身体动作与语义加工:具身隐喻的视角

概念隐喻理论认为个体建立基于身体经验的具体概念和抽象概念之间的隐喻联结是人类特有的认知方式。不管是具体概念还是抽象概念,只要有具身隐喻联结的概念,其语义的理解便会受到具身启动效应的影响。大脑在加工动词或者含动词的句子时,不仅激活了语言中枢和运动皮层,且大脑随着个体是否执行与语义相应的动作、抽象概念的熟悉程度和其文本背景是否符合等因素而激活不同的神经回路。本文将对以上研究进行梳理与分析,旨在从具身隐喻的视角为身体动作影响语义加工的神经机制模型提供初步的思路。     

具身记忆及其内在机制

具身记忆研究主要探讨身体及其感觉运动过程在记忆中的作用。操纵或限制身体的物理状态、具身特征或可用性, 可以影响记忆的效率、效价和内容。其内在机制可以通过编码特异性原理、启动效应、隐喻表征理论和再激活假说进行解释, 但尚未形成统一的模型。基于现有研究与理论的共性, 提出具身记忆的感觉运动模拟模型, 强调重新激活在具身记忆中的作用, 以期在同一框架下说明身体作用于记忆的过程, 并进一步指出重新激活的条件。未来亟需在具身记忆的稳定性以及深层机制等方面进行多维度的基础和应用研究。     

语言理解中的动作知觉：基于具身认知的视角

具身认知理论是目前认知科学领域中最新的研究范式和取向, 它认为人的认知过程依赖于感知和动作系统, 强调身体在认知中发挥重要作用。具身语言理解则认为, 身体、动作和知觉系统在语言认知中也起着不可或缺的作用。文章在简要回顾具身语言理解的相关理论如索引假设、浸入式经历者框架、语言神经理论的基础上, 重点从语言理解的四个层面的实证研究, 即音位、单词、句子、语篇, 证实具身语言理解的观点。未来的研究应该着眼于用具身认知观点来解释更高级的抽象语言表征, 具身单词、句子、语篇的具体表征形式, 并利用具身语言认知的观点进行认知的本土化研究。     

认知判断中手部动作模拟的fMRI研究

该研究采用功能磁共振成像技术,考察不同条件下进行工具认知判断时手部姿势对认知判断的影响及动作模拟的神经机制。实验发现：手部姿势存在显著的主效应,冲突手部姿势条件下反应时最慢,且冲突手部姿势条件下与不冲突手部姿势条件下、自然状态条件下反应时存在显著差异,自然状态条件与不冲突手部姿势条件下反应时不存在显著差异。另外,f MRI成像结果发现,额中回、额下回、顶下小叶以及辅助运动区在自然状态下有显著激活,表明个体在进行认知判断过程中有动作模拟过程;海马结构、扣带回及楔前叶等与记忆有关的脑区有显著激活,表明身体经验在认知过程的作用。总的研究表明,不同的手部姿势状态对认知判断有不同影响,冲突手部姿势会对动作模拟产生干扰作用,手部动作模拟的神经机制主要涉及镜像神经元区,且在认知判断时存在具身效应。     

通过身体动作理解人与环境:具身的社会认知

近年来,身体与环境的互动、个体认知过程中的情境因素已逐渐成为具身认知领域的研究热点。众多的具身认知研究开始探究何种情境才能有效地启动具身效应。个体的身体感知或者身体动作的变化会对其知觉、情绪等高级心理过程产生无意识的具身效应,认知神经机制的研究显示大脑的运动皮层在这一系列的高级心理过程中发挥了极为重要的作用。本文主要对具身社会认知神经机制的研究进行梳理与分析,旨在从认知神经机制的层面剖析身体动作如何影响个体对人与环境的理解和互动,以及从方法论的角度上思考目前具身认知神经机制的研究现状。     

具身模拟在汉语肢体动作动词理解中的作用

通过3个实验, 考察具身模拟在汉语肢体动作动词理解中的作用。实验1考察在整字启动下具身模拟对运动通道中箭头方向判断的影响, 发现理解肢体动作动词在运动通道中存在着动作-汉字相容效应, 汉字的具身方向与箭头方向一致促进被试对箭头方向的判断。实验2考察在整字启动下具身经验对视觉通道中字母位置判断的影响, 发现理解肢体动作动词在视觉通道中存在着动作-汉字相容效应, 汉字的具身方位与字母方位一致促进对字母方位的识别。实验3采用义符启动范式考察义符与整字的具身模拟, 发现理解汉语肢体动作动词不仅在整字层次上存在着具身模拟, 在部件层次上也存在着具身模拟。义符在汉字加工中期被激活了, 并且持续到加工晚期。整个研究表明, 汉语肢体动作动词理解是一个跨通道的具身模拟过程, 具身模拟在汉语肢体动作动词的理解中起着非常重要的作用。     

具身认知观对语言理解的新诠释——心理模拟:语言理解的一种手段

具身认知观(Embodied Cognition)试图对心-身-世界之间的交互方式给予系统的理论说明,主张:"认知是一种高度具身的、情景化的活动"(Micheal L.Anderson,2004);认知是从身体与环境的相互作用中产生的,依赖于某种类型的经验。从具身认知观来看,心理模拟是语言理解的一种手段,通过再入情景(re-situating)来实现。本文根据上述逻辑考察了词、句、语篇不同信息加工层面的实验研究进展,证实了人们在语言加工过程中感知、肌肉运动以及其他的经验印痕被激活,支持了语言理解是运动感觉以及其他相关经验的心理模拟过程。这种语言理解的心理模拟需要人们再入情景,与已有的听读说写的语言经验发生共鸣,从而为语言理解提供了新的诠释,丰富和发展了认知语言学的理论与实践。     

道德具身认知的理论研究*

具身认知作为一种新兴思潮,强调身体经验及身体与环境的相互作用对于个体抽象概念及认知的作用。从具身认知的角度出发,考察身体和道德认知加工的关系已成为现今道德心理学和神经科学的研究热点。本文结合以往道德具身认知研究,介绍了概念隐喻理论、知觉符号理论、模拟感觉运动隐喻理论和进化理论四种道德具身认知理论,讨论并分析了现有理论研究中存在的矛盾与问题。未来的研究可在多文化背景下进行,并依靠认知神经科学技术对道德的具身认知机制进行更深入的探究。     

空间语言标记影响亲属关系的容器隐喻

通过3个实验,考察空间语言标记——"内/外"对汉语亲属词语义加工中亲属关系性质容器隐喻的影响。实验1同时呈现词和圆圈,发现语言标记影响亲属词语义加工中的亲属关系性质容器隐喻,有"外"标记的血亲词出现在圈外比出现在圈内反应更快,有"内"标记的姻亲词出现在圈内比出现在圈外错误率更低。实验2先呈现亲属词再呈现圆圈,发现语言标记影响亲属关系性质向容器概念的激活,有"外"标记的血亲词和有"内"标记的姻亲词在字母呈现在容器内外时的反应时差异与无"外"标记的血亲词和无"内"标记的姻亲词相反。实验3先呈现圆圈再呈现亲属词,发现有语言标记的亲属词在空间位置与语言标记一致时反应时更短、错误率更高,说明"内–外"意象图式对亲属词判断的影响主要源于语言标记。整个研究表明,与亲属关系性质容器隐喻不一致的空间语言标记干扰汉语亲属词的语义加工,空间语言标记的作用比亲属关系性质容器隐喻更强。在汉语亲属词的语义加工中存在着序列分解的加工方式,被试先加工首字,再加工整词。汉语亲属词的语义加工中包含着语义加工与具身经验激活的相互作用。     

镜像神经元:认知具身性的神经生物学证据

传统认知心理学认为认知类似于计算机对抽象符号的加工和运算,这种观点支持了身心二元论。但是近年来兴起的具身认知运动却否定了这一观点的合理性。具身认知认为认知是身体与世界互动的结果,是身体的感觉-运动系统作用于世界而塑造出来的。认知是具身的,离不开身体的构造和感觉运动系统的作用。镜像神经元的发现支持了认知的具身特征,为认知的具身性提供了神经生物学的证据。     

Distinct and common cortical activations for multimodal semantic categories

If semantic representations are based on particular types of perceptual features, then category knowledge that arises from multimodal sensory experiences should rely on distinct and common sensory brain regions depending on the features involved. Using a similarity-based generation-andcomparison task, we found that semantic categories activated cortical areas associated with taste and smell, biological motion, and visual processing. Fruit names specifically activated medial orbitofrontal regions associated with taste and smell. Labels for body parts and clothing activated lateral temporal occipitoparietal areas associated with perceiving the human body. More generally, visually biased categories activated ventral temporal regions typically ascribed to visual object recognition, whereas functional categories activated lateral frontotemporal areas previously associated with the representation of usage properties. These results indicate that semantic categories that are distinguished by particular perceptual properties rely on distinct cortical regions, whereas semantic categories that rely on similar types of features depend on common brain areas.     

Gesture in the developing brain

Speakers convey meaning not only through words, but also through gestures. Although children are exposed to co-speech gestures from birth, we do not know how the developing brain comes to connect meaning conveyed in gesture with speech. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to address this question and scanned 8- to 11-year-old children and adults listening to stories accompanied by hand movements, either meaningful co-speech gestures or meaningless self-adaptors. When listening to stories accompanied by both types of hand movement, both children and adults recruited inferior frontal, inferior parietal, and posterior temporal brain regions known to be involved in processing language not accompanied by hand movements. There were, however, age-related differences in activity in posterior superior temporal sulcus (STSp), inferior frontal gyrus, pars triangularis (IFGTr), and posterior middle temporal gyrus (MTGp) regions previously implicated in processing gesture. Both children and adults showed sensitivity to the meaning of hand movements in IFGTr and MTGp, but in different ways. Finally, we found that hand movement meaning modulates interactions between STSp and other posterior temporal and inferior parietal regions for adults, but not for children. These results shed light on the developing neural substrate for understanding meaning contributed by co-speech gesture.     

启动任务中语言经验对藏-汉双语者主导语的影响

采用语义启动任务及藏语与汉语语义相关词和无关词对,探究语言经验能否改变熟练藏-汉双语者的母语主导优势和双语语义表征方式。结果表明,1)无论启动词为藏语还是汉语,藏-汉双语者对汉语L2目标词的加工速度和正确率均显著好于藏语L1,存在语义启动效应; 而在藏语目标词条件下则未发现显著的语义启动效应; 2)藏语到汉语的语义启动效应大于汉语到藏语的启动效应。结果表明,藏-汉双语者的汉语经验对藏语词的表征有影响,但汉语还不能完全替代母语藏语为主导语,结果在一定程度上支持Kroll的RHM模型和Green的ICM模型。     

Evidence for the activation of sensorimotor information during visual word recognition: the body-object interaction effect

We examined the effects of sensorimotor experience in two visual word recognition tasks. Body-object interaction (BOI) ratings were collected for a large set of words. These ratings assess perceptions of the ease with which a human body can physically interact with a word's referent. A set of high BOI words (e.g., mask) and a set of low BOI words (e.g., ship) were created, matched on imageability and concreteness. Facilitatory BOI effects were observed in lexical decision and phonological lexical decision tasks: responses were faster for high BOI words than for low BOI words. We discuss how our findings may be accounted for by (a) semantic feedback within the visual word recognition system, and (b) an embodied view of cognition (e.g., Barsalou's perceptual symbol systems theory), which proposes that semantic knowledge is grounded in sensorimotor interactions with the environment.     

The benefits of sensorimotor knowledge: body-object interaction facilitates semantic processing

This article examined the effects of body–object interaction (BOI) on semantic processing. BOI measures perceptions of the ease with which a human body can physically interact with a word's referent. In Experiment 1, BOI effects were examined in 2 semantic categorization tasks (SCT) in which participants decided if words are easily imageable. Responses were faster and more accurate for high BOI words (e.g., mask ) than for low BOI words (e.g., ship ). In Experiment 2, BOI effects were examined in a semantic lexical decision task (SLDT), which taps both semantic feedback and semantic processing. The BOI effect was larger in the SLDT than in the SCT, suggesting that BOI facilitates both semantic feedback and semantic processing. The findings are consistent with the embodied cognition perspective (e.g., Barsalou's, 1999 , Perceptual Symbols Theory), which proposes that sensorimotor interactions with the environment are incorporated in semantic knowledge.     

Testing the theory of embodied cognition with subliminal words

In the current study, we tested the embodied cognition theory (ECT). The ECT postulates mandatory sensorimotor processing of words when accessing their meaning. We test that prediction by investigating whether invisible (i.e., subliminal) spatial words activate responses based on their long-term and short-term meaning. Masking of the words is used to prevent word visibility and intentional elaboration of the words’ semantic content. In this way, masking specifically isolates mandatory sensorimotor processing of words as predicted by the ECT. Do spatial subliminal words activate responses nonetheless? In Experiment 1, we demonstrate a spatial congruence effect of the invisible words if they precede visible target words. In Experiment 2, we show that masked words activate responses based on their long-term meaning. In Experiment 3, we demonstrate that masked words are also processed according to their short-term response meaning. We conclude that the ECT is supported by our findings and discuss implications of our results for embodied theories of semantic word processing and masked priming experiments.     

概化理论预算限制下最佳样本量估计

概化理论广泛应用于各种心理测评实践中。当有预算限制时,概化理论需要考虑如何设计一个测量可靠性相对较高且可行性也相对较强的测量程序,这就要求通过某些途径估计最佳样本量。拉格朗日乘法是概化理论预算限制下最佳样本量估计较为成熟的方法。探讨了概化理论预算限制下最佳样本量估计的一些影响因素,如受总预算舍入的影响等,也提出了一些后续改善的建议,如推导出拉格朗日乘法的统一公式等     

Linking somatic and symbolic representation in semantic memory: the dynamic multilevel reactivation framework

Biological plausibility is an essential constraint for any viable model of semantic memory. Yet, we have only the most rudimentary understanding of how the human brain conducts abstract symbolic transformations that underlie word and object meaning. Neuroscience has evolved a sophisticated arsenal of techniques for elucidating the architecture of conceptual representation. Nevertheless, theoretical convergence remains elusive. Here we describe several contrastive approaches to the organization of semantic knowledge, and in turn we offer our own perspective on two recurring questions in semantic memory research: (1) to what extent are conceptual representations mediated by sensorimotor knowledge (i.e., to what degree is semantic memory embodied)? (2) How might an embodied semantic system represent abstract concepts such as modularity, symbol, or proposition? To address these questions, we review the merits of sensorimotor (i.e., embodied) and amodal (i.e., disembodied) semantic theories and address the neurobiological constraints underlying each. We conclude that the shortcomings of both perspectives in their extreme forms necessitate a hybrid middle ground. We accordingly propose the Dynamic Multilevel Reactivation Framework—an integrative model predicated upon flexible interplay between sensorimotor and amodal symbolic representations mediated by multiple cortical hubs. We discuss applications of the dynamic multilevel reactivation framework to abstract and concrete concept representation and describe how a multidimensional conceptual topography based on emotion, sensation, and magnitude can successfully frame a semantic space containing meanings for both abstract and concrete words. The consideration of ‘abstract conceptual features’ does not diminish the role of logical and/or executive processing in activating, manipulating and using information stored in conceptual representations. Rather, it proposes that the materials upon which these processes operate necessarily combine pure sensorimotor information and higher-order cognitive dimensions involved in symbolic representation.     

词汇共现频率视角下语义联想效应及其神经机制

词汇识别与记忆受到词汇之间语义联想关系的影响。鉴于自由联想方法建立词汇语义联想关系的局限性, 研究者们提出用共现联想法建立词汇之间的语义联想关系。本文对词汇共现频率视角下的语义联想效应及其神经机制的研究进行分析发现, 语义联想的丰富程度和关联程度影响词汇的加工; 与少语义联想词相比, 多语义联想词导致P200波幅增大和N400波幅减小; 语义联想加工涉及的脑区主要是额上回和左内侧颞叶区域。未来研究需要探讨自由联想法和共现联想法建立语义联想关系的差异, 基于共现联想法进一步地探究语义联想的行为规律和神经机制, 并从共现联想的角度开展汉语语义联想效应及神经机制的研究。     

Functional lateralization of the human premotor cortex during sequential movements

A neurological truism is that each side of the brain controls movements on the opposite side of the body. Yet some left hemisphere brain lesions cause bilateral impairment of complex motor function and/or ideomotor apraxia. We report that the left dorsal premotor cortex of normal right-handed people plays a fundamental role in sequential movement of both right and left hands. Subjects performed sequential finger movements during functional magnetic resonance imaging of the motor cortices. In right-handed subjects, the volume of activated dorsal premotor cortex showed a left hemispheric predominance during hand movements. We suggest that the observed left premotor dominance contributes to the lateralization found in lesion studies.