Early lexico-semantic modulation of motor related areas during action and non-action verb processing

Vanhoutte, Sarah; Strobbe, Gregor; Mierlo, Pieter van; Cosyns, Marjan; Batens, Katja; Corthals, Paul; Letter, Miet De; Borsel, John Van; Santens, Patrick

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroling.2015.01.001

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…One possible reason for the conflicting source estimates between our study and that of Vanhoutte et al 35 is that the verbs they used differed considerably in their imageability ratings between action and non-action categories (reported p<.001) while the verbs in our study did not differ significantly between categories (p=.098) and a Bayesian analysis indicated weak evidence in favour of the null hypothesis of no difference in imageability between the two categories of stimuli (BF 10 =.831). Thus, it is possible that the activity localised in bilateral motor cortices in the study by Vanhoutte et al stems from a differential process of, potentially implicit, mental imagery between categories, that is absent from our data due to the more closely matched levels of imageability.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 93%

“…The timing of our observed ERP effect is consistent with that reported in a study of Dutch arm action verbs and non-action verbs, in which ERPs diverged from 155-174ms post-stimulus 35 . Furthermore, source estimation implicated bilateral motor cortices (precentral gyri) as generators of that effect, and was therefore interpreted as evidence for embodied semantics of action.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Thus, it is possible that the activity localised in bilateral motor cortices in the study by Vanhoutte et al stems from a differential process of, potentially implicit, mental imagery between categories, that is absent from our data due to the more closely matched levels of imageability. Nevertheless, Vanhoutte et al (2015), and others [62][63][64] , argue that the onset of this post-stimulus effect is too quick to reflect mental imagery. Conversely, critics of strong embodied accounts argue that such apparent rapid activation of motor cortices is not sufficient evidence for motor cortical involvement in representing the concept itself, as the activity could also reflect spreading activation from an abstracted representation 1 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Many high temporal resolution studies, reviewed above, have contrasted broad categories of words, such as verbs and nouns, which also differ on a range of potentially confounding psycholinguistic variables, such as imageability 35 . Furthermore, studies of neural responses to effector-specific words (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dissociable electrophysiological correlates of semantic access of motor and non-motor concepts

Sokoliuk

Calzolari

Cruse

2019

Preprint

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The notion of semantic embodiment posits that concepts are represented in the same neural sensorimotor systems that were involved in their acquisition. However, evidence in support of embodied semantics -in particular the hypothesised contribution of motor and premotor cortex to the representation of action concepts -is varied. Here, we tested the hypothesis that, consistent with semantic embodiment, sensorimotor cortices will rapidly become active while healthy participants access the meaning of visually-presented motor and non-motor action verbs. Event-related potentials revealed early differential processing of motor and nonmotor verbs (164-203ms) within distinct regions of cortex likely reflecting rapid cortical activation of differentially distributed semantic representations. However, we found no evidence for a specific role of sensorimotor cortices in supporting these representations. Moreover, we observed a later modulation of the alpha band (8-12Hz) from 555-785ms over central electrodes, with estimated generators within the left superior parietal lobule, which may reflect post-lexical activation of the object-directed features of the motor action concepts. In conclusion, we find no evidence for a specific role of sensorimotor cortices when healthy participants judge the meaning of visually-presented action verbs. However, the relative contribution of sensorimotor cortices to action comprehension may vary as a function of task goals.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Dissociable electrophysiological correlates of semantic access of motor and non-motor concepts

Sokoliuk

Calzolari

Cruse

2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Many high temporal resolution studies, reviewed above, have contrasted broad categories of words, such as verbs and nouns, which also differ on a range of potentially confounding psycholinguistic variables, such as imageability 36 . Furthermore, studies of neural responses to effector-specific words (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissociable electrophysiological correlates of semantic access of motor and non-motor concepts

Sokoliuk

Calzolari

Cruse

2019

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The notion of semantic embodiment posits that concepts are represented in the same neural sensorimotor systems that were involved in their acquisition. However, evidence in support of embodied semantics – in particular the hypothesised contribution of motor and premotor cortex to the representation of action concepts – is varied. Here, we tested the hypothesis that, consistent with semantic embodiment, sensorimotor cortices will rapidly become active while healthy participants access the meaning of visually-presented motor and non-motor action verbs. Event-related potentials revealed early differential processing of motor and non-motor verbs (164–203 ms) within distinct regions of cortex likely reflecting rapid cortical activation of differentially distributed semantic representations. However, we found no evidence for a specific role of sensorimotor cortices in supporting these representations. Moreover, we observed a later modulation of the alpha band (8–12 Hz) from 555–785 ms over central electrodes, with estimated generators within the left superior parietal lobule, which may reflect post-lexical activation of the object-directed features of the motor action concepts. In conclusion, we find no evidence for a specific role of sensorimotor cortices when healthy participants judge the meaning of visually-presented action verbs. However, the relative contribution of sensorimotor cortices to action comprehension may vary as a function of task goals.

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Spatiotemporal differentiation in auditory and motor regions during auditory phoneme discrimination

et al. 2017

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Auditory phoneme discrimination (APD) is supported by both auditory and motor regions through a sensorimotor interface embedded in a fronto-temporo-parietal cortical network. However, the specific spatiotemporal organization of this network during APD with respect to different types of phonemic contrasts is still unclear. Here, we use source reconstruction, applied to event-related potentials in a group of 47 participants, to uncover a potential spatiotemporal differentiation in these brain regions during a passive and active APD task with respect to place of articulation (PoA), voicing and manner of articulation (MoA). Results demonstrate that in an early stage (50-110 ms), auditory, motor and sensorimotor regions elicit more activation during the passive and active APD task with MoA and active APD task with voicing compared to PoA. In a later stage (130-175 ms), the same auditory and motor regions elicit more activation during the APD task with PoA compared to MoA and voicing, yet only in the active condition, implying important timing differences. Degree of attention influences a frontal network during the APD task with PoA, whereas auditory regions are more affected during the APD task with MoA and voicing. Based on these findings, it can be carefully suggested that APD is supported by the integration of early activation of auditory-acoustic properties in superior temporal regions, more perpetuated for MoA and voicing, and later auditory-to-motor integration in sensorimotor areas, more perpetuated for PoA.

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Early lexico-semantic modulation of motor related areas during action and non-action verb processing

Cited by 8 publications

References 99 publications

Dissociable electrophysiological correlates of semantic access of motor and non-motor concepts

Dissociable electrophysiological correlates of semantic access of motor and non-motor concepts

Dissociable electrophysiological correlates of semantic access of motor and non-motor concepts

Spatiotemporal differentiation in auditory and motor regions during auditory phoneme discrimination

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