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Language, Perception and Action. How Words are Grounded in the Brain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2008

Marc Jeannerod
Marc Jeannerod*
Affiliation:
Institut des Sciences Cognitives, UMR 5230 CNRS/Université Claude Bernard, 67 Boulevard Pinel, 69675, Bron Cedex, France
*
E-mail: jeannerod@isc.cnrs.fr
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Abstract

Language processing is grounded in brain function. Words of different semantic categories are processed in different cortical areas. Several examples of this distributed processing are given: colour words are processed in visual areas, whereas action words are processed in motor areas. The processing of action words in described in more details. A pathological condition, Parkinson’s disease, is used as an illustration of a motor impairment that selectively affects the comprehension of action words. This comprehension impairment is attributed to a difficulty in accessing the procedural knowledge carried by this specific class of words.

Type
Focus: The Origin of Language
Information
European Review , Volume 16 , Issue 4 , October 2008 , pp. 389 - 398
Copyright
Copyright © Academia Europaea 2008

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