: PMC8900728 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.779190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Chinese characters are central to understanding how learners learn to read a logographic script. However, researchers know little about the role of character writing in reading Chinese as a second language (CSL). Unlike an alphabetic script, a Chinese character symbol transmits semantic information and is a cultural icon bridging embodied experience and text meaning. As a unique embodied practice, writing by hand contributes to cognitive processing in Chinese reading. Therefore, it is essential to clarify how Chinese character writing (bodily activity), language distance (past language usage), and cultural background (bodily coupling with the environment) influence CSL reading proficiency. Based on extant research on L2 reading acquisition and strength of key theoretical perspectives of embodied cognition theory (ECT), this study tested a regression model for CSL reading involving individual-level factors (Chinese character writing proficiency [CCWP]) and group-level predictors (language distance and cultural background). This study collected big data in a sample of 74,362 CSL learners with 67 diverse L1s. Results of hierarchical linear modeling showed a significant effect of CCWP and significant language distance × CCWP interaction effect on reading proficiency; however, cultural background × CCWP interaction effect was not significant. These results conform to the ECT and indicate that bodily activity, past language usage, and cultural background aided reading. CCWP may benefit from withstanding the negative transfer from L1s. Furthermore, CCWP and cultural background are not synergistic predictors of reading. This study may open novel avenues for explorations of CSL reading development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingsan Chai
- Institute on Educational Policy and Evaluation of International Students, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China
| | - Mingzhu Ma
- Institute on Educational Policy and Evaluation of International Students, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China
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36
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37
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Schultheis H, Cooper RP. Everyday Activities. Top Cogn Sci 2022; 14:214-222. [PMID: 35166049 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The ease with which humans usually perform everyday activities masks their inherit complexity. Tasks such as setting a table prior to a meal or preparing a hot beverage require the coordination of several cognitive abilities. At the same time, many everyday activities are simple enough to afford investigation in controlled lab settings. One main goal of this issue is to raise awareness of everyday activities as a topic and a field of study in its own right, which allows investigating (a) selected cognitive abilities with high ecological validity and (b) the interplay and integration of key cognitive abilities. To this end, this topic consists of eight papers that span different aspects of everyday activities, ranging from neuroscience through philosophical considerations and implications to lessons from robotics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Richard P Cooper
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London
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38
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Xu Z, Liu D. Body-object interaction effect in word recognition and its relationship with screen time in Chinese children. READING AND WRITING 2022:1-28. [PMID: 35125652 PMCID: PMC8799420 DOI: 10.1007/s11145-021-10238-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
A sample of 144 s- and 150 fourth-grade Chinese children was recruited to investigate the influence of body-object interactions (BOIs) on word recognition, i.e., how easily they could interact physically with each word's referent. The moderation on this relationship of children's screen time for entertainment purposes (i.e., the viewing or use of any device with a screen) was also examined. In a lexical decision task, the children were asked to judge whether each item was a real Chinese word. Each real word was assigned a BOI rating score. Model analysis showed that the BOI rating was a significant predictor of the children's word recognition performances. The children recognized the words with higher BOI ratings at higher accuracy rates and higher response speeds more than the words with lower BOI ratings, showing a BOI effect. These results suggest an involvement of sensorimotor information in processing concepts. As well, the results showed a moderating effect of screen time on the BOI effect. With the increase of screen time, the BOI effect was reduced in terms of response speed. Moreover, the influence of the screen time on the BOI effect was larger in the second graders than in the fourth graders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengye Xu
- Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, No. 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, N.T. Hong Kong
| | - Duo Liu
- Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, No. 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, N.T. Hong Kong
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SHI R, XIE J, YANG M, WANG R. The influence of language and context on sensorimotor simulation of concrete concepts. ACTA PSYCHOLOGICA SINICA 2022. [DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1041.2022.00583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Del Maschio N, Fedeli D, Garofalo G, Buccino G. Evidence for the Concreteness of Abstract Language: A Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies. Brain Sci 2021; 12:32. [PMID: 35053776 PMCID: PMC8773921 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12010032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural mechanisms subserving the processing of abstract concepts remain largely debated. Even within the embodiment theoretical framework, most authors suggest that abstract concepts are coded in a linguistic propositional format, although they do not completely deny the role of sensorimotor and emotional experiences in coding it. To our knowledge, only one recent proposal puts forward that the processing of concrete and abstract concepts relies on the same mechanisms, with the only difference being in the complexity of the underlying experiences. In this paper, we performed a meta-analysis using the Activation Likelihood Estimates (ALE) method on 33 functional neuroimaging studies that considered activations related to abstract and concrete concepts. The results suggest that (1) concrete and abstract concepts share the recruitment of the temporo-fronto-parietal circuits normally involved in the interactions with the physical world, (2) processing concrete concepts recruits fronto-parietal areas better than abstract concepts, and (3) abstract concepts recruit Broca's region more strongly than concrete ones. Based on anatomical and physiological evidence, Broca's region is not only a linguistic region mainly devoted to speech production, but it is endowed with complex motor representations of different biological effectors. Hence, we propose that the stronger recruitment of this region for abstract concepts is expression of the complex sensorimotor experiences underlying it, rather than evidence of a purely linguistic format of its processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Del Maschio
- Faculty of Psychology, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy; (N.D.M.); (D.F.)
| | - Davide Fedeli
- Faculty of Psychology, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy; (N.D.M.); (D.F.)
| | - Gioacchino Garofalo
- Divisione di Neuroscienze, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy;
- IRCCS San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Divisione di Neuroscienze, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy;
- IRCCS San Raffaele, 20132 Milano, Italy
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Tseng RY, Wang TW, Fu SW, Lee CY, Tsao Y. A Study of Joint Effect on Denoising Techniques and Visual Cues to Improve Speech Intelligibility in Cochlear Implant Simulation. IEEE Trans Cogn Dev Syst 2021. [DOI: 10.1109/tcds.2020.3017042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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42
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Beltrán D, Liu B, de Vega M. Inhibitory Mechanisms in the Processing of Negations: A Neural Reuse Hypothesis. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2021; 50:1243-1260. [PMID: 34383177 PMCID: PMC8660707 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-021-09796-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Negation is known to have inhibitory consequences for the information under its scope. However, how it produces such effects remains poorly understood. Recently, it has been proposed that negation processing might be implemented at the neural level by the recruitment of inhibitory and cognitive control mechanisms. On this line, this manuscript offers the hypothesis that negation reuses general-domain mechanisms that subserve inhibition in other non-linguistic cognitive functions. The first two sections describe the inhibitory effects of negation on conceptual representations and its embodied effects, as well as the theoretical foundations for the reuse hypothesis. The next section describes the neurophysiological evidence that linguistic negation interacts with response inhibition, along with the suggestion that both functions share inhibitory mechanisms. Finally, the manuscript concludes that the functional relation between negation and inhibition observed at the mechanistic level could be easily integrated with predominant cognitive models of negation processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Beltrán
- Departamento de Psicología Básica I, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28040, Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
| | - Bo Liu
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
- School of Foreign Languages, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China
| | - Manuel de Vega
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
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von Sobbe L, Ulrich R, Gangloff L, Scheifele E, Maienborn C. Is rushing always faster than strolling? A reaction time study on the processing of sentences containing manner of motion verbs. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2021; 221:103428. [PMID: 34775274 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In the context of the embodied cognition debate, an effect of motion verb associated speed information has previously been detected using eye-tracking, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and reaction times (RT). The latter, for instance, was implemented by Wender and Weber (1982), who observed that participants were faster in detecting motion in sentences associated with fast motion compared to sentences associated with slow motion after having formed mental images of the sentences' content. It remains open whether the reported effects of speed are associated with automatic lexical-semantic retrieval processes or whether they reflect higher top-down cognitive processes. To answer this question, the paradigm by Wender and Weber (1982) was adopted and further elaborated in the present study. In Experiment 1 visualization instructions were eliminated. Additionally, the stimulus material was manipulated in regards to the agent of the described movement (human vs. object motion) in order to determine the representation's modality (visual vs. motoric). In Experiment 2, the task to detect motion was replaced by the task to judge sensicality. The results suggest that the prompt to perform mental imagery is not a precondition for the engagement of modal representations in this speed of motion paradigm and that the involved representations' modality is visual rather than motoric. However, the modal representations' involvement is dependent on the task. They thus do not seem to be part of the invariant semantic representation of manner of motion verbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda von Sobbe
- Collaborative Research Center 833, University of Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Rolf Ulrich
- Department of Psychology, University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Lea Gangloff
- German Department, University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Edith Scheifele
- Collaborative Research Center 833, University of Tübingen, Germany
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Fini C, Zannino GD, Orsoni M, Carlesimo GA, Benassi M, Borghi AM. Articulatory suppression delays processing of abstract words: The role of inner speech. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:1343-1354. [PMID: 34623202 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211053623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Compared to concrete concepts, like "book," abstract concepts expressed by words like "justice" are more detached from sensorial experiences, even though they are also grounded in sensorial modalities. Abstract concepts lack a single object as referent and are characterised by higher variability both within and across participants. According to the Word as Social Tool (WAT) proposal, owing to their complexity, abstract concepts need to be processed with the help of inner language. Inner language can namely help participants to re-explain to themselves the meaning of the word, to keep information active in working memory, and to prepare themselves to ask information from more competent people. While previous studies have demonstrated that the mouth is involved during abstract concepts' processing, both the functional role and the mechanisms underlying this involvement still need to be clarified. We report an experiment in which participants were required to evaluate whether 78 words were abstract or concrete by pressing two different pedals. During the judgement task, they were submitted, in different blocks, to a baseline, an articulatory suppression, and a manipulation condition. In the last two conditions, they had to repeat a syllable continually and to manipulate a softball with their dominant hand. Results showed that articulatory suppression slowed down the processing of abstract more than that of concrete words. Overall results confirm the WAT proposal's hypothesis that abstract concepts processing involves the mouth motor system and specifically inner speech. We discuss the implications for current theories of conceptual representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Fini
- Department of Dynamic, Clinical Psychology and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Gian Daniele Zannino
- Laboratory of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, I.R.C.C.S. Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Orsoni
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giovanni A Carlesimo
- Laboratory of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, I.R.C.C.S. Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy.,Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Anna M Borghi
- Department of Dynamic, Clinical Psychology and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.,Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Italian National Research Council, Rome, Italy
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Long M, Chia K, Kaschak MP. Pointing to the Future of Language Research. J Cogn 2021; 4:41. [PMID: 34514312 PMCID: PMC8396125 DOI: 10.5334/joc.162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Murgiano et al. (2021) argue that indexicality and iconicity play a larger role in language than is typically acknowledged. They further call for a more situated view of language. We agree with the basic arguments laid out in their paper. In this commentary, we suggest that an embodied approach to language might provide a useful theoretical framework for developing a situated account of language.
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Lux V, Non AL, Pexman PM, Stadler W, Weber LAE, Krüger M. A Developmental Framework for Embodiment Research: The Next Step Toward Integrating Concepts and Methods. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:672740. [PMID: 34393730 PMCID: PMC8360894 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.672740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Embodiment research is at a turning point. There is an increasing amount of data and studies investigating embodiment phenomena and their role in mental processing and functions from across a wide range of disciplines and theoretical schools within the life sciences. However, the integration of behavioral data with data from different biological levels is challenging for the involved research fields such as movement psychology, social and developmental neuroscience, computational psychosomatics, social and behavioral epigenetics, human-centered robotics, and many more. This highlights the need for an interdisciplinary framework of embodiment research. In addition, there is a growing need for a cross-disciplinary consensus on level-specific criteria of embodiment. We propose that a developmental perspective on embodiment is able to provide a framework for overcoming such pressing issues, providing analytical tools to link timescales and levels of embodiment specific to the function under study, uncovering the underlying developmental processes, clarifying level-specific embodiment criteria, and providing a matrix and platform to bridge disciplinary boundaries among the involved research fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Lux
- Department of Genetic Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Amy L Non
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Penny M Pexman
- Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Waltraud Stadler
- Chair of Human Movement Science, Department of Sports and Health Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Lilian A E Weber
- Department of Psychiatry, Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom.,Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Melanie Krüger
- Institute of Sports Science, Faculty of Humanities, Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany
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Pianzola F, Riva G, Kukkonen K, Mantovani F. Presence, flow, and narrative absorption: an interdisciplinary theoretical exploration with a new spatiotemporal integrated model based on predictive processing. OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE 2021; 1:28. [PMID: 37645177 PMCID: PMC10446082 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.13193.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Presence, flow, narrative absorption, immersion, transportation, and similar subjective phenomena are studied in many different disciplines, mostly in relation to mediated experiences (books, film, VR, games). Moreover, since real, virtual, or fictional agents are often involved, concepts like identification and state empathy are often linked to engaging media use. Based on a scoping review that identified similarities in the wording of various questionnaire items conceived to measure different phenomena, we categorize items into the most relevant psychological aspects and use this categorization to propose an interdisciplinary systematization. Then, based on a framework of embodied predictive processing, we present a new cognitive model of presence-related phenomena for mediated and non-mediated experiences, integrating spatial and temporal aspects and also considering the role of fiction and media design. Key processes described within the model are: selective attention, enactment of intentions, and interoception. We claim that presence is the state of perceived successful agency of an embodied mind able to correctly enact its predictions. The difference between real-life and simulated experiences ("book problem," "paradox of fiction") lays in the different precision weighting of exteroceptive and interoceptive signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Pianzola
- Department of Human Sciences for Education "R. Massa", University of Milan Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- School of Media, Arts and Science, Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Giuseppe Riva
- Department of Psychology, Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
- Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
| | - Karin Kukkonen
- Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Language, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Fabrizia Mantovani
- Department of Human Sciences for Education "R. Massa", University of Milan Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Designing Pedagogically Effective Haptic Systems for Learning: A Review. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/app11146245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Haptic technology enables users to utilize their sense of touch while engaging with a virtual representation of objects in a simulated environment. It is a bidirectional technology in that it facilitates the interaction between the user and these virtual representations by allowing them to apply force onto one another, which is analogous to our real-world interactions with physical objects as action-reaction pairs. The sense of touch is a powerful and innate learning tool that we readily employ starting from very early ages as infants even before learning to walk. Therefore, it is natural that incorporating haptic technology into pedagogical methods has been an active research area as it has significant potential to enrich the learning experience and provide an engaging environment for learners. In this paper, we reviewed studies from various disciplines that incorporate haptics to increase the quality of teaching and learning while emphasizing the underlying cognitive theories. In that direction, we describe two of the most common cognitive theories, the Cognitive Load and Embodied Cognition theories, that developers use to support haptic technology’s implications and use in learning environments. We then explore the effects of haptic design on its current applicability following these two theories. Finally, we summarize the best design practices to develop haptic simulations for learning, address gaps in current research, and propose new research directions.
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Salas-Herrera JL, Urrutia Martínez M, Melipillan Araneda R, Veliz De Vos M. Comprensión de oraciones de esfuerzo en jóvenes y adultos mayores desde una perspectiva corpórea. UNIVERSITAS PSYCHOLOGICA 2021. [DOI: 10.11144/javeriana.upsy19.coej] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Actualmente se desconoce la validez de las propuestas de la cognición corpórea y su relación con el lenguaje de los adultos mayores. Para responder a esto realizamos un experimento con los factores Esfuerzo, Imaginabilidad y Contexto Lingüístico. 50 adultos mayores (M= 66.18 años, DE= 4.39, 22 mujeres y 28 hombres) y 43 jóvenes (M= 21.28 años, DE= 1.08, 36 mujeres y 7 hombres) leyeron oraciones en la pantalla de un computador, presionando la barra espaciadora para decidir luego si una palabra se hallaba o no en la frase recién leída. Los resultados muestran efectos principales para los factores Imaginabilidad (β = 0.309; p < 0.05) y Contexto (β = -0.856; p < 0.001) en los tiempos de lectura del objeto directo, dos efectos de interacción Imaginabilidad-Esfuerzo (β = -0.732; p < 0.01) e Imaginabilidad-Contexto (β = 0.611; p < 0.05) para el complemento circunstancial y un efecto interactivo Imaginabilidad-Contexto (β = 0.727; p < 0.05) para la palabra de activación. Los resultados respaldan una visión de corporeidad débil con integración interactiva de las propiedades corpóreas y simbólicas de los textos. Es necesario ampliar la investigación a otros parámetros corpóreos, edades y lenguas para contrastar estos resultados.
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Reggin LD, Muraki EJ, Pexman PM. Development of Abstract Word Knowledge. Front Psychol 2021; 12:686478. [PMID: 34163413 PMCID: PMC8215159 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.686478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of children's word knowledge is an important testing ground for the embodied account of word meaning, which proposes that word meanings are grounded in sensorimotor systems. Acquisition of abstract words, in particular, is a noted challenge for strong accounts of embodiment. We examined acquisition of abstract word meanings, using data on development of vocabulary knowledge from early school to University ages. We tested two specific proposals for how abstract words are learned: the affective embodiment account, that emotional experience is key to learning abstract word meanings, and the learning through language proposal, that abstract words are acquired through language experience. We found support for the affective embodiment account: word valence, interoception, and mouth action all facilitated abstract word acquisition more than concrete word acquisition. We tested the learning through language proposal by investigating whether words that appear in more diverse linguistic contexts are earlier acquired. Results showed that contextual diversity facilitated vocabulary acquisition, but did so for both abstract and concrete words. Our results provide evidence that emotion and sensorimotor systems are important to children's acquisition of abstract words, but there is still considerable variance to be accounted for by other factors. We offer suggestions for future research to examine the acquisition of abstract vocabulary.
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