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Kurada HZ, Jiménez-Bravo M, Giacobbe C, Obeso I. Context, transparency and culture in motor resonance phenomena: Causal evidence of the motor cortex. Cortex 2024; 179:25-34. [PMID: 39098188 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.07.002] [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: 02/07/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/11/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024]
Abstract
A connection between language and movement information in metaphorical and literal expressions activates the motor system. Despite numerous studies exploring distinctions between idioms and metaphors, a notable research gap remains in the specific effect of idioms with different transparency levels concerning motor resonance. Our primary focus was analysing the functional role of the primary motor cortex (M1) in processing hand motor verbs both in literal expressions and in two idiomatic contexts, i.e., opaque and transparent idioms. Additionally, we explored a potential language and cultural effect by comparing Turkish and Spanish speakers. An overt priming task with self-paced reading was used to judge the relatedness of a primer and a target sentence. We implemented a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) protocol using continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) compared to sham stimulation over the M1 in both Turkish and Spanish native speakers prior to the experimental task. Our findings reveal that the performance of Turkish and Spanish participants in processing hand motor actions was facilitated after the application of cTBS over the left M1. Moreover, brain stimulation specifically facilitated the processing of only transparent-but not opaque-idioms in both Spanish and Turkish participants. Our study reports distinct motor resonance results between different types of idioms with a parallel cross-cultural effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hazel Z Kurada
- Speech and Language Therapy Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ankara Medipol University, Ankara, Turkey.
| | - Miguel Jiménez-Bravo
- Department of Linguistics and Eastern Studies, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Chiara Giacobbe
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
| | - Ignacio Obeso
- CINC-CSIC, Madrid, Spain; HM CINAC (Centro Integral de Neurociencias Abarca Campal), Hospital Universitario HM Puerta del Sur, HM Hospitales, Madrid, Spain.
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2
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Solana P, Escámez O, Casasanto D, Chica AB, Santiago J. No support for a causal role of primary motor cortex in construing meaning from language: An rTMS study. Neuropsychologia 2024; 196:108832. [PMID: 38395339 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108832] [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: 12/03/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Embodied cognition theories predict a functional involvement of sensorimotor processes in language understanding. In a preregistered experiment, we tested this idea by investigating whether interfering with primary motor cortex (M1) activation can change how people construe meaning from action language. Participants were presented with sentences describing actions (e.g., "turning off the light") and asked to choose between two interpretations of their meaning, one more concrete (e.g., "flipping a switch") and another more abstract (e.g., "going to sleep"). Prior to this task, participants' M1 was disrupted using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). The results yielded strong evidence against the idea that M1-rTMS affects meaning construction (BF01 > 30). Additional analyses and control experiments suggest that the absence of effect cannot be accounted for by failure to inhibit M1, lack of construct validity of the task, or lack of power to detect a small effect. In sum, these results do not support a causal role for primary motor cortex in building meaning from action language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Solana
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Spain.
| | - Omar Escámez
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Spain
| | | | - Ana B Chica
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Spain
| | - Julio Santiago
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Spain; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Spain
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3
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Wu H, Liang X, Wang R, Ma Y, Gao Y, Ning X. A Multivariate analysis on evoked components of Chinese semantic congruity: an OP-MEG study with EEG. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae108. [PMID: 38610084 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae108] [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: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The application of wearable magnetoencephalography using optically-pumped magnetometers has drawn extensive attention in the field of neuroscience. Electroencephalogram system can cover the whole head and reflect the overall activity of a large number of neurons. The efficacy of optically-pumped magnetometer in detecting event-related components can be validated through electroencephalogram results. Multivariate pattern analysis is capable of tracking the evolution of neurocognitive processes over time. In this paper, we adopted a classical Chinese semantic congruity paradigm and separately collected electroencephalogram and optically-pumped magnetometer signals. Then, we verified the consistency of optically-pumped magnetometer and electroencephalogram in detecting N400 using mutual information index. Multivariate pattern analysis revealed the difference in decoding performance of these two modalities, which can be further validated by dynamic/stable coding analysis on the temporal generalization matrix. The results from searchlight analysis provided a neural basis for this dissimilarity at the magnetoencephalography source level and the electroencephalogram sensor level. This study opens a new avenue for investigating the brain's coding patterns using wearable magnetoencephalography and reveals the differences in sensitivity between the two modalities in reflecting neuron representation patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huanqi Wu
- Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic Field Measurement Technology, Ministry of Education, School of Instrumentation and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
- Hangzhou Institute of National Extremely-weak Magnetic Field Infrastructure, Hangzhou 310051, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic-Field Space and Applied Technology, Hangzhou Innovation Institute, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Xiaoyu Liang
- Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic Field Measurement Technology, Ministry of Education, School of Instrumentation and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
- Hangzhou Institute of National Extremely-weak Magnetic Field Infrastructure, Hangzhou 310051, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic-Field Space and Applied Technology, Hangzhou Innovation Institute, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Ruonan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic Field Measurement Technology, Ministry of Education, School of Instrumentation and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
- Hangzhou Institute of National Extremely-weak Magnetic Field Infrastructure, Hangzhou 310051, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic-Field Space and Applied Technology, Hangzhou Innovation Institute, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yuyu Ma
- Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic Field Measurement Technology, Ministry of Education, School of Instrumentation and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
- Hangzhou Institute of National Extremely-weak Magnetic Field Infrastructure, Hangzhou 310051, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic-Field Space and Applied Technology, Hangzhou Innovation Institute, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yang Gao
- Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic Field Measurement Technology, Ministry of Education, School of Instrumentation and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
- Hangzhou Institute of National Extremely-weak Magnetic Field Infrastructure, Hangzhou 310051, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic-Field Space and Applied Technology, Hangzhou Innovation Institute, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Xiaolin Ning
- Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic Field Measurement Technology, Ministry of Education, School of Instrumentation and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
- Hangzhou Institute of National Extremely-weak Magnetic Field Infrastructure, Hangzhou 310051, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Ultra-Weak Magnetic-Field Space and Applied Technology, Hangzhou Innovation Institute, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
- Shandong Key Laboratory for Magnetic Field-free Medicine & Functional Imaging, Institute of Magnetic Field-free Medicine & Functional Imaging, Shandong University, Shandong 264209, China
- Hefei National Laboratory, Anhui 230026, China
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He Y, Sommer J, Hansen-Schirra S, Nagels A. Multivariate pattern analysis of EEG reveals nuanced impact of negation on sentence processing in the N400 and later time windows. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14491. [PMID: 38014642 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14491] [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] [Received: 03/26/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
The neurocognitive mechanism underlying negation processing remains controversial. While negation is suggested to modulate the access of word meaning, no such evidence has been observed in the event-related potential (ERP) literature on sentence processing. In the current study, we applied both univariate ERP and multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) methods to examine the processing of sentence negation. We investigated two types of negative congruent/incongruent sentence pairs with truth-value evaluation (e.g., "A robin is a/not a bird") and without (e.g., "The woman reads a/no book"). In the N400 time window, ERPs consistently showed increased negativity for negative and incongruent conditions. MVPA, on the other hand, revealed nuanced interactions between polarity and congruency. In the later P600 time window, MVPA but not the ERPs revealed an effect of congruency, which may be functionally distinct from the N400 window. We further used cross-decoding to show that the cognitive processes underlying the N400 window for both affirmative and negative sentences are comparable, whereas in the P600 window, only for the truth sentences, negative sentences showed a distinct pattern from their affirmative counterparts. Our results thus speak for a more interactive, but nevertheless serial and biphasic, and potentially construction-specific processing account of negation. We also discuss the advantage of applying MVPA in addition to the classical univariate methods for a better understanding of the neurobiology of negation processing and language comprehension alike.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifei He
- Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Arne Nagels
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
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Vitale F, de Vega M. Disturbing the activity of the primary motor cortex by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation affects long term memory of sentences referred to manipulable objects. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1175217. [PMID: 37457058 PMCID: PMC10347394 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1175217] [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: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Previous studies on embodied meaning suggest that simulations in the motor cortex play a crucial role in the processing of action sentences. However, there is little evidence that embodied meaning have functional impact beyond working memory. This study examines how the neuromodulation of the motor cortex (M1) could affect the processing of action-related language, measuring participants' performance in a long-term memory task. Method Participants were submitted to two sessions in separate days, one with low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and the other with sham rTMS. The pulses were delivered for 15 minutes over M1 or over V1, used as a control area. After each stimulation or sham period, the participants were asked to memorize a list of simple sentences, with a manual action verb or an attentional verb, followed in both cases by a noun referred to a manipulable object (e.g., to hang a cane vs. to observe a cane). Finally, they received the verbs as cues with instructions to recall the nouns. Results The results showed that low frequency rTMS on M1, compared to sham stimulation, significantly improved the performance in the memory task, for both types of sentences. No change in performance was found after the rTMS stimulation of V1. Discussion These results confirm that the perturbation on the motor system, affect the memory of manipulable object names in the context of sentences, providing further evidence of the role played by the sensorimotor system in the encoding and recall of concrete sentences of action.
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Tian L, Chen H, Heikkinen PP, Liu W, Parviainen T. Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Activation in Motor and Language Areas Suggest a Compensatory Role of the Motor Cortex in Second Language Processing. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2023; 4:178-197. [PMID: 37229145 PMCID: PMC10205076 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The involvement of the motor cortex in language understanding has been intensively discussed in the framework of embodied cognition. Although some studies have provided evidence for the involvement of the motor cortex in different receptive language tasks, the role that it plays in language perception and understanding is still unclear. In the present study, we explored the degree of involvement of language and motor areas in a visually presented sentence comprehension task, modulated by language proficiency (L1: native language, L2: second language) and linguistic abstractness (literal, metaphorical, and abstract). Magnetoencephalography data were recorded from 26 late Chinese learners of English. A cluster-based permutation F test was performed on the amplitude of the source waveform for each motor and language region of interest (ROI). Results showed a significant effect of language proficiency in both language and motor ROIs, manifested as overall greater involvement of language ROIs (short insular gyri and planum polare of the superior temporal gyrus) in the L1 than the L2 during 300-500 ms, and overall greater involvement of motor ROI (central sulcus) in the L2 than the L1 during 600-800 ms. We interpreted the over-recruitment of the motor area in the L2 as a higher demand for cognitive resources to compensate for the inadequate engagement of the language network. In general, our results indicate a compensatory role of the motor cortex in L2 understanding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lili Tian
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- School of Foreign Languages, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
- Language and Brain Research Centre, Sichuan International Studies University, Chongqing, China
| | - Hongjun Chen
- School of Foreign Languages, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Pyry Petteri Heikkinen
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Wenya Liu
- Faculty of Information Technology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Tiina Parviainen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Research, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
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Arrington CN, Ossowski AE, Baig H, Persichetti E, Morris R. The Impact of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Reading Processes: A Systematic Review. Neuropsychol Rev 2023; 33:255-277. [PMID: 35119625 PMCID: PMC9349478 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-022-09534-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The current systematic review examines the behavioral effects of TMS on reading. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to targeted nodes of the brain's reading network has been shown to impact reading. Extracted data included (a) study characteristics, (b) methodology, (c) targeted nodes, (d) control paradigm, (e) type of reading task, (f) adverse effects, and (g) main findings. Data was classified by type of reading task: 1) phonological processing, 2) semantic judgment, 3) lexical decision, 4) whole word reading, and 5) visual or text characteristics. Seventy records from 46 studies (n = 844) were identified. Results indicate that TMS modulates semantic judgments when focused in the anterior aspects of the reading circuit, phonological processes after stimulation within the dorsal circuit, and impacts single word recognition and contextual reading when administered to the ventral circuit. Findings suggest that changes in specific behavioral aspects of reading following TMS may contribute to identification of foci for use as part of reading interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Nikki Arrington
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA. .,GSU/GT Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, Atlanta, GA, 30318, USA.
| | | | - Humza Baig
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA.,GSU/GT Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, Atlanta, GA, 30318, USA
| | - Eileen Persichetti
- GSU/GT Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, Atlanta, GA, 30318, USA.,School of Social Work, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Robin Morris
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA.,GSU/GT Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, Atlanta, GA, 30318, USA
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Bayram M, Palluel-Germain R, Lebon F, Durand E, Harquel S, Perrone-Bertolotti M. Motor imagery training to improve language processing: What are the arguments? Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:982849. [PMID: 36816506 PMCID: PMC9929469 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.982849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies showed that motor expertise was found to induce improvement in language processing. Grounded and situated approaches attributed this effect to an underlying automatic simulation of the motor experience elicited by action words, similar to motor imagery (MI), and suggest shared representations of action conceptualization. Interestingly, recent results also suggest that the mental simulation of action by MI training induces motor-system modifications and improves motor performance. Consequently, we hypothesize that, since MI training can induce motor-system modifications, it could be used to reinforce the functional connections between motor and language system, and could thus lead to improved language performance. Here, we explore these potential interactions by reviewing recent fundamental and clinical literature in the action-language and MI domains. We suggested that exploiting the link between action language and MI could open new avenues for complementary language improvement programs. We summarize the current literature to evaluate the rationale behind this novel training and to explore the mechanisms underlying MI and its impact on language performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariam Bayram
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | | | - Florent Lebon
- Laboratoire INSERM U1093 Cognition, Action, et Plasticité Sensorimotrice, Université de Bourgogne, Faculté des Sciences du Sport (UFR STAPS), Dijon, France,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
| | - Edith Durand
- Département d’Orthophonie, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada
| | - Sylvain Harquel
- Defitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics (CNP) and Brain Mind Institute (BMI), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marcela Perrone-Bertolotti
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, 38000 Grenoble, France,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France,*Correspondence: Marcela Perrone-Bertolotti,
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9
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W D, C P, C ML, F L. Imagining and reading actions: Towards similar motor representations. Heliyon 2023; 9:e13426. [PMID: 36816230 PMCID: PMC9932708 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
While action language and motor imagery both engage the motor system, determining whether these two processes indeed share the same motor representations would contribute to better understanding their underlying mechanisms. We conducted two experiments probing the mutual influence of these two processes. In Exp.1, hand-action verbs were presented subliminally, and participants (n = 36) selected the verb they thought they perceived from two alternatives. When congruent actions were imagined prior to this task, accuracy significantly increased, i.e. participants were better able to "see" the subliminal verbs. In Exp.2, participants (n = 19) imagined hand flexion or extension, while corticospinal excitability was measured via transcranial magnetic stimulation. Corticospinal excitability was modulated by action verbs subliminally presented prior to imagery. Specifically, the typical increase observed during imagery was suppressed after presentation of incongruent action verbs. This mutual influence of action language and motor imagery, both at behavioral and neurophysiological levels, suggests overlapping motor representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dupont W
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000, Dijon, France
| | - Papaxanthis C
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000, Dijon, France
| | - Madden-Lombardi C
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000, Dijon, France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France
| | - Lebon F
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000, Dijon, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
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10
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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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11
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Li X, Luo D, Wang C, Xia Y, Jin H. Motor features of abstract verbs determine their representations in the motor system. Front Psychol 2022; 13:957426. [PMID: 36110272 PMCID: PMC9469731 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.957426] [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: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Embodied cognition theory posits that concept representations inherently rely on sensorimotor experiences that accompany their acquisitions. This is well established through concrete concepts. However, it is debatable whether representations of abstract concepts are based on sensorimotor representations. This study investigated the causal role of associated motor experiences that accompany concept acquisition in the involvement of the motor system in the abstract verb processing. Through two experiments, we examined the action–sentence compatibility effect, in the test phase after an increase in motor features during the learning phase for abstract verbs with low motor features (Experiment 1) or novel words with no conceptual features at all (Experiment 2). After associated motor experiences were added in the word learning phase, action–sentence compatibility effect was found in the semantic processing tasks during the test phase for abstract verbs (Experiment 1a) and novel words (Experiment 2). This was lacking in the word font color judgment task requiring no semantic processing (Experiment 1b). Coupled with our previous study, these findings suggest that motor features formed during word learning could causally affect embodiment in the motor system for abstract verbs, and reactivation of motor experiences in abstract verb processing depends on a given task’s demands. Our study supports the view that conceptual representations, even abstract concepts, can be grounded in sensorimotor experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Li
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
- Department of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Dan Luo
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
- Faculty of Education, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Chao Wang
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
| | - Yaoyuan Xia
- Department of Physical Education, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hua Jin
- Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
- *Correspondence: Hua Jin,
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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: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [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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Borelli E, Butera C, Katirai A, Adams TCE, Aziz-Zadeh L. Impact of motor stroke on novel and conventional action metaphor comprehension. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2022; 226:105081. [PMID: 35051790 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2022.105081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies indicate that damage to motor brain regions impacts comprehension of literal action-related language. However, whether such damage also impacts comprehension of action-metaphors remains unknown. Such a finding would support the notion that metaphors are grounded in sensorimotor representations. Here we tested this hypothesis by comparing comprehension of novel, conventional, and frozen action and non-action metaphors in 14 right-handed adults with right-sided mild to moderate paresis following left hemisphere motor stroke and 23 neurotypical participants. Consistent with our hypothesis, results indicated that only in the stroke group, accuracy for action metaphors was significantly lower than for non-action metaphors. Further, in the stroke group, accuracy was significantly worse in the following pattern: novel < conventional < frozen action metaphors. These results strongly support the notion that motor-related brain regions are important not only for literal action-related language comprehension, but also for action-related metaphor comprehension, especially for less familiar metaphors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Borelli
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy; Center for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy; Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Christiana Butera
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Andrew Katirai
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Thomas C E Adams
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lisa Aziz-Zadeh
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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14
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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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15
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Vitale F, Monti I, Padrón I, Avenanti A, de Vega M. The neural inhibition network is causally involved in the disembodiment effect of linguistic negation. Cortex 2021; 147:72-82. [PMID: 35026556 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Negation applied to action contexts reduces the activation of the motor system. According to the Reusing Inhibition for Negation (RIN) hypothesis, such "disembodiment" effect occurs because understanding negations engages the reuse of inhibitory control mechanisms. Here, we investigated whether the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) - a key area of the inhibitory control system - contributes to primary motor cortex (M1) processing of negated action-sentences. Using a perturb-and-measure paradigm, we applied off-line low-frequency repetitive TMS (rTMS) over the rIFG, before performing a reading task involving action and attentional sentences presented in both affirmative or negative form. During the reading task, motor excitability was assessed by recording motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) induced by single-pulse TMS (spTMS) over the left M1, at two loci in the sentence: the verb or the object. Results show that after sham stimulation (baseline), motor excitability measured on the verb, was reduced for negative, compared to affirmative action sentences. Crucially, neuromodulation of rIFG suppressed this inhibitory effect of negation, since motor excitability was equaled for negative and affirmative action sentences. As expected, no effect of negation was observed for attentional sentences or when the pulse was delivered over the object. Our study confirms that understanding negative action sentences inhibits M1. This effect took place at an early stage of semantic processing (i.e., while processing the verb in our task), and faded at a later time-point. Critically, by highlighting a causal role of rIFG in this motor inhibition, we provide direct neurophysiological support to the RIN hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Vitale
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.
| | - Ilaria Monti
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Iván Padrón
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Dipartimento di Psicologia and Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscience Cognitive, Università di Bologna, Campus di Cesena Cesena, Italy; Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica Del Maule Talca, Chile
| | - Manuel de Vega
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
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16
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Reifegerste J, Meyer AS, Zwitserlood P, Ullman MT. Aging affects steaks more than knives: Evidence that the processing of words related to motor skills is relatively spared in aging. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2021; 218:104941. [PMID: 34015683 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.104941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Lexical-processing declines are a hallmark of aging. However, the extent of these declines may vary as a function of different factors. Motivated by findings from neurodegenerative diseases and healthy aging, we tested whether 'motor-relatedness' (the degree to which words are associated with particular human body movements) might moderate such declines. We investigated this question by examining data from three experiments. The experiments were carried out in different languages (Dutch, German, English) using different tasks (lexical decision, picture naming), and probed verbs and nouns, in all cases controlling for potentially confounding variables (e.g., frequency, age-of-acquisition, imageability). Whereas 'non-motor words' (e.g., steak) showed age-related performance decreases in all three experiments, 'motor words' (e.g., knife) yielded either smaller decreases (in one experiment) or no decreases (in two experiments). The findings suggest that motor-relatedness can attenuate or even prevent age-related lexical declines, perhaps due to the relative sparing of neural circuitry underlying such words.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana Reifegerste
- Brain and Language Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA; Department of Psychology and Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany; Potsdam Research Institute for Multilingualism, University of Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Antje S Meyer
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Pienie Zwitserlood
- Department of Psychology and Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany
| | - Michael T Ullman
- Brain and Language Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA.
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17
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Cervetto S, Díaz-Rivera M, Petroni A, Birba A, Caro MM, Sedeño L, Ibáñez A, García AM. The Neural Blending of Words and Movement: Event-Related Potential Signatures of Semantic and Action Processes during Motor-Language Coupling. J Cogn Neurosci 2021; 33:1413-1427. [PMID: 34496378 PMCID: PMC11115968 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral embodied research shows that words evoking limb-specific meanings can affect responses performed with the corresponding body part. However, no study has explored this phenomenon's neural dynamics under implicit processing conditions, let alone by disentangling its conceptual and motoric stages. Here, we examined whether the blending of hand actions and manual action verbs, relative to nonmanual action verbs and nonaction verbs, modulates electrophysiological markers of semantic integration (N400) and motor-related cortical potentials during a lexical decision task. Relative to both other categories, manual action verbs involved reduced posterior N400 amplitude and greater modulations of frontal motor-related cortical potentials. Such effects overlapped in a window of ∼380-440 msec after word presentation and ∼180 msec before response execution, revealing the possible time span in which both semantic and action-related stages reach maximal convergence. These results allow refining current models of motor-language coupling while affording new insights on embodied dynamics at large.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Cervetto
- Departamento de Educación Física y Salud, Instituto Superior de Educación Física, Universidad de la República, Uruguay
| | - Mariano Díaz-Rivera
- Centro de Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Petroni
- Instituto de Ingeniería Biomédica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Inteligencia Artificial Aplicada, Departamento de Computación, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, ICC-CONICET, Argentina
| | - Agustina Birba
- Centro de Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Miguel Martorell Caro
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucas Sedeño
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Centro de Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, United States, and Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Chile
| | - Adolfo M García
- Centro de Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, United States, and Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), Mendoza, Argentina
- Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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18
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Winter RE, Stoeger H, Suggate SP. Fine Motor Skills and Lexical Processing in Children and Adults. Front Psychol 2021; 12:666200. [PMID: 34054671 PMCID: PMC8149613 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.666200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Children’s fine motor skills (FMS) link to cognitive development, however, research on their involvement in language processing, also with adults, is scarce. Lexical items are processed differently depending on the degree of sensorimotor information inherent in the words’ meanings, such as whether these imply a body-object interaction (BOI) or a body-part association (i.e., hand, arm, mouth, foot). Accordingly, three studies examined whether lexical processing was affected by FMS, BOIness, and body-part associations in children (study 1, n = 77) and adults (study 2, n = 80; study 3, n = 71). Analyses showed a differential link between FMS and lexical processing as a function of age. Whereas response latencies indicated that children’s FMS were associated with “hand” words, adults’ FMS linked to the broader concept of BOI. Findings have implications for shared activation theories positing that FMS support lexical processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca E Winter
- Department of Educational Sciences, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Heidrun Stoeger
- Department of Educational Sciences, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Sebastian P Suggate
- Department of Educational Sciences, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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19
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Turker S, Hartwigsen G. Exploring the neurobiology of reading through non-invasive brain stimulation: A review. Cortex 2021; 141:497-521. [PMID: 34166905 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has gained increasing popularity as a modulatory tool for drawing causal inferences and exploring task-specific network interactions. Yet, a comprehensive synthesis of reading-related NIBS studies is still missing. We fill this gap by synthesizing the results of 78 NIBS studies investigating the causal involvement of brain regions for reading processing, and then link these results to a neurobiological model of reading. The included studies provide evidence for a functional-anatomical double dissociation for phonology versus semantics during reading-related processes within left inferior frontal and parietal areas. Additionally, the posterior parietal cortex and the anterior temporal lobe are identified as critical regions for reading-related processes. Overall, the findings provide some evidence for a dual-stream neurobiological model of reading, in which a dorsal stream (left temporo-parietal and inferior frontal areas) processes unfamiliar words and pseudowords, and a ventral stream (left occipito-temporal and inferior frontal areas, with assistance from the angular gyrus and the anterior temporal lobe) processes known words. However, individual differences in reading abilities and strategies, as well as differences in stimulation parameters, may impact the neuromodulatory effects induced by NIBS. We emphasize the need to investigate task-specific network interactions in future studies by combining NIBS with neuroimaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Turker
- Lise Meitner Research Group 'Cognition and Plasticity', Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise Meitner Research Group 'Cognition and Plasticity', Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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20
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de Vega M, Dutriaux L, Moreno IZ, García-Marco E, Seigneuric A, Gyselinck V. Crossing hands behind your back reduces recall of manual action sentences and alters brain dynamics. Cortex 2021; 140:51-65. [PMID: 33933930 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Revised: 01/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The embodied meaning approach posits that understanding action-related language recruits motor processes in the brain. However, the functional impact of these motor processes on cognition has been questioned. The present study aims to provide new electrophysiological (EEG) evidence concerning the role of motor processes in the comprehension and memory of action language. Participants read lists of sentences including manual-action or attentional verbs, while keeping their hands either in front of them or crossing them behind their back. Results showed that posture impacted selectively the processing of manual action sentence, and not of attentional sentences, in three different ways: 1) EEG fronto-central beta rhythms, a signature of motor processes, were desynchronized while reading action sentences in the hands-in-front posture compared to the hands-behind posture. The estimated source was the posterior cingulate cortex, involved in proprioceptive regulation. 2) Recall of nouns associated with manual sentences decreased when learning occurred in the hands-behind posture. 3) ERPs analysis revealed that the initial posture at learning modulates neural processes during subsequent recall of manual sentences in the left superior frontal gyrus, which is related to motor processes. These results provide decisive evidence for the functional involvement of embodied simulations in the encoding and retrieval of action-related language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel de Vega
- Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Spain
| | - Léo Dutriaux
- Université de Paris, LMC(2), Paris, France; University of Trento, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), Trento, Italy.
| | - Iván Z Moreno
- Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Spain
| | - Enrique García-Marco
- Universidad de La Laguna, Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Spain; Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Europea de Canarias, La Orotava, Spain
| | - Alix Seigneuric
- EA4403 (UTRPP-LLSHS), MEDIALECT (Structure Fédérative de Recherche), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France
| | - Valérie Gyselinck
- Université Gustave Eiffel, Université de Paris, LaPEA, Versailles, France
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21
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Abstract
A central question in the cognitive sciences is which role embodiment plays for high-level cognitive functions, such as conceptual processing. Here, we propose that one reason why progress regarding this question has been slow is a lacking focus on what Platt (1964) called “strong inference”. Strong inference is possible when results from an experimental paradigm are not merely consistent with a hypothesis, but they provide decisive evidence for one particular hypothesis compared to competing hypotheses. We discuss how causal paradigms, which test the functional relevance of sensory-motor processes for high-level cognitive functions, can move the field forward. In particular, we explore how congenital sensory-motor disorders, acquired sensory-motor deficits, and interference paradigms with healthy participants can be utilized as an opportunity to better understand the role of sensory experience in conceptual processing. Whereas all three approaches can bring about valuable insights, we highlight that the study of congenitally and acquired sensorimotor disorders is particularly effective in the case of conceptual domains with strong unimodal basis (e.g., colors), whereas interference paradigms with healthy participants have a broader application, avoid many of the practical and interpretational limitations of patient studies, and allow a systematic and step-wise progressive inference approach to causal mechanisms.
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22
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Rodrigo MJ, Muñetón-Ayala M, de Vega M. Exploring the Co-occurrence of Manual Verbs and Actions in Early Mother-Child Communication. Front Psychol 2020; 11:596080. [PMID: 33240185 PMCID: PMC7683411 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.596080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The embodiment approach has shown that motor neural networks are involved in the processing of action verbs. There is developmental evidence that embodied effects on verb processing are already present in early years. Yet, the ontogenetic origin of this motor reuse in action verbs remains unknown. This longitudinal study investigates the co-occurrence of manual verbs and actions during mother-child daily routines (free play, bathing, and dining) when children were 1 to 2 (Group 1) and 2 to 3 (Group 2) years old. Eight mother-child dyads were video-recorded in 3-month intervals across 12 months (27 recording hours), and the timing of verbs and manual actions (21,876 entries) were coded by independent observers. Results showed that the probability of matched verb-action co-occurrences were much higher (0.80 and 0.77) than that of random co-occurrences (0.13 and 0.15) for Group 1 and Group 2, respectively. The distributions of the verb-action temporal intervals in both groups were quite symmetrical and skewed with the peak corresponding to both 0.00 s synchronic intervals (8% of the cases) and the shortest +5 s interval (40% of the cases). Mother-led instances occurred in both groups whereas child-led instances were restricted to Group 2. Mothers pragmatically aligned their verbal productions, since they repeatedly used (74%) those verbs they shared with their children's repertoire (31%). In conclusion, the early multisensory communicative and manipulative scene affords grounding of verb meanings on the ongoing actions, facilitating verb-action pairing in the realm of social interactions, providing a new dimension to the prevailing solipsistic approach to embodiment.
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Affiliation(s)
- María José Rodrigo
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
| | | | - Manuel de Vega
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencias, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
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23
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Vitale F, Padrón I, Avenanti A, de Vega M. Enhancing Motor Brain Activity Improves Memory for Action Language: A tDCS Study. Cereb Cortex 2020; 31:1569-1581. [PMID: 33136142 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The embodied cognition approach to linguistic meaning posits that action language understanding is grounded in sensory-motor systems. However, evidence that the human motor cortex is necessary for action language memory is meager. To address this issue, in two groups of healthy individuals, we perturbed the left primary motor cortex (M1) by means of either anodal or cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), before participants had to memorize lists of manual action and attentional sentences. In each group, participants received sham and active tDCS in two separate sessions. Following anodal tDCS (a-tDCS), participants improved the recall of action sentences compared with sham tDCS. No similar effects were detected following cathodal tDCS (c-tDCS). Both a-tDCS and c-tDCS induced variable changes in motor excitability, as measured by motor-evoked potentials induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation. Remarkably, across groups, action-specific memory improvements were positively predicted by changes in motor excitability. We provide evidence that excitatory modulation of the motor cortex selectively improves performance in a task requiring comprehension and memory of action sentences. These findings indicate that M1 is necessary for accurate processing of linguistic meanings and thus provide causal evidence that high-order cognitive functions are grounded in the human motor system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Vitale
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 38200, Spain
| | - Iván Padrón
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 38200, Spain
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, Cesena 47521, Italy
- Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca 3460000, Chile
| | - Manuel de Vega
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 38200, Spain
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24
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Birba A, Vitale F, Padrón I, Dottori M, de Vega M, Zimerman M, Sedeño L, Ibáñez A, García AM. Electrifying discourse: Anodal tDCS of the primary motor cortex selectively reduces action appraisal in naturalistic narratives. Cortex 2020; 132:460-472. [PMID: 32950239 PMCID: PMC7655702 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Non-invasive stimulation of the primary motor cortex (M1) modulates processing of decontextualized action words and sentences (i.e., verbal units denoting bodily motion). This suggests that language comprehension hinges on brain circuits mediating the bodily experiences evoked by verbal material. Yet, despite its relevance to constrain mechanistic language models, such a finding fails to reveal whether and how relevant circuits operate in the face of full-blown, everyday texts. Using a novel naturalistic discourse paradigm, we examined whether direct modulation of M1 excitability influences the grasping of narrated actions. Following random group assignment, participants received anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the left M1, or sham stimulation of the same area, or anodal stimulation of the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Immediately afterwards, they listened to action-laden and neutral stories and answered questions on information realized by verbs (denoting action and non-action processes) and circumstances (conveying locative or temporal details). Anodal stimulation of the left M1 selectively decreased outcomes on action-relative to non-action information -a pattern that discriminated between stimulated and sham participants with 74% accuracy. This result was particular to M1 and held irrespective of the subjects' working memory and vocabulary skills, further attesting to its specificity. Our findings suggest that offline modulation of motor-network excitability might lead to transient unavailability of putative resources needed to evoke actions in naturalistic texts, opening promising avenues for the language embodiment framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agustina Birba
- Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Francesca Vitale
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Iván Padrón
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Martín Dottori
- Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Manuel de Vega
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
| | - Máximo Zimerman
- Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucas Sedeño
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago de Chile, Chile; Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla, Colombia; Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, United States
| | - Adolfo M García
- Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, United States; Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina; Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
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25
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de Zubicaray GI, McMahon KL, Arciuli J. A Sound Explanation for Motor Cortex Engagement during Action Word Comprehension. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 33:129-145. [PMID: 33054555 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Comprehending action words often engages similar brain regions to those involved in perceiving and executing actions. This finding has been interpreted as support for grounding of conceptual processing in motor representations or that conceptual processing involves motor simulation. However, such demonstrations cannot confirm the nature of the mechanism(s) responsible, as word comprehension involves multiple processes (e.g., lexical, semantic, morphological, phonological). In this study, we tested whether this motor cortex engagement instead reflects processing of statistical regularities in sublexical phonological features. Specifically, we measured brain activity in healthy participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging while they performed an auditory lexical decision paradigm involving monosyllabic action words associated with specific effectors (face, arm, and leg). We show that nonwords matched to the action words in terms of their phonotactic probability elicit common patterns of activation. In addition, we show that a measure of the action words' phonological typicality, the extent to which a word's phonology is typical of other words in the grammatical category to which it belongs (i.e., more or less verb-like), is responsible for their activating a significant portion of primary and premotor cortices. These results indicate motor cortex engagement during action word comprehension is more likely to reflect processing of statistical regularities in sublexical phonological features than conceptual processing. We discuss the implications for current neurobiological models of language, all of which implicitly or explicitly assume that the relationship between the sound of a word and its meaning is arbitrary.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Katie L McMahon
- Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia.,Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital, Australia
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26
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Afonso O, Suárez-Coalla P, Cuetos F, Ibáñez A, Sedeño L, García AM. The Embodied Penman: Effector-Specific Motor-Language Integration During Handwriting. Cogn Sci 2020; 43:e12767. [PMID: 31310023 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2018] [Revised: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 05/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Several studies have illuminated how processing manual action verbs (MaVs) affects the programming or execution of concurrent hand movements. Here, to circumvent key confounds in extant designs, we conducted the first assessment of motor-language integration during handwriting-a task in which linguistic and motoric processes are co-substantiated. Participants copied MaVs, non-manual action verbs, and non-action verbs as we collected measures of motor programming and motor execution. Programming latencies were similar across conditions, but execution was faster for MaVs than for the other categories, regardless of whether word meanings were accessed implicitly or explicitly. In line with the Hand-Action-Network Dynamic Language Embodiment (HANDLE) model, such findings suggest that effector-congruent verbs can prime manual movements even during highly automatized tasks in which motoric and verbal processes are naturally intertwined. Our paradigm opens new avenues for fine-grained explorations of embodied language processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Afonso
- Department of Psychology, Health, & Professional Development, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University
| | | | | | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET).,Universidad Autónoma del Caribe.,Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez.,Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Australian Research Council (ARC)
| | - Lucas Sedeño
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)
| | - Adolfo M García
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCYT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET).,Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo)
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27
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García AM, Hesse E, Birba A, Adolfi F, Mikulan E, Caro MM, Petroni A, Bekinschtein TA, del Carmen García M, Silva W, Ciraolo C, Vaucheret E, Sedeño L, Ibáñez A. Time to Face Language: Embodied Mechanisms Underpin the Inception of Face-Related Meanings in the Human Brain. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:6051-6068. [PMID: 32577713 PMCID: PMC7673477 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In construing meaning, the brain recruits multimodal (conceptual) systems and embodied (modality-specific) mechanisms. Yet, no consensus exists on how crucial the latter are for the inception of semantic distinctions. To address this issue, we combined electroencephalographic (EEG) and intracranial EEG (iEEG) to examine when nouns denoting facial body parts (FBPs) and nonFBPs are discriminated in face-processing and multimodal networks. First, FBP words increased N170 amplitude (a hallmark of early facial processing). Second, they triggered fast (~100 ms) activity boosts within the face-processing network, alongside later (~275 ms) effects in multimodal circuits. Third, iEEG recordings from face-processing hubs allowed decoding ~80% of items before 200 ms, while classification based on multimodal-network activity only surpassed ~70% after 250 ms. Finally, EEG and iEEG connectivity between both networks proved greater in early (0-200 ms) than later (200-400 ms) windows. Collectively, our findings indicate that, at least for some lexico-semantic categories, meaning is construed through fast reenactments of modality-specific experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adolfo M García
- Universidad de San Andrés, B1644BID Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), MM5502GKA Mendoza, Argentina
- Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, 9170020 Santiago, Chile
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, CA 94158 San Francisco, USA
| | - Eugenia Hesse
- Universidad de San Andrés, B1644BID Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustina Birba
- Universidad de San Andrés, B1644BID Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Federico Adolfi
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ezequiel Mikulan
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences “L. Sacco”, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Miguel Martorell Caro
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Petroni
- Instituto de Ingeniería Biomédica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1063ACV Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Inteligencia Artificial Aplicada, Departamento de Computación, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, ICC-CONICET, C1063ACV Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - María del Carmen García
- Programa de Cirugía de Epilepsia, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, C1181ACH, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Walter Silva
- Programa de Cirugía de Epilepsia, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, C1181ACH, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Carlos Ciraolo
- Programa de Cirugía de Epilepsia, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, C1181ACH, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Esteban Vaucheret
- Programa de Cirugía de Epilepsia, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, C1181ACH, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucas Sedeño
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Universidad de San Andrés, B1644BID Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), C1425FQB Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, CA 94158 San Francisco, USA
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, 8320000, Santiago, Chile
- Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, 080003, Barranquilla, Colombia
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28
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Bidet-Ildei C, Beauprez SA, Badets A. A review of literature on the link between action observation and action language: advancing a shared semantic theory. NEW IDEAS IN PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2019.100777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Harpaintner M, Trumpp NM, Kiefer M. Time course of brain activity during the processing of motor- and vision-related abstract concepts: flexibility and task dependency. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2020; 86:2560-2582. [PMID: 32661582 PMCID: PMC9674762 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-020-01374-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Grounded cognition theories assume that conceptual processing depends on modality-specific brain systems in a context-dependent fashion. Although the relation of abstract concepts to modality-specific systems is less obvious than for concrete concepts, recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies indicated a foundation of abstract concepts in vision and action. However, due to their poor temporal resolution, neuroimaging studies cannot determine whether sensorimotor activity reflects rapid access to conceptual information or later conceptual processes. The present study therefore assessed the time course of abstract concept processing using event-related potentials (ERPs) and compared ERP responses to abstract concepts with a strong relation to vision or action. We tested whether possible ERP effects to abstract word categories would emerge in early or in later time windows and whether these effects would depend on the depth of the conceptual task. In Experiment 1, a shallow lexical decision task, early feature-specific effects starting at 178 ms were revealed, but later effects beyond 300 ms were also observed. In Experiment 2, a deep conceptual decision task, feature-specific effects with an onset of 22 ms were obtained, but effects again extended beyond 300 ms. In congruency with earlier neuroimaging work, the present feature-specific ERP effects suggest a grounding of abstract concepts in modal brain systems. The presence of early and late feature-specific effects indicates that sensorimotor activity observed in neuroimaging experiments may reflect both rapid conceptual and later post-conceptual processing. Results furthermore suggest that a deep conceptual task accelerates access to conceptual sensorimotor features, thereby demonstrating conceptual flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Harpaintner
- Section for Cognitive Electrophysiology, Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, 89075, Ulm, Germany.
| | - Natalie M Trumpp
- Section for Cognitive Electrophysiology, Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, 89075, Ulm, Germany
| | - Markus Kiefer
- Section for Cognitive Electrophysiology, Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, 89075, Ulm, Germany
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30
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Kuhnke P, Kiefer M, Hartwigsen G. Task-Dependent Recruitment of Modality-Specific and Multimodal Regions during Conceptual Processing. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:3938-3959. [PMID: 32219378 PMCID: PMC7264643 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Revised: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Conceptual knowledge is central to cognitive abilities such as word comprehension. Previous neuroimaging evidence indicates that concepts are at least partly composed of perceptual and motor features that are represented in the same modality-specific brain regions involved in actual perception and action. However, it is unclear to what extent the retrieval of perceptual-motor features and the resulting engagement of modality-specific regions depend on the concurrent task. To address this issue, we measured brain activity in 40 young and healthy participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging, while they performed three different tasks-lexical decision, sound judgment, and action judgment-on words that independently varied in their association with sounds and actions. We found neural activation for sound and action features of concepts selectively when they were task-relevant in brain regions also activated during auditory and motor tasks, respectively, as well as in higher-level, multimodal regions which were recruited during both sound and action feature retrieval. For the first time, we show that not only modality-specific perceptual-motor areas but also multimodal regions are engaged in conceptual processing in a flexible, task-dependent fashion, responding selectively to task-relevant conceptual features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Kuhnke
- Lise Meitner Research Group ‘Cognition and Plasticity’, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neuropsychology, Research Group ‘Modulation of Language Networks’, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Markus Kiefer
- Department of Psychiatry, Ulm University, Leimgrubenweg 12, 89075 Ulm, Germany
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise Meitner Research Group ‘Cognition and Plasticity’, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neuropsychology, Research Group ‘Modulation of Language Networks’, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstr. 1a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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31
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Boulenger V, Martel M, Bouvet C, Finos L, Krzonowski J, Farnè A, Roy AC. Feeling better: Tactile verbs speed up tactile detection. Brain Cogn 2020; 142:105582. [PMID: 32422452 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Embodiment of action-related language into the motor system has been extensively documented. Yet the case of sensory words, especially referring to touch, remains overlooked. We investigated the influence of verbs denoting tactile sensations on tactile perception. In Experiment 1, participants detected tactile stimulations on their forearm, preceded by tactile or non-tactile verbs by one of three delays (170, 350, 500 ms) reflecting different word processing stages. Results revealed shorter reaction times to tactile stimulations following tactile than non-tactile verbs, irrespective of delay. To ensure that priming pertained to tactile, and not motor, verb properties, Experiment 2 compared the impact of tactile verbs to both action and non-tactile verbs, while stimulations were delivered on the index finger. No priming emerged following action verbs, therefore not supporting the motor-grounded interpretation. Facilitation by tactile verbs was however not observed, possibly owing to methodological changes. Experiment 3, identical to Experiment 2 except that stimulation was delivered to participants' forearm, replicated the priming effect. Importantly, tactile stimulations were detected faster after tactile than after both non-tactile and action verbs, indicating that verbs' tactile properties engaged resources shared with sensory perception. Our findings suggest that language conveying tactile information can activate somatosensory representations and subsequently promote tactile detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Véronique Boulenger
- Laboratory Dynamique du Langage CNRS/Lyon 2 University UMR5596, Maisons des Sciences de l'Homme, 14 avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon, France.
| | - Marie Martel
- Laboratory Dynamique du Langage CNRS/Lyon 2 University UMR5596, Maisons des Sciences de l'Homme, 14 avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon, France; Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EY, London, England, United Kingdom
| | - Cécile Bouvet
- Laboratory Dynamique du Langage CNRS/Lyon 2 University UMR5596, Maisons des Sciences de l'Homme, 14 avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Livio Finos
- Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Battisti, 241, 35121 Padova, Italy
| | - Jennifer Krzonowski
- Laboratory Dynamique du Langage CNRS/Lyon 2 University UMR5596, Maisons des Sciences de l'Homme, 14 avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon, France
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team - ImpAct, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS U5292, Lyon 1 University, 16 avenue du Doyen Lépine, 69500 Bron, France; Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Palazzo Fedrigotti - corso Bettini, 31, 38068 -TN Rovereto, Italy
| | - Alice Catherine Roy
- Laboratory Dynamique du Langage CNRS/Lyon 2 University UMR5596, Maisons des Sciences de l'Homme, 14 avenue Berthelot, 69007 Lyon, France
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32
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Vannuscorps G, Caramazza A. Conceptual processing of action verbs with and without motor representations. Cogn Neuropsychol 2020; 36:301-312. [DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2020.1732319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gilles Vannuscorps
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), Università degli Studi di Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Institute of Psychological Sciences, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Alfonso Caramazza
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), Università degli Studi di Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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33
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Primary motor cortex and phonological recoding: A TMS-EMG study. Neuropsychologia 2020; 139:107368. [PMID: 32014451 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2019] [Revised: 12/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Since the 1960s, evidence from healthy participants and brain-damaged patients, neuroimaging and non-invasive brain stimulation studies has specified the neurofunctional architecture of the short-term memory (STM) system, supporting the temporary retention of a limited amount of verbal material. Auditory-verbal, later termed Phonological (Ph) STM or Phonological Loop, comprises two sub-components: i) the main storage system, the Phonological Short-Term Store (PhSTS), to which auditory verbal stimuli have direct access and where phonologically coded information is retained for a few seconds; ii) a Rehearsal Process (REH), which actively maintains the trace held in the PhSTS, preventing its decay and conveys visual verbal material to the PhSTS, after the process of Phonological Recoding (PhREC, or Grapheme-to-Phoneme Conversion) has taken place. PhREC converts visuo-verbal graphemic representations into phonological ones. The neural correlates of PhSTM include two discrete regions in the left hemisphere: the temporo-parietal junction (PhSTS) and the inferior frontal gyrus in the premotor cortex (REH). The neural basis of PhREC has been much less investigated. A few single case studies of patients made anarthric by focal or degenerative cortical damage, who show a pattern of impairment indicative of a deficit of PhREC, sparing the REH process, suggest that the primary motor cortex (M1) might be involved. To test this hypothesis in healthy participants with a neurophysiological approach, we measured the corticospinal excitability of M1, by means of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)-induced Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs), during the execution of phonological judgements on auditorily vs. visually presented words (Experiment #1). Crucially, these phonological tasks involve REH, while PhREC is required only with visual presentation. Results show MEPs with larger amplitude when stimuli are presented visually. Task difficulty does not account for this difference and the result is specific for linguistic stimuli, indeed visual and auditory stimuli that cannot be verbalized lead to different behavioral and neurophysiological patterns (Experiment #2). The increase of corticospinal excitability when words are presented visually can be then interpreted as an indication of the involvement of M1 in PhREC. The present findings elucidate the neural correlates of PhREC, suggesting an involvement of the peripheral motor system in its activity.
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Argiris G, Budai R, Maieron M, Ius T, Skrap M, Tomasino B. Neurosurgical lesions to sensorimotor cortex do not impair action verb processing. Sci Rep 2020; 10:523. [PMID: 31949237 PMCID: PMC6965077 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-57361-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
There is ongoing debate regarding the role that sensorimotor regions play in conceptual processing, with embodied theories supporting their direct involvement in processing verbs describing body part movements. Patient lesion studies examining a causal role for sensorimotor activation in conceptual task performance have suffered the caveat of lesions being largely diffuse and extensive beyond sensorimotor cortices. The current study addresses this limitation in reporting on 20 pre-operative neurosurgical patients with focal lesion to the pre- and post-central area corresponding to somatotopic representations. Patients were presented with a battery of neuropsychological tests and experimental tasks tapping into motor imagery and verbal conceptual verb processing in addition to neurophysiological measures including DTI, fMRI, and MEP being measured. Results indicated that left tumor patients who presented with a lesion at or near somatotopic hand representations performed significantly worse on the mental rotation hand task and that performance correlated with MEP amplitudes in the upper limb motor region. Furthermore, performance on tasks of verbal processing was within the normal range. Taken together, while our results evidence the involvement of the motor system in motor imagery processes, they do not support the embodied view that sensorimotor regions are necessary to tasks of action verb processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgette Argiris
- Scientific Institute IRCCS "Eugenio Medea", Polo FVG, San Vito al Tagliamento, PN, Italy.
- Columbia University Medical Center, Neurological Institute, 710 West 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
| | - Riccardo Budai
- Unità Operativa di Neurologia, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Integrata S. Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Italy
| | - Marta Maieron
- Fisica Medica, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Integrata S. Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Italy
| | - Tamara Ius
- Unità Operativa di Neurochirurgia, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Integrata S. Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Italy
| | - Miran Skrap
- Unità Operativa di Neurochirurgia, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Integrata S. Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Italy
| | - Barbara Tomasino
- Scientific Institute IRCCS "Eugenio Medea", Polo FVG, San Vito al Tagliamento, PN, Italy
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Gianelli C, Kühne K, Lo Presti S, Mencaraglia S, Dalla Volta R. Action processing in the motor system: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) evidence of shared mechanisms in the visual and linguistic modalities. Brain Cogn 2020; 139:105510. [PMID: 31923805 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2019.105510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In two experiments, we compared the dynamics of corticospinal excitability when processing visually or linguistically presented tool-oriented hand actions in native speakers and sequential bilinguals. In a third experiment we used the same procedure to test non-motor, low-level stimuli, i.e. scrambled images and pseudo-words. Stimuli were presented in sequence: pictures (tool + tool-oriented hand action or their scrambled counterpart) and words (tool noun + tool-action verb or pseudo-words). Experiment 1 presented German linguistic stimuli to native speakers, while Experiment 2 presented English stimuli to non-natives. Experiment 3 tested Italian native speakers. Single-pulse trascranial magnetic stimulation (spTMS) was applied to the left motor cortex at five different timings: baseline, 200 ms after tool/noun onset, 150, 350 and 500 ms after hand/verb onset with motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) recorded from the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscles. We report strong similarities in the dynamics of corticospinal excitability across the visual and linguistic modalities. MEPs' suppression started as early as 150 ms and lasted for the duration of stimulus presentation (500 ms). Moreover, we show that this modulation is absent for stimuli with no motor content. Overall, our study supports the notion of a core, overarching system of action semantics shared by different modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Gianelli
- Division of Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany; IUSS, University School of Advanced Studies, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Katharina Kühne
- Division of Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany
| | - Sara Lo Presti
- IUSS, University School of Advanced Studies, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Riccardo Dalla Volta
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Università Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy.
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36
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Franklin ZC, Wright DJ, Holmes PS. Using Action-congruent Language Facilitates the Motor Response during Action Observation: A Combined Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Eye-tracking Study. J Cogn Neurosci 2019; 32:634-645. [PMID: 31820678 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
There is evidence that action observation (AO) and the processing of action-related words are associated with increased activity in cortical motor regions. Research has examined the effects of AO and action verb processing on activity in the motor system independently. The aim of this experiment was to investigate, for the first time, the modulation of corticospinal excitability and visual attention during the concurrent processing of action verbs and AO stimuli. Twenty participants took part in an integrated transcranial magnetic stimulation and eye-tracking protocol. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was delivered to the hand representation of the left motor cortex during (i) observation of a static hand, (ii) AO of a hand squeezing a sponge, (iii) AO of the same action with an audio recording of the word "squeeze," and (iv) AO of the same action with an audio recording of the word "green". Motor evoked potentials were recorded from the abductor pollicis brevis and abductor digiti minimi muscles of the right hand. Eye gaze was recorded throughout the four conditions as a proxy for visual attention. Interviews were conducted to discuss participants' preferences and imagery use for each condition. The AO and action verb condition resulted in significantly increased motor evoked potential amplitudes in the abductor pollicis brevis muscle; participants also made significantly more fixations on the sponge and reported wanting to move their hand more in the action verb condition. The inclusion of auditory action verbs, alongside AO stimuli, in movement simulation interventions could have implications for the delivery of AO interventions for motor (re)learning.
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Suggate S, Lehmann J, Stoeger H, Jansen P. Cognition embodied: mental rotation is faster for objects that imply a greater body–object interaction. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2019.1678627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Suggate
- Department of Psychology, Education, and Sports Science, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Jennifer Lehmann
- Department of Psychology, Education, and Sports Science, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Heidrun Stoeger
- Department of Psychology, Education, and Sports Science, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Petra Jansen
- Department of Psychology, Education, and Sports Science, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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38
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Popp M, Trumpp NM, Kiefer M. Processing of Action and Sound Verbs in Context: An FMRI Study. Transl Neurosci 2019; 10:200-222. [PMID: 31637047 PMCID: PMC6795028 DOI: 10.1515/tnsci-2019-0035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent theories propose a flexible recruitment of sensory and motor brain regions during conceptual processing depending on context and task. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging study investigated the influence of context and task on conceptual processing of action and sound verbs. Participants first performed an explicit semantic context decision task, in which action and sound verbs were presented together with a context noun. The same verbs were repeatedly presented in a subsequent implicit lexical decision task together with new action and sound verbs. Thereafter, motor and acoustic localizer tasks were administered to identify brain regions involved in perception and action. During the explicit task, we found differential activations to action and sound verbs near corresponding sensorimotor brain regions. During the implicit lexical decision task, differences between action and sound verbs were absent. However, feature-specific repetition effects were observed near corresponding sensorimotor brain regions. The present results suggest flexible conceptual representations depending on context and task. Feature-specific effects were observed only near, but not within corresponding sensorimotor brain regions, as defined by the localizer tasks. Our results therefore only provide limited evidence in favor of grounded cognition theories assuming a close link between the conceptual and the sensorimotor systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margot Popp
- Ulm University, Department of Psychiatry, Ulm, Germany
| | | | - Markus Kiefer
- Ulm University, Department of Psychiatry, Ulm, Germany
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Vergallito A, Lo Gerfo E, Varoli E, Brambilla M, Sacchi S, Anzani S, Romero Lauro LJ. Positive self-perception and corticospinal excitability: Recalling positive behavior expands peripersonal space boundaries. Neuropsychologia 2019; 135:107224. [PMID: 31604069 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 10/03/2019] [Accepted: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Converging evidence suggests that peripersonal space has dynamic properties, that can be influenced by motor and cognitive factors. Here, we investigated whether changes in self-perception may impact upon peripersonal representation. Specifically, employing non-invasive brain stimulation, we tested whether corticospinal excitability elicited by objects placed in the vertical peripersonal vs extrapersonal space can be influenced by changes in self-perception after recalling a personal experience inducing the feeling of high power (vs. positivity vs. low power). In a preliminary study (Study 1, N = 39) participants were presented with an object, whose position was manipulated in the horizontal vs vertical space. We assessed corticospinal excitability by measuring Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation with Electromyography co-registration (TMS-EMG). In the horizontal condition, we replicated the well-known motor facilitation induced by objects falling in the peri vs extrapersonal space, while in the vertical dimension MEPs were higher in the extrapersonal space. In the main experiment (Study 2), participants (N = 55) were randomly assigned to feel high power, low power, or a general positive emotion and were asked to observe the same object positioned either in the peripersonal or in the extrapersonal vertical space. Results showed that in the low power condition MEPs were higher in the extrapersonal vs peripersonal, as in Study 1, while in high power and positive conditions MEPs were not influenced by distance. Taken together, our findings suggest a dissociable pattern of motor facilitation underlying vertical vs horizontal space perception and, crucially, that changes in self-perception can influence such a representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Vergallito
- University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Psychology, Italy
| | - E Lo Gerfo
- Clinical Psychology Service of Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies (IRCSS IsMeTT) Palermo, Italy; NeuroMI - Milan Center for Neuroscience, Italy
| | - E Varoli
- Clinical Psychology Service of Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Advanced Specialized Therapies (IRCSS IsMeTT) Palermo, Italy; University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Italy
| | - M Brambilla
- University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Psychology, Italy
| | - S Sacchi
- University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Psychology, Italy
| | - S Anzani
- University of Chieti-Pescara "G. D'Annunzio", Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Italy
| | - L J Romero Lauro
- University of Milano Bicocca, Department of Psychology, Italy; NeuroMI - Milan Center for Neuroscience, Italy.
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40
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Beltrán D, Morera Y, García-Marco E, de Vega M. Brain Inhibitory Mechanisms Are Involved in the Processing of Sentential Negation, Regardless of Its Content. Evidence From EEG Theta and Beta Rhythms. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1782. [PMID: 31440181 PMCID: PMC6694754 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The two-step process account of negation understanding posits an initial representation of the negated events, followed by a representation of the actual state of events. On the other hand, behavioral and neurophysiological studies provided evidence that linguistic negation suppresses or reduces the activation of the negated events, contributing to shift attention to the actual state of events. However, the specific mechanism of this suppression is poorly known. Recently, based on the brain organization principle of neural reuse (Anderson, 2010), it has been proposed that understanding linguistic negation partially relies upon the neurophysiological mechanisms of response inhibition. Specifically, it was reported that negated action-related sentences modulate EEG signatures of response inhibition (de Vega et al., 2016; Beltrán et al., 2018). In the current EEG study, we ponder whether the reusing of response inhibition processes by negation is constrained to action-related contents or consists of a more general-purpose mechanism. To this end, we employed the same dual-task paradigm as in our prior study—a Go/NoGo task embedded into a sentence comprehension task—but this time including both action and non-action sentences. The results confirmed that the increase of theta power elicited by NoGo trials was modulated by negative sentences, compared to their affirmative counterparts, and this polarity effect was statistically similar for both action- and non-action-related sentences. Thus, a general-purpose inhibitory control mechanism, rather than one specific for action language, is likely operating in the comprehension of sentential negation to produce the transition between alternative representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Beltrán
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain.,Departamento de Psicología Cognitiva, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
| | - Yurena Morera
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain.,Departamento de Psicología Cognitiva, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
| | - Enrique García-Marco
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain.,Centro Asociado de La Laguna, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain.,Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Europea de Canarias, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
| | - Manuel de Vega
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain.,Departamento de Psicología Cognitiva, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
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41
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Pavlova AA, Butorina AV, Nikolaeva AY, Prokofyev AO, Ulanov MA, Bondarev DP, Stroganova TA. Effortful verb retrieval from semantic memory drives beta suppression in mesial frontal regions involved in action initiation. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:3669-3681. [PMID: 31077488 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Revised: 03/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The contribution of the motor cortex to the semantic retrieval of verbs remains a subject of debate in neuroscience. Here, we examined whether additional engagement of the cortical motor system was required when access to verbs semantics was hindered during a verb generation task. We asked participants to produce verbs related to presented noun cues that were either strongly associated with a single verb to prompt fast and effortless verb retrieval, or were weakly associated with multiple verbs and more difficult to respond to. Using power suppression of magnetoencephalography beta oscillations (15-30 Hz) as an index of cortical activation, we performed a whole-brain analysis in order to identify the cortical regions sensitive to the difficulty of verb semantic retrieval. Highly reliable suppression of beta oscillations occurred 250 ms after the noun cue presentation and was sustained until the onset of verbal response. This was localized to multiple cortical regions, mainly in the temporal and frontal lobes of the left hemisphere. Crucially, the only cortical regions where beta suppression was sensitive to the task difficulty, were the higher order motor areas on the medial and lateral surfaces of the frontal lobe. Stronger activation of the premotor cortex and supplementary motor area accompanied the effortful verb retrieval and preceded the preparation of verbal responses for more than 500 ms, thus, overlapping with the time window of verb retrieval from semantic memory. Our results suggest that reactivation of verb-related motor plans in higher order motor circuitry promotes the semantic retrieval of target verbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna A Pavlova
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation.,School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Anna V Butorina
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Anastasia Y Nikolaeva
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Andrey O Prokofyev
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Maxim A Ulanov
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation.,Centre for Cognition and Decision making, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Denis P Bondarev
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation.,Kurchatov Complex of NBICS Nature-Like Technologies, National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Tatiana A Stroganova
- MEG-Center, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation
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How meaning unfolds in neural time: Embodied reactivations can precede multimodal semantic effects during language processing. Neuroimage 2019; 197:439-449. [PMID: 31059796 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Research on how the brain construes meaning during language use has prompted two conflicting accounts. According to the 'grounded view', word understanding involves quick reactivations of sensorimotor (embodied) experiences evoked by the stimuli, with simultaneous or later engagement of multimodal (conceptual) systems integrating information from various sensory streams. Contrariwise, for the 'symbolic view', this capacity depends crucially on multimodal operations, with embodied systems playing epiphenomenal roles after comprehension. To test these contradictory hypotheses, the present magnetoencephalography study assessed implicit semantic access to grammatically constrained action and non-action verbs (n = 100 per category) while measuring spatiotemporally precise signals from the primary motor cortex (M1, a core region subserving bodily movements) and the anterior temporal lobe (ATL, a putative multimodal semantic hub). Convergent evidence from sensor- and source-level analyses revealed that increased modulations for action verbs occurred earlier in M1 (∼130-190 ms) than in specific ATL hubs (∼250-410 ms). Moreover, machine-learning decoding showed that trial-by-trial classification peaks emerged faster in M1 (∼100-175 ms) than in the ATL (∼345-500 ms), with over 71% accuracy in both cases. Considering their latencies, these results challenge the 'symbolic view' and its implication that sensorimotor mechanisms play only secondary roles in semantic processing. Instead, our findings support the 'grounded view', showing that early semantic effects are critically driven by embodied reactivations and that these cannot be reduced to post-comprehension epiphenomena, even when words are individually classified. Briefly, our study offers non-trivial insights to constrain fine-grained models of language and understand how meaning unfolds in neural time.
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Monaco E, Jost LB, Gygax PM, Annoni JM. Embodied Semantics in a Second Language: Critical Review and Clinical Implications. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:110. [PMID: 30983983 PMCID: PMC6449436 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of the sensorimotor system in second language (L2) semantic processing as well as its clinical implications for bilingual patients has hitherto been neglected. We offer an overview of the issues at stake in this under-investigated field, presenting the theoretical and clinical relevance of studying L2 embodiment and reviewing the few studies on this topic. We highlight that (a) the sensorimotor network is involved in L2 processing, and that (b) in most studies, L2 is differently embodied than L1, reflected in a lower degree or in a different pattern of L2 embodiment. Importantly, we outline critical issues to be addressed in order to guide future research. We also delineate the subsequent steps needed to confirm or dismiss the value of language therapeutic approaches based on embodiment theories as a complement of speech and language therapies in adult bilinguals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Monaco
- Laboratory for Cognitive and Neurological Sciences, Neurology Unit, Medicine Section, Department of Neuroscience and Movement Science, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Lea B. Jost
- Laboratory for Cognitive and Neurological Sciences, Neurology Unit, Medicine Section, Department of Neuroscience and Movement Science, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Pascal M. Gygax
- Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Marie Annoni
- Laboratory for Cognitive and Neurological Sciences, Neurology Unit, Medicine Section, Department of Neuroscience and Movement Science, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
- Neurology Unit, Fribourg Cantonal Hospital, Fribourg, Switzerland
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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: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [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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Abstract
Fiction is vital to our being. Many people enjoy engaging with fiction every day. Here we focus on literary reading as 1 instance of fiction consumption from a cognitive neuroscience perspective. The brain processes which play a role in the mental construction of fiction worlds and the related engagement with fictional characters, remain largely unknown. The authors discuss the neurocognitive poetics model ( Jacobs, 2015a ) of literary reading specifying the likely neuronal correlates of several key processes in literary reading, namely inference and situation model building, immersion, mental simulation and imagery, figurative language and style, and the issue of distinguishing fact from fiction. An overview of recent work on these key processes is followed by a discussion of methodological challenges in studying the brain bases of fiction processing.
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46
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Zhang Z, Sun Y, Wang Z. Representation of action semantics in the motor cortex and Broca's area. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2018; 179:33-41. [PMID: 29501857 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2018.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2016] [Revised: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that both reading action words and observing actions engage the motor cortex and Broca's area, but it is still controversial whether a somatotopic representation exists for action verbs within the motor cortex and whether Broca's area encodes action-specific semantics for verbs. Here we examined these two issues using a set of functional MRI experiments, including word reading, action observation and a movement localiser task. Results from multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) showed a somatotopic organisation within the motor areas and action-specific activation in Broca's area for observed actions, suggesting the representation of action semantics for observed actions in these neural regions. For action verbs, however, a lack of finding for the somatotopic activation argues against semantic somatotopy within the motor cortex. Furthermore, activation patterns in Broca's area were not separable between action verbs and unrelated verbs, suggesting that Broca's area does not encode action-specific semantics for verbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuo Zhang
- Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Yaoru Sun
- Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, PR China.
| | - Zijian Wang
- Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, PR China
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47
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Gianelli C. Embodied language and perspective taking in light of movement disorders. Cortex 2018; 100:226-231. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Revised: 08/31/2017] [Accepted: 11/29/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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48
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Gallese V, Cuccio V. The neural exploitation hypothesis and its implications for an embodied approach to language and cognition: Insights from the study of action verbs processing and motor disorders in Parkinson's disease. Cortex 2018; 100:215-225. [PMID: 29455947 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Revised: 12/31/2017] [Accepted: 01/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
As it is widely known, Parkinson's disease is clinically characterized by motor disorders such as the loss of voluntary movement control, including resting tremor, postural instability, and bradykinesia (Bocanegra et al., 2015; Helmich, Hallett, Deuschl, Toni, & Bloem, 2012; Liu et al., 2006; Rosin, Topka, & Dichgans, 1997). In the last years, many empirical studies (e.g., Bocanegra et al., 2015; Spadacenta et al., 2012) have also shown that the processing of action verbs is selectively impaired in patients affected by this neurodegenerative disorder. In the light of these findings, it has been suggested that Parkinson disorder can be interpreted within an embodied cognition framework (e.g., Bocanegra et al., 2015). The central tenet of any embodied approach to language and cognition is that high order cognitive functions are grounded in the sensory-motor system. With regard to this point, Gallese (2008) proposed the neural exploitation hypothesis to account for, at the phylogenetic level, how key aspects of human language are underpinned by brain mechanisms originally evolved for sensory-motor integration. Glenberg and Gallese (2012) also applied the neural exploitation hypothesis to the ontogenetic level. On the basis of these premises, they developed a theory of language acquisition according to which, sensory-motor mechanisms provide a neurofunctional architecture for the acquisition of language, while retaining their original functions as well. The neural exploitation hypothesis is here applied to interpret the profile of patients affected by Parkinson's disease. It is suggested that action semantic impairments directly tap onto motor disorders. Finally, a discussion of what theory of language is needed to account for the interactions between language and movement disorders is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vittorio Gallese
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Italy; Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, UK.
| | - Valentina Cuccio
- Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, Italy
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49
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Semantic discrimination impacts tDCS modulation of verb processing. Sci Rep 2017; 7:17162. [PMID: 29215039 PMCID: PMC5719444 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-17326-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 11/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Motor cortex activation observed during body-related verb processing hints at simulation accompanying linguistic understanding. By exploiting the up- and down-regulation that anodal and cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) exert on motor cortical excitability, we aimed at further characterizing the functional contribution of the motor system to linguistic processing. In a double-blind sham-controlled within-subjects design, online stimulation was applied to the left hemispheric hand-related motor cortex of 20 healthy subjects. A dual, double-dissociation task required participants to semantically discriminate concrete (hand/foot) from abstract verb primes as well as to respond with the hand or with the foot to verb-unrelated geometric targets. Analyses were conducted with linear mixed models. Semantic priming was confirmed by faster and more accurate reactions when the response effector was congruent with the verb's body part. Cathodal stimulation induced faster responses for hand verb primes thus indicating a somatotopical distribution of cortical activation as induced by body-related verbs. Importantly, this effect depended on performance in semantic discrimination. The current results point to verb processing being selectively modifiable by neuromodulation and at the same time to a dependence of tDCS effects on enhanced simulation. We discuss putative mechanisms operating in this reciprocal dependence of neuromodulation and motor resonance.
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50
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Roberts A, Nguyen P, Orange JB, Jog M, Nisbet KA, McRae K. Differential impairments of upper and lower limb movements influence action verb processing in Parkinson disease. Cortex 2017; 97:49-59. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.09.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2016] [Revised: 09/16/2017] [Accepted: 09/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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