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Action and language grounding in the sensorimotor cortex

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2014

Mariella Pazzaglia
Mariella Pazzaglia*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Rome, “La Sapienza”, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy. E-mail: mariella.pazzaglia@uniroma1.it
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Abstract

In this article, I will comment on recent advances in the research on the intersection between language and action. On the basis of the argument proposed by Arbib, I will consider an evolutionary scenario according to which language emerged from a basic imitation mechanism devoted to action representation. I will review more appropriate data in patients who present with gesture and language disorders and add it to behavioral, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging evidence that suggests that specialized sensorimotor circuits underlie action processing and may ultimately even ground complex aspects of language. Finally, in the last part of the article, I will discuss some of the future research on the interwoven processes of production and comprehension that are involved in the predictive mechanisms of action and language.

Keywords

apraxiaactiongesture recognitionlanguageprediction
Type
The perspective from apraxia
Information
Language and Cognition , Volume 5 , Issue 2-3: Special Issue , September 2013 , pp. 211 - 223
Copyright
Copyright © UK Cognitive Linguistics Association 2013

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