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Bechtold L, Cosper SH, Malyshevskaya A, Montefinese M, Morucci P, Niccolai V, Repetto C, Zappa A, Shtyrov Y. Brain Signatures of Embodied Semantics and Language: A Consensus Paper. J Cogn 2023; 6:61. [PMID: 37841669 PMCID: PMC10573703 DOI: 10.5334/joc.237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
According to embodied theories (including embodied, embedded, extended, enacted, situated, and grounded approaches to cognition), language representation is intrinsically linked to our interactions with the world around us, which is reflected in specific brain signatures during language processing and learning. Moving on from the original rivalry of embodied vs. amodal theories, this consensus paper addresses a series of carefully selected questions that aim at determining when and how rather than whether motor and perceptual processes are involved in language processes. We cover a wide range of research areas, from the neurophysiological signatures of embodied semantics, e.g., event-related potentials and fields as well as neural oscillations, to semantic processing and semantic priming effects on concrete and abstract words, to first and second language learning and, finally, the use of virtual reality for examining embodied semantics. Our common aim is to better understand the role of motor and perceptual processes in language representation as indexed by language comprehension and learning. We come to the consensus that, based on seminal research conducted in the field, future directions now call for enhancing the external validity of findings by acknowledging the multimodality, multidimensionality, flexibility and idiosyncrasy of embodied and situated language and semantic processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Bechtold
- Institute for Experimental Psychology, Department for Biological Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Samuel H. Cosper
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Anastasia Malyshevskaya
- Centre for Cognition and Decision making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Russian Federation
- Potsdam Embodied Cognition Group, Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | | | | | - Valentina Niccolai
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Claudia Repetto
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| | - Ana Zappa
- Laboratoire parole et langage, Aix-Marseille Université, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Yury Shtyrov
- Centre for Cognition and Decision making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Russian Federation
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark
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Does the involvement of motor cortex in embodied language comprehension stand on solid ground? A p-curve analysis and test for excess significance of the TMS and tDCS evidence. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 141:104834. [PMID: 36037977 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
According to the embodied cognition view, comprehending action-related language requires the participation of sensorimotor processes. A now sizeable literature has tested this proposal by stimulating (with TMS or tDCS) motor brain areas during the comprehension of action language. To assess the evidential value of this body of research, we exhaustively searched the literature and submitted the relevant studies (N = 43) to p-curve analysis. While most published studies concluded in support of the embodiment hypothesis, our results suggest that we cannot yet assert beyond reasonable doubt that they explore real effects. We also found that these studies are quite underpowered (estimated power < 30%), which means that a large percentage of them would not replicate if repeated identically. Additional tests for excess significance show signs of publication bias within this literature. In sum, extant brain stimulation studies testing the grounding of action language in the motor cortex do not stand on solid ground. We provide recommendations that will be important for future research on this topic.
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Röders D, Klepp A, Schnitzler A, Biermann-Ruben K, Niccolai V. Induced and Evoked Brain Activation Related to the Processing of Onomatopoetic Verbs. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12040481. [PMID: 35448012 PMCID: PMC9029984 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12040481] [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: 02/14/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Grounded cognition theory postulates that cognitive processes related to motor or sensory content are processed by brain networks involved in motor execution and perception, respectively. Processing words with auditory features was shown to activate the auditory cortex. Our study aimed at determining whether onomatopoetic verbs (e.g., “tröpfeln”—to dripple), whose articulation reproduces the sound of respective actions, engage the auditory cortex more than non-onomatopoetic verbs. Alpha and beta brain frequencies as well as evoked-related fields (ERFs) were targeted as potential neurophysiological correlates of this linguistic auditory quality. Twenty participants were measured with magnetoencephalography (MEG) while semantically processing visually presented onomatopoetic and non-onomatopoetic German verbs. While a descriptively stronger left temporal alpha desynchronization for onomatopoetic verbs did not reach statistical significance, a larger ERF for onomatopoetic verbs emerged at about 240 ms in the centro-parietal area. Findings suggest increased cortical activation related to onomatopoeias in linguistically relevant areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorian Röders
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany; (A.K.); (A.S.); (K.B.-R.); (V.N.)
- Neural Basis of Learning Lab, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University, 44801 Bochum, Germany
- Correspondence:
| | - Anne Klepp
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany; (A.K.); (A.S.); (K.B.-R.); (V.N.)
| | - Alfons Schnitzler
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany; (A.K.); (A.S.); (K.B.-R.); (V.N.)
| | - Katja Biermann-Ruben
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany; (A.K.); (A.S.); (K.B.-R.); (V.N.)
| | - Valentina Niccolai
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany; (A.K.); (A.S.); (K.B.-R.); (V.N.)
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Visani E, Sebastiano DR, Duran D, Garofalo G, Magliocco F, Silipo F, Buccino G. The Semantics of Natural Objects and Tools in the Brain: A Combined Behavioral and MEG Study. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12010097. [PMID: 35053840 PMCID: PMC8774003 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12010097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Current literature supports the notion that the recognition of objects, when visually presented, is sub-served by neural structures different from those responsible for the semantic processing of their nouns. However, embodiment foresees that processing observed objects and their verbal labels should share similar neural mechanisms. In a combined behavioral and MEG study, we compared the modulation of motor responses and cortical rhythms during the processing of graspable natural objects and tools, either verbally or pictorially presented. Our findings demonstrate that conveying meaning to an observed object or processing its noun similarly modulates both motor responses and cortical rhythms; being natural graspable objects and tools differently represented in the brain, they affect in a different manner both behavioral and MEG findings, independent of presentation modality. These results provide experimental evidence that neural substrates responsible for conveying meaning to objects overlap with those where the object is represented, thus supporting an embodied view of semantic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Visani
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Davide Rossi Sebastiano
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Dunja Duran
- Neurophysiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Via Celoria 11, 20133 Milan, Italy; (E.V.); (D.R.S.); (D.D.)
| | - Gioacchino Garofalo
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, University San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy;
| | - Fabio Magliocco
- Centro Psico-Sociale di Seregno—Azienda Socio-Sanitaria Territoriale di Vimercate, 20871 Vimercate, Italy;
| | - Francesco Silipo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, Viale Salvatore Venuta, 88100 Germaneto, Italy;
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, University San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy;
- Correspondence:
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Garofalo G, Magliocco F, Silipo F, Riggio L, Buccino G. What matters is the underlying experience: Similar motor responses during processing observed hand actions and hand-related verbs. J Neuropsychol 2022; 16:389-406. [PMID: 34978159 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12270] [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: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
It is well-accepted that processing observed actions involves at some extent the same neural mechanisms responsible for action execution. More recently, it has been forwarded that also the processing of verbs expressing a specific motor content is subserved by the neural mechanisms allowing individuals to perform the content expressed by that linguistic material. This view is also known as embodiment and contrasts with a more classical approach to language processing that considers it as amodal. In the present study, we used a go/no-go paradigm, in which participants were requested to respond to real words and pictures and refrain from responding when presented stimuli were pseudowords and scrambled images. Real stimuli included pictures depicting hand- and foot-related actions and verbs expressing hand- and foot-related actions. We, therefore, directly compared the modulation of hand motor responses during the observation of actions and the presentation of verbs, expressing actions in the same category. The results have shown that participants gave slower hand motor responses during the observation of hand actions and the processing of hand-related verbs as than observed foot actions and related verbs. These findings support embodiment showing that whatever the modality of presentation (observed action or verb), the modulation of hand motor responses was similar, thus suggesting that processing seen actions and related verbs shares common mechanisms most likely involving the motor system and the underlying motor experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gioacchino Garofalo
- Unità di Neuroscienze, Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università di Parma, Italia
| | - Fabio Magliocco
- Centro Psico-Sociale di Seregno - Azienda Socio-Sanitaria Territoriale di Vimercate, Seregno, Italia
| | - Francesco Silipo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche e Chirurgiche, Università "Magna Graecia" di Catanzaro, Germaneto, Italia
| | - Lucia Riggio
- Unità di Neuroscienze, Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università di Parma, Italia
| | - Giovanni Buccino
- Divisione di Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele and Università San Raffaele, Milano, Italia
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Suárez-García DMA, Birba A, Zimerman M, Diazgranados JA, Lopes da Cunha P, Ibáñez A, Grisales-Cárdenas JS, Cardona JF, García AM. Rekindling Action Language: A Neuromodulatory Study on Parkinson's Disease Patients. Brain Sci 2021; 11:887. [PMID: 34356122 PMCID: PMC8301982 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11070887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Impairments of action semantics (a cognitive domain that critically engages motor brain networks) are pervasive in early Parkinson's disease (PD). However, no study has examined whether action semantic skills in persons with this disease can be influenced by non-invasive neuromodulation. Here, we recruited 22 PD patients and performed a five-day randomized, blinded, sham-controlled study to assess whether anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (atDCS) over the primary motor cortex, combined with cognitive training, can boost action-concept processing. On day 1, participants completed a picture-word association (PWA) task involving action-verb and object-noun conditions. They were then randomly assigned to either an atDCS (n = 11, 2 mA for 20 m) or a sham tDCS (n = 11, 2 mA for 30 s) group and performed an online PWA practice over three days. On day 5, they repeated the initial protocol. Relative to sham tDCS, the atDCS group exhibited faster reaction times for action (as opposed to object) concepts in the post-stimulation test. This result was exclusive to the atDCS group and held irrespective of the subjects' cognitive, executive, and motor skills, further attesting to its specificity. Our findings suggest that action-concept deficits in PD are distinctively grounded in motor networks and might be countered by direct neuromodulation of such circuits. Moreover, they provide new evidence for neurosemantic models and inform a thriving agenda in the embodied cognition framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana M. A. Suárez-García
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali 76001, Colombia; (D.M.A.S.-G.); (J.S.G.-C.)
| | - Agustina Birba
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires B1644BID, Argentina; (A.B.); (M.Z.); (P.L.d.C.); (A.I.)
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina
| | - Máximo Zimerman
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires B1644BID, Argentina; (A.B.); (M.Z.); (P.L.d.C.); (A.I.)
| | - Jesús A. Diazgranados
- Centro Médico de Atención Neurológica “Neurólogos de Occidente”, Santiago de Cali 76001, Colombia;
| | - Pamela Lopes da Cunha
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires B1644BID, Argentina; (A.B.); (M.Z.); (P.L.d.C.); (A.I.)
- Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT), Buenos Aires C1425FQD, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires B1644BID, Argentina; (A.B.); (M.Z.); (P.L.d.C.); (A.I.)
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
- Trinity College Dublin (TCD), D02R590 Dublin 2, Ireland
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago 8320000, Chile
| | - Johan S. Grisales-Cárdenas
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali 76001, Colombia; (D.M.A.S.-G.); (J.S.G.-C.)
| | - Juan Felipe Cardona
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Santiago de Cali 76001, Colombia; (D.M.A.S.-G.); (J.S.G.-C.)
| | - Adolfo M. García
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires B1644BID, Argentina; (A.B.); (M.Z.); (P.L.d.C.); (A.I.)
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
- Trinity College Dublin (TCD), D02R590 Dublin 2, Ireland
- Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), Mendoza M5502GKA, Argentina
- Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago 9170020, Chile
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Klepp A, van Dijk H, Niccolai V, Schnitzler A, Biermann-Ruben K. Action verb processing specifically modulates motor behaviour and sensorimotor neuronal oscillations. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15985. [PMID: 31690784 PMCID: PMC6831701 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52426-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding action-related language recruits the brain’s motor system and can interact with motor behaviour. The current study shows MEG oscillatory patterns during verb-motor priming. Hand and foot verbs were followed by hand or foot responses, with faster reaction times for congruent conditions. In ROIs placed in the hand/arm and foot/leg portions of the sensorimotor cortex, this behavioural priming effect was accompanied by modulations in MEG oscillatory patterns preceding the responses. Power suppression in the alpha/beta frequency bands was reduced in congruent conditions in the body-part-specific ROIs. These results imply that the verb-motor priming effect may be a direct consequence of motor cortex contributions to action word processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Klepp
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | | | - Valentina Niccolai
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Alfons Schnitzler
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Katja Biermann-Ruben
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Gijssels T, Ivry RB, Casasanto D. tDCS to premotor cortex changes action verb understanding: Complementary effects of inhibitory and excitatory stimulation. Sci Rep 2018; 8:11452. [PMID: 30061670 PMCID: PMC6065381 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-29600-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Processing the meaning of action language correlates with somatotopic activity in premotor cortex (PMC). A previous neurostimulation study supported a causal contribution of PMC activity to action verb understanding, but the direction of the effect was unexpected: inhibiting PMC made participants respond faster to action verbs. Here we investigated the effects of PMC excitation and inhibition on action verb understanding using tDCS. Right-handed participants received tDCS stimulation with the anodal electrode (presumed to be excitatory) and cathodal electrode (presumed to be inhibitory) placed over left and right PMC, respectively, or with the reverse configuration. After completing the stimulation protocol, participants made lexical decisions on unimanual action verbs (e.g., throw) and abstract verbs (e.g., think). tDCS configuration selectively affected how accurately participants responded to unimanual action verbs. When the anode was positioned over left PMC we observed a relative impairment in performance for right-hand responses (i.e. the hand with which these participants typically perform unimanual actions). By contrast, when the cathode was positioned over left PMC we observed a relative improvement. tDCS configuration did not differentially affect responses to abstract verbs. These complementary effects of excitatory and inhibitory tDCS clarify the functional role of premotor hand areas in understanding action language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Gijssels
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States of America
- Department of Linguistics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
| | - Richard B Ivry
- Department of Psychology & Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, United States of America
| | - Daniel Casasanto
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, United States of America.
- Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States of America.
- Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States of America.
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