Word-induced postural changes reflect a tight interaction between motor and lexico-semantic representations.
A tight coupling between lexico-semantic access and motor control has been established on the basis of neuropsychological, neurophysiological, and behavioral evidence. For example, sensory and motor cortices have been shown to be active when subjects listen to words denoting bodily actions. Kinematic analyses of subjects' motor actions during the processing of linguistic stimuli provide further insights into the nature and time-course of this relationship. However, such studies have largely focused on individual body parts, in particular the upper limbs, thus neglecting the effect of language processing on lower or whole body representations. The present study bridges this gap by evaluating the interaction between linguistic processing and whole-body postural control during quiet standing. The results reveal a systematic influence of passive listening to action verbs, but not mental-state verbs, on measures of postural control, pointing to a clear and specific neural link between words conveying action concepts and whole-body motor functions.
École d'orthophonie et d'audiologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, Montreal, Canada; Centre for Research on Brain, Language and Music, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Electronic address: douglas.shiller@umontreal.ca.
Douglas M
DM
Shiller
Nicolas
N
Bourguignon
Victor
V
Frak
Tatjana
T
Nazir
Geneviève
G
Cadoret
Maxime
M
Robert
Martin
M
Lemay
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012660:Semantics; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D055815:Young Adult
Embodied cognition; Language processing; Lexical access; Postural control