Is the Motor System Necessary for Processing Action and Abstract Emotion Words? Evidence from Focal Brain Lesions.

ABSTRACT: Neuroimaging and neuropsychological experiments suggest that modality-preferential cortices, including motor- and somatosensory areas, contribute to the semantic processing of action related concrete words. Still, a possible role of sensorimotor areas in processing abstract meaning remains under debate. Recent fMRI studies indicate an involvement of the left sensorimotor cortex in the processing of abstract-emotional words (e.g., "love") which resembles activation patterns seen for action words. But are the activated areas indeed necessary for processing action-related and abstract words? The current study now investigates word processing in two patients suffering from focal brain lesion in the left frontocentral motor system. A speeded Lexical Decision Task on meticulously matched word gr

SUBMITTER: Dreyer FR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4642355 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature