The limits of automatic sensorimotor processing during word processing: investigations with repeated linguistic experience, memory consolidation during sleep, and rich linguistic learning contexts

While a number of studies have repeatedly demonstrated an automatic activation of sensorimotor experience during language processing in the form of action-congruency effects, as predicted by theories of grounded cognition, more recent research has not found these effects for words that were just learned from linguistic input alone, without sensorimotor experience with their referents. In the present study, we investigate whether this absence of effects can be attributed to a lack of repeated experience and consolidation of the associations between words and sensorimotor experience in memory. To address these issues, we conducted four experiments in which (1 and 2) participants engaged in two separate learning phases in which they learned novel words from language alone, with an intervening period of memory-consolidating sleep, and (3 and 4) we employed familiar words whose referents speakers have no direct experience with (such as plankton). However, we again did not observe action-congruency effects in subsequent test phases in any of the experiments. This indicates that direct sensorimotor experience with word referents is a necessary requirement for automatic sensorimotor activation during word processing.

Influences of hand action on the processing of symbolic numbers: a special role of pointing?

Embodied and grounded cognition theories suggest that cognitive processes are built upon sensorimotor systems. In the context of studies on numerical cognition, interactions between number processing and the hand actions of reaching and grasping have been documented in skilled adults, thereby supporting embodied and grounded cognition accounts. The present study made use of the neurophysiological principle of neural adaptation applied to repetitive hand actions to test the hypothesis of a functional overlap between neurocognitive mechanisms of hand action and number processing. Participants performed repetitive grasping of an object, repetitive pointing, repetitive tapping, or passive viewing. Subsequently, they performed a symbolic number comparison task. Importantly, hand action and number comparison were functionally and temporally dissociated, thereby minimizing context-based effects. Results showed that executing the action of pointing slowed down the responses in number comparison. Moreover, the typical distance effect (faster responses for numbers far from the reference as compared to close ones) was not observed for small numbers after pointing, while it was enhanced by grasping. These findings confirm the functional link between hand action and number processing, and suggest new hypotheses on the role of pointing as a meaningful gesture in the development and embodiment of numerical skills.

The limits of automatic sensorimotor processing during word processing: Investigations with repeated linguistic experience, memory consolidation during sleep, and rich linguistic learning contexts

While a number of studies have repeatedly demonstrated an automatic activation of sensorimotor experience during language processing in the form of action-congruency effects, as predicted by theories of grounded cognition, more recent research has not found these effects for words that were just learned from linguistic input alone, without sensorimotor experience with their referents. In the present study, we investigate whether this absence of effects can be attributed to a lack of repeated experience and consolidation of the associations between words and sensorimotor experience in memory. To address these issues, we conducted four experiments in which (1 and 2) participants engaged in two separate learning phases in which they learned novel words from language alone, with an intervening period of memory-consolidating sleep, and (3 and 4) we employed familiar words whose referents speakers have no direct experience with (such as plankton). However, we again did not observe action-congruency effects in subsequent test phases in any of the experiments. This indicates that direct sensorimotor experience with word referents is a necessary requirement for automatic sensorimotor activation during word processing.

Embodied Songs: Insights Into the Nature of Cross-Modal Meaning-Making Within Sign Language Informed, Embodied Interpretations of Vocal Music

Embodied song practices involve the transformation of songs from the acoustic modality into an embodied-visual form, to increase meaningful access for d/Deaf audiences. This goes beyond the translation of lyrics, by combining poetic sign language with other bodily movements to embody the para-linguistic expressive and musical features that enhance the message of a song. To date, the limited research into this phenomenon has focussed on linguistic features and interactions with rhythm. The relationship between bodily actions and music has not been probed beyond an assumed implication of conformance. However, as the primary objective is to communicate equivalent meanings, the ways that the acoustic and embodied-visual signals relate to each other should reveal something about underlying conceptual agreement. This paper draws together a range of pertinent theories from within a grounded cognition framework including semiotics, analogy mapping and cross-modal correspondences. These theories are applied to embodiment strategies used by prominent d/Deaf and hearing Dutch practitioners, to unpack the relationship between acoustic songs, their embodied representations, and their broader conceptual and affective meanings. This leads to the proposition that meaning primarily arises through shared patterns of internal relations across a range of amodal and cross-modal features with an emphasis on dynamic qualities. These analogous patterns can inform metaphorical interpretations and trigger shared emotional responses. This exploratory survey offers insights into the nature of cross-modal and embodied meaning-making, as a jumping-off point for further research.

Situating desire: Situational cues increase desire for food through eating simulations

How do situations influence food desire? Although eating typically occurs in rich background situations, research on food desire often focuses on the properties of foods and consumers, rather than on the situations in which eating takes place. Here, we take a grounded cognition perspective and suggest that a situation that is congruent with consuming a food increases simulations of eating it, which, in turn, affect desire, and the expected and actual liking of the food. We tested this idea in four pre-registered experiments (N = 524). Participants processed an image of a food presented in a congruent situation, an incongruent situation, or no background situation. Compared to the incongruent situation, the congruent situation increased expected liking of the food and desire, and this was partially or fully mediated by eating simulations. The congruent situation also increased salivation, a physiological indicator of preparing to eat. However, there was only weak and indirect evidence for congruence effects on actual liking of the food when tasted. These findings show that situational cues can affect desire for food through eating simulations. Thus, background situations play an important but understudied role in human food desires. We address implications for research using food images, and for applications to promote healthy and sustainable eating behaviour.

Age-Related Differential Effects of School-Based Sitting and Movement Meditation on Creativity and Spatial Cognition: A Pilot Study

Psychophysical well-being can be supported during development by the integration of extra-curricular activities in scholastic settings. These activities can be implemented in different forms, ranging from physical activities to sitting meditation practices. Considering that both such activities are thought to affect children’s psychophysical development, a movement-based meditation that combines the two approaches−in the form of a short daily activity−could represent a powerful tool to promote healthy physical and mental development. Consequently, the current pilot study aimed to examine the effect of short daily school-based sitting and movement meditation trainings on creativity and spatial cognition. Utilizing a crossover design, we evaluated their feasibility and efficacy at different ages among children (n = 50) in 5th to 8th grade. We observed that 5 weeks of daily training in sitting and movement meditation techniques improved children’s cognition differently. Specifically, younger children showed greater creativity and better spatial cognition following the movement-based meditation, while older children showed greater enhancement in these areas following sitting meditation training. This suggests that training can affect children’s cognition differently depending on their developmental stage. We discuss these results within the framework of embodied and grounded cognition theories. Information on feasibility and age-related effect sizes derived from the current study paves the way for future well-powered larger-scale efficacy studies on different forms of school-based interventions to cognitive development promotion.

How does the brain represent the semantic content of an image?

Using deep neural networks (DNNs) as models to explore the biological brain is controversial, which is mainly due to the impenetrability of DNNs. Inspired by neural style transfer, we circumvented this problem by using deep features that were given a clear meaning--the representation of the semantic content of an image. Using encoding models and the representational similarity analysis, we quantitatively showed that the deep features which represented the semantic content of an image mainly modulated the activity of voxels in the early visual areas (V1, V2, and V3) and these features were essentially depictive but also propositional. This result is in line with the core viewpoint of the grounded cognition to some extent, which suggested that the representation of information in our brain is essentially depictive and can implement symbolic functions naturally.

Las representaciones conceptuales en la ciencia cognitiva

Resumen: En el marco de la ciencia cognitiva se ha polemizado acerca de la manera en la que el enfoque enraizado de la cognición pueda compatibilizarse con al enfoque clásico con el fin de explicar nuestras capacidades conceptuales. Sin embargo este debate metodológico no ha sido acompañado de una elucidación de la noción de “representación conceptual” tal como venía siendo entendida al menos en la filosofía y psicología cognitivas. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar en que consiste una representación conceptual con el fin de aportar claridad al debate sobre las capacidades conceptuales enraizadas. Desarrollaré y evaluaré la idea de que una representación es conceptual si puede combinarse sistemáticamente para formar nuevas estructuras representacionales y si se puede utilizar en tareas psicológicas con independencia del estímulo. Abstract: In cognitive science, it is an open debate whether grounded cognition might be compatible with traditional views of cognition. However, as far as I am aware, this methodological debate has not been accompanied by an elucidation of the notion of “conceptual representation” as it has been understood in philosophy and cognitive psychology. The aim of this paper is to offer an elucidation of this sort. I will develop and evaluate the idea that a representation is conceptual when it can be systematically combined to form new representational structures and when it can be used in psychological tasks regardless of the stimulus. Palabras clave: capacidades conceptuales, sistematicidad, independencia del estímulo, cognición enraizada, psicología cognitiva. Keywords: conceptual abilities, sistematicity, independence of stimulus, grounded cognition, cognitive psychology.

A Tutorial towards Theory Formalization in (Social) Embodiment

Embodied – or grounded - cognition frameworks assume that human thought is affected by inputs from the bodily modalities and the environment and emerged in response to amodal approaches. But the embodied cognition literature, generally speaking, lacks the formal theorizing that allows for specific predictions about relations between body and mind. This problem is amplified by the fact that psychological research has encountered replication problems, challenges to validity of measures and manipulations, and overgeneralization of obtained findings to populations and measures that were not tested. This chapter provides a tutorial on how the field can move towards formalized theories of embodied social cognition. We rely on research on social thermoregulation – the idea that social behaviors protect the body’s core temperature – as a template for this. The chapter addresses the important questions of how to separate noise from signal in embodiment research, how to create reliable and valid measures, and how to appropriately draw conclusions about the generalizability of obtained findings. We hope that following these recommendations will help theories in embodiment to become more formal, allowing for precise predictions about interactions between the body and human (social) cognition.

Specifying separation: avoidance, abstraction, openness to new experiences

Lee and Schwarz suggest grounded procedures of separation as a mechanism for embodied cleansing. We compare this process to other mechanisms in grounded cognition and suggest a broader conceptualization that allows integration into general cognitive models of social behavior. Specifically, separation will be understood as a mindset of completed avoidance resulting in high abstraction and openness to new experiences.