title: Grounding conceptual knowledge in modality-specific systems.
abstract: The human conceptual system contains knowledge that supports all cognitive activities, including perception, memory, language and thought. According to most current theories, states in modality-specific systems for perception, action and emotion do not represent knowledge - rather, redescriptions of these states in amodal representational languages do. Increasingly, however, researchers report that re-enactments of states in modality-specific systems underlie conceptual processing. In behavioral experiments, perceptual and motor variables consistently produce effects in conceptual tasks. In brain imaging experiments, conceptual processing consistently activates modality-specific brain areas. Theoretical research shows how modality-specific re-enactments could produce basic conceptual functions, such as the type-token distinction, categorical inference, productivity, propositions and abstract concepts. Together these empirical results and theoretical analyses implicate modality-specific systems in the representation and use of conceptual knowledge.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Emory University, 30322, Atlanta, GA, USA
authors.forename: Lawrence W.
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Barsalou
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kyle Simmons
authors.forename: Aron K.
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Barbey
authors.forename: Christine D.
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Wilson