Setola, Patrizia and Reilly, Ronan (2005) Words in the brain’s language: An experimental investigation. Brain and Language, 94 (3). pp. 251-259. ISSN 0093-934X

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Abstract

According to Pulvermüller (1999), words are represented in the brain by cell assemblies (Hebb, 1949) distributed over different areas, depending on semantic properties of the word. For example, a word with strong visual associations will be represented by a cell assembly involving neurons in the visual cortex, while a word suggesting action will selectively activate neurons in the motor areas. The present work aims to test the latter hypothesis by means of behavioural measures. Specifically it tests the prediction that there should be a selective influence (in terms either of interference or priming) of performed/observed movements on the performance (reaction times and accuracy) of lexical decision involving words with a strong action association. Similarly, a selective influence of visual images on lexical decision involving words with strong visual associations should be observed. Two experiments were carried out. Results provided partial support for the hypothesis.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Language; Cell assemblies; Priming;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Computer Science
Item ID:	8199
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2004.12.007
Depositing User:	Prof. Ronan Reilly
Date Deposited:	09 May 2017 14:53
Journal or Publication Title:	Brain and Language
Publisher:	Elsevier
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://www.sciencedirect.com
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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