VOCABULARY OF YAMSKOY [COACHMAN’s] AND IZVOZNY [CABMAN’s] CARRIER’S TRADE: HISTORICO-DERIVIATIONAL ASPECT

Based on the material from the Russian commercial written records of the XVI-XVII centuries, this article examines semantic and derivational features of the vocabulary of the yamskoy [coachman’s] and izvoznyi [cabman’s] carrier’s trade. In terms of content, the words of these two professional spheres have much in common since the main occupation of yamshchiki [coachmen] and izvozchiki [cabmen] was transportation of people or goods by horse; here are used the names of characters, vehicles, travel modes, types of transported objects. The history of fixing of the words yamshchik [coachman] and izvozchik [cabman] in the Russian language reflects the universal pattern of changing the names of persons ending in -nik by the nouns ending in -shchik /chik ( yamnik - yamshchik [coachman], izvoznik - izvozchik [cabman]). At the same time, the categorical difference in the original names that were at the beginning of the word-formation chains caused a difference in the semantic development of the names of doers: in one case, this is a spatial nomination of yama [Russian word for a ‘pit’] denoting a "station on the road" (> yamchi, yamskoy > yamshchik [coachman]); in another one it is a designation of a movement in space izvoziti [Russian obsolete word for ‘to carry’] (> izvoz > izvozchik [cabman]). In this regard, the names of persons right from the beginning differed in their conceptual representations of the doers: yamshchik [coachman] is the one who moves along the road, and izvozchik [cabman] is the one who “carries” something both on land and on water (like a carrier). Different communicative spheres of yamskoy [coachman’s] (gonny [riding fast] ) and izvozny [cabman’s] carrier’s trade gave birth to specific names of transportation: gon’ba [fast ride] and izvoz [carriage], which had clear internal forms: the first one was motivated by the verb gonyati [Russian obsolete word for ‘to ride fast", and the second one - by the verb izvoziti [Russian obsolete word for ‘to carry outwards’] (cargo, goods).

Biologically Feasible Generative Neural Network Architecture with Effective Concept Learning Capacity

Representations play an essential role in the learning of artificial and biological systems due to their capacity to identify characteristic patterns in the sensory environment. In this work we examined latent representations of several sets of images, such as basic geometric shapes and handwritten digits, produced by generative models in the process of unsupervised generative learning. A biologically feasible neural network architecture based on bi-directional synaptic connection equivalent in training and processing to a symmetrical autoencoder was proposed and defined. It was demonstrated that conceptual representations with good decoupling of concept regions can be produced with generative models of limited complexity; and that incremental evolution of architecture can result in improved ability to learn data of increasing conceptual complexity, including realistic images such as handwritten digits. The results demonstrate potential of conceptual representations produced as a natural platform for conceptual modeling of sensory environments and other intelligent behaviors.

Unsaid Thoughts: Thinking in the absence of (some) verbal logical connectives

Combining two thoughts into a compound mental representation is a central feature of our verbal and non-verbal logical abilities. We here approach this issue by focusing on the contingency that while natural languages typically verbalise only two of the sixteen connectives from formal logic to express compound thoughts —"and" and "or"— the remainder appear to be entertainable as non-verbal, conceptual representations and this suggests a way to probe how linguistic and non-linguistic thinking processes relate. In a visual world experiment aimed at tracking both comprehension-related and reasoning-related aspects of the capacity to represent compound thoughts, we found that participants are capable of learning and interpreting a made-up word for logic’s NAND operator, indicating that unlexicalised logical connectives are nonetheless conceptually available.

Kant and the Production of the Antinomy of Pure Reason

In this article, I claim that the Antinomy of pure reason emerges as the result of synthetic activities that require succession. In this regard, I show that cosmological conflicts involve different kinds of representations: (1) cosmological ideas, purely conceptual representations of the unconditioned and the product of non-temporal synthetic activities; and (2) putative complete series of spatiotemporal conditions, which require temporal synthetic activities. As I show, purely conceptual representations cannot produce cosmological conflicts: The Antinomy requires the interaction of reason, understanding, and sensibility. I also discuss the maxim and principle of pure reason, how they lead to the unconditioned (and its different notions), and how the cosmological syllogism produces the Antinomy.

Continuous neural activations of embodied-linguistic representations in modality switching costs

Modality switching costs (MSCs) are one of the classic effects that support the embodied views of conceptual representations. They refer to a delay in response time to verify a sensory property of a certain perceptual modality (e.g., visual: SUN – bright), when the previous sensory property has been of a different modality (e.g., auditory: BLENDER – loud) compared to a property of the same modality (e.g., visual: ROSE – red). Such costs indicate that conceptual representations require the recruitment of modality-specific resources. However, MSCs could also result from the distributional pattern of property words: the reason why loud -> bright takes longer than red -> bright could be because bright and loud do not co-occur in the same linguistic context as frequently as bright and red. In the present study, we examined how well MSCs were predicted by an embodied model (switch / no-switch between perceptual modalities) versus a linguistic model (switch / no-switch between linguistic distributional clusters), in behavioural (RT) and continuous event-related EEG potentials (ERP) paradigms. The behavioural data supported the linguistic model in explaining MSCs and found MSCs to be moderated by the target modality, the ERPs showed that linguistic distributional pattern played a crucial role in the neural activations of MSCs. What used to be found as a result of perceptual switching (e.g., "early N400" effect) could be better explained by the linguistic model. The embodied component was activated later than the linguistic component, accounting for activations associated with semantic representation (typically in N400 area). Later during processing, both components were active for decision making (often manifested as LPC).

Continuous neural activations of simulation and linguistic information during metaphor processing

Language processing relies on conceptual representations which are composed of two crucial components, embodied simulation and linguistic distributional pattern. The embodied component refers to the reactivation of previous sensorimotor experiences related to the concept (e.g., experiences with a clever student when reading "bright student"); the linguistic component refers to the co-occurrence pattern of the constituent words (i.e., how often "bright" and "student" appear in the same context). In this study, we examined the existence and roles of these components in metaphor processing. Using both a behavioural study and EEG, we studied how these components affected the speed, success rate and neurophysiological activations of metaphor comprehension. We found that, while performance of metaphor comprehension was mainly influenced by the embodied component, the linguistic component was activated before the embodied component reached its peak and could act as a shortcut to construct good-enough representations, such that people found it easier to accept and hard to reject a metaphor when the distributional frequency of constituent words was high. In other words, the linguistic distributional pattern could provide a guide for conceptual representations before the embodied component was fully engaged.

Bodily, emotional, and public sphere at the time of COVID-19. An investigation on concrete and abstract concepts

The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemics has dramatically affected people’s lives. Among newly established practices, it has likely enriched our conceptual representations with new components. We tested this asking Italian participants during the first lockdown to rate a set of diverse words on several crucial dimensions. We found concepts are organized along a main axis opposing internal and external grounding, with fine-grained distinctions within the two categories underlining the role of emotions. We also show through a comparison with existing data that Covid-19 impacted the organization of conceptual representations. For instance, subclasses of abstract concepts that are usually distinct converge into a unitary group, characterized by emotions and internal grounding. Additionally, we found institutional and Covid-19 related concepts, for which participants felt more the need for others to understand the meaning, clustered together. Our results show that the spread of Covid-19 has simultaneously changed our lives and shaped our conceptual representations.

Semantic Cognition: Semantic Memory and Semantic Control

Semantic processing is a defining feature of human cognition, central not only to language, but also to object recognition, the generation of appropriate actions, and the capacity to use knowledge in reasoning, planning, and problem-solving. Semantic memory refers to our repository of conceptual or factual knowledge about the world. This semantic knowledge base is typically viewed as including “general knowledge” as well as schematic representations of objects and events distilled from multiple experiences and retrieved independently from their original spatial or temporal context. Semantic cognition refers to our ability to flexibly use this knowledge to produce appropriate thoughts and behaviors. Semantic cognition includes at least two interactive components: a long-term store of semantic knowledge and semantic control processes, each supported by a different network. Conceptual representations are organized according to the semantic relationships between items, with different theories proposing different key organizational principles, including sensory versus functional features, domain-specific theory, embodied distributed concepts, and hub-and-spoke theory, in which distributed features are integrated within a heteromodal hub in the anterior temporal lobes. The activity within the network for semantic representation must often be controlled to ensure that the system generates representations and inferences that are suited to the immediate task or context. Semantic control is thought to include both controlled retrieval processes, in which knowledge relevant to the goal or context is accessed in a top-down manner when automatic retrieval is insufficient for the task, and post-retrieval selection to resolve competition between simultaneously active representations. Control of semantic retrieval is supported by a strongly left-lateralized brain network, which partially overlaps with the bilateral network that supports domain-general control, but extends beyond these sites to include regions not typically associated with executive control, including anterior inferior frontal gyrus and posterior middle temporal gyrus. The interaction of semantic control processes with conceptual representations allows meaningful thoughts and behavior to emerge, even when the context requires non-dominant features of the concept to be brought to the fore.

Conceptual representations in bicultural bilinguals: An ERP approach

We investigated conceptual representations for translation word pairs in bilinguals who learned their languages in different cultural contexts. Mandarin–English bilinguals were presented with a word, and then a picture, and decided if they matched. Both behavioural and ERP data were collected. In one session, words were in English and in another they were the Mandarin translations. Critical pictures matched the prior word and were either biased to Chinese or Canadian culture. There was an interaction of test language and picture type in RT and errors in the behavioural data, and in five components in the ERP data, indicating that the task was easier when the culture depicted in the picture was congruent with the language of the preceding word. These findings provide evidence that the specific perceptual experiences that bilinguals encounter when learning words in each language have an impact on the semantic features that are activated by those words.

Modelling brain representations of abstract concepts

conceptual representations are critical for human cognition. Despite their importance, key properties of these representations remain poorly understood. Here, we used computational models of distributional semantics to predict multivariate fMRI activity patterns during the activation and contextualization of abstract concepts. We devised a task in which participants had to embed abstract nouns into a story that they developed around a given background context. We found that representations in inferior parietal cortex were predicted by concept similarities emerging in models of distributional semantics. By constructing different model families, we reveal the models' learning trajectories and delineate how abstract and concrete training materials contribute to the formation of brain-like representations. These results inform theories about the format and emergence of abstract conceptual representations in the human brain.