The organization of behavior: A neuropsychological theory

http://people.uncw.edu/tothj/PSY595/Binder-The%20Neurobio%20of%20Semantic%20Memory-TiCS-2011.pdf

The Neurobiology of Semantic Memory

Observing actions made by others activates the cortical circuits responsible for the planning and execution of those same actions This observation–execution matching system (mirror-neuron system) is thought to play an important role in the understanding of actions made by others In an fMRI experiment, we tested whether this system also becomes active during the processing of action-related sentences Participants listened to sentences describing actions performed with the mouth, the hand, or the leg Abstract sentences of comparable syntactic structure were used as control stimuli The results showed that listening to action-related sentences activates a left fronto-parieto-temporal network that includes the pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus (Broca's area), those sectors of the premotor cortex where the actions described are motorically coded, as well as the inferior parietal lobule, the intraparietal sulcus, and the posterior middle temporal gyrus These data provide the first direct evidence that listening to sentences that describe actions engages the visuomotor circuits which subserve action execution and observation

Listening to Action-related Sentences Activates Fronto-parietal Motor Circuits

Listening to Action-related Sentences Activates Fronto-parietal Motor Circuits J. Cogn. Neurosci. 2005 17: 273-281

A growing body of research suggests that comprehending verbal descriptions of actions relies on an internal simulation of the described action. To assess this motor resonance account of language comprehension, we first review recent developments in the literature on perception and action, with a view towards language processing. We then examine studies of language processing from an action simulation perspective. We conclude by discussing several criteria that might be helpful with regard to assessing the role of motor resonance during language comprehension.

Embodied language: A review of the role of the motor system in language comprehension

Observing actions and understanding sentences about actions activates corresponding motor processes in the observer-comprehender. In 5 experiments, the authors addressed 2 novel questions regarding language-based motor resonance. The 1st question asks whether visual motion that is associated with an action produces motor resonance in sentence comprehension. The 2nd question asks whether motor resonance is modulated during sentence comprehension. The authors' experiments provide an affirmative response to both questions. A rotating visual stimulus affects both actual manual rotation and the comprehension of manual rotation sentences. Motor resonance is modulated by the linguistic input and is a rather immediate and localized phenomenon. The results are discussed in the context of theories of action observation and mental simulation.

/pdf/seeing-acting-understanding-motor-resonance-in-language-2ktmk1zggb.pdf

Seeing, acting, understanding: motor resonance in language comprehension.

Previous studies have demonstrated that verbal descriptions of actions activate compatible motor responses (Glenberg & Kaschak, 2002; Zwaan & Taylor, 2006). The present study replicates previous findings showing that, within a sentence, such activation is localized on the verb that denotes the action. Moreover, motor resonance is found to yield to linguistic focus. If a postverbal adverb maintains focus on a matching action (“slowly” or “quickly”), motor resonance occurs, but if the adverb shifts the focus to the agent (e.g., “obediently” or “eagerly”), a cessation of motor resonance ensues. These findings are discussed within the context of theories of motor resonance, action understanding, mental simulation, and linguistic focus.

/pdf/motor-resonance-and-linguistic-focus-1b3b4vbzc2.pdf

Motor resonance and linguistic focus.

Empirical research has shown that the processing of words and sentences is accompanied by activation of the brain's motor system in language users. The degree of precision observed in this activation seems to be contingent upon (1) the meaning of a linguistic construction and (2) the depth with which readers process that construction. In addition, neurological evidence shows a correspondence between a disruption in the neural correlates of overt action and the disruption of semantic processing of language about action. These converging lines of evidence can be taken to support the hypotheses that motor processes (1) are recruited to understand language that focuses on actions and (2) contribute a unique element to conceptual representation. This article explores the role of this motor recruitment in language comprehension. It concludes that extant findings are consistent with the theorized existence of multimodal, embodied representations of the referents of words and the meaning carried by language. Further, an integrative conceptualization of “fault tolerant comprehension” is proposed.

/pdf/action-in-cognition-the-case-of-language-518cqkc4c6.pdf

Lawrence J. Taylor

Papers

Seeing, acting, understanding: motor resonance in language comprehension.

Motor resonance and linguistic focus.

Action in cognition: The case of language

Motor resonance as a function of narrative time: further tests of the linguistic focus hypothesis.

Inferences about action engage action systems.