The past decade or so has seen a growing realization that our cognitive processes are shaped by the physical reality of the human body and its situatedness in a physical environment. Pushing this paradigmatic re-consideration of cognition ever further, this edited volume provides an up-to-date overview of current research in the domain of "embodied cognition".
A panel of international experts report how they study the multi-faceted interfaces between action and language, between perception and action, and between imagery and action. The contributions to this volume offer a comprehensive overview of the wide range of behavioural and neuroscientific methods available to advance our understanding of embodied cognition.
Some of the main findings point to the role of the motor system in language comprehension, confirming therefore that higher cognition may at least in part be grounded in the brains motor system. Other findings suggest likewise that the brains systems appear to affect each others performance at far earlier levels than was presumed by previous models of cognition. A critical review by the guest editors integrates these findings and also discusses the limitations of motor involvement in language processing.
Overall, this collection of papers is a timely and exciting document that highlights the benefits and advantages of a multi-disciplinary investigation of human cognition.
M.H. Fischer, R.A. Zwaan, Embodied Language: A Review of the Role of the
Motor System in Language Comprehension. B. Bridgeman, M. Hoover, Processing
Spatial Layout by Perception and Sensorimotor Interaction. M.H. Fischer, J.
Prinz, K. Lotz, Grasp Cueing Shows Obligatory Attention to Action Goals.
M.E.J. Masson, D.N. Bub, M. Newton-Taylor, Language-based Access to Gestural
Components of Conceptual Knowledge. M.P. Kaschak, K.L. Borreggine, Temporal
Dynamics of the Action-sentence Compatability Effect. L.J. Taylor, R.A.
Zwaan, Motor Resonance and Linguistic Focus. A.M. Glenburg, M. Sato, L.
Cattaneo, L. Riggio, D. Palumbo, G. Buccino, Processing Abstract Language
Modulates Motor System Activity. S.L. Beilock, S. Gonso, Putting in the Mind
vs. Putting on the Green: Expertise, Performance Time, and the Linking of
Imagery and Action. T.A. Nazir, V. Boulenger, A. Roy, B. Silber, M.
Jeannerod, Y. Paulignan, Language-induced Motor Perturbations During the
Execution of a Reaching Movement. M. Gentilucci, Spoken Language and Arm
Gestures are Controlled by the Same Motor Control System.
