| Popis: |
There is substantial evidence to support grounded theories of semantic representation, however the mechanisms of simulation in those theories are underspecified. In the present study, we tested whether motor imagery shares mechanisms with sensorimotor simulations engaged during semantic processing. We quantified individual differences in motor imagery ability using a series of implicit imagery tasks and explicit imagery questionnaires. We then tested the relationship between motor imagery ability and sensorimotor effects observed in four different syntactic classification tasks. In Experiment 1 (N = 185), we replicated an association between hand motor imagery and sensorimotor effects wherein individuals with higher scores on hand imagery ability measures had longer response times to words referring to objects difficult to interact with (low body-object interaction nouns) than to words referring to objects easy to interact with (high body-object interaction nouns). We also observed shorter response times and more accurate responses to foot/leg action verbs than non-foot/leg action verbs, but this sensorimotor effect in language processing did not significantly correlate with individual differences in motor imagery. In Experiment 2 (N = 195), we observed shorter response times and more accurate responses to hand/arm action verbs than non-hand/arm action verbs, as well as four associations between motor imagery and language processing of hand/arm action verbs. Further, we observed shorter response times and more accurate responses to embodied verbs than for non-embodied verbs, but this sensorimotor effect in language processing did not correlate with individual differences in motor imagery. The results suggest specific (and not general) associations, in that some, but not all forms of hand imagery and object-directed motor imagery are related to sensorimotor effects in language processing of hand/arm action verbs and nouns describing objects that are easy to interact with. As such, hand and object-directed motor imagery may share some mechanisms with sensorimotor simulation during semantic processing. |
