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Cited by 2,726Embodied and Extended CognitionCategorization, perception, and languageNeurobiology of Language and Bilingualism

The Brain's concepts: the role of the Sensory-motor system in conceptual knowledge

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Gallese †, Vittorio, Lakoff, George·2005·Cognitive Neuropsychology
DOI 10.1080/02643290442000310
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Abstract

Concepts are the elementary units of reason and linguistic meaning. They are conventional and relatively stable. As such, they must somehow be the result of neural activity in the brain. The questions are: Where? and How? A common philosophical position is that all concepts-even concepts about action and perception-are symbolic and abstract, and therefore must be implemented outside the brain's sensory-motor system. We will argue against this position using (1) neuroscientific evidence; (2) results from neural computation; and (3) results about the nature of concepts from cognitive linguistics. We will propose that the sensory-motor system has the right kind of structure to characterise both sensory-motor and more abstract concepts. Central to this picture are the neural theory of language and the theory of cogs, according to which, brain structures in the sensory-motor regions are exploited to characterise the so-called "abstract" concepts that constitute the meanings of grammatical constructions and general inference patterns.

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  • Sensory processing provides a contextual framework where an individual can organize incoming salient information from the external world to shape a cohesive depiction of his/her inner world, which then guides behavioral responses to meet situational demands.

    “Sensory processing provides a contextual framework where an individual can organize incoming salient information from the external world to shape a cohesive depiction of his/her inner world, which then guides behavioral responses to meet situational demands (Downar et al., 2002; Gallese and Lakoff, 2005; Talsma et al., 2010; Chand and Dhamala, 2016).”

    From How Processing of Sensory Information From the Internal and External Worlds Shape the Perception and Engagement With the World in the Aftermath of Trauma: Implications for PTSD (2021) · cites this paper as Gallese and Lakoff, 2005

    In “Multimodal Functional Clusters and Embodied Simulation” (page not specified), the paper says sensory information is integrated with motor control and helps construct representations of actions, objects, and locations. It does not describe sensory processing as forming a cohesive depiction of an individual’s inner world or guiding responses to situational demands. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The impact of VR for language recovery is in line with embodied theory, which considers language as represented in a multimodal dimension in which word semantics are also made of sensorimotor properties.

    “The impact of VR for language recovery is in line with recent proposals from the embodied theory which considers language as represented in a multimodal dimension in which word semantics are also made of sensorimotor properties [62–68].”

    From Conversational Therapy through Semi-Immersive Virtual Reality Environments for Language Recovery and Psychological Well-Being in Post Stroke Aphasia (2020) · cites this paper as [64]

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Cited by

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Authors
Gallese †, V., & Lakoff, G.
Affiliations
  • Università di Parma
  • University of California System (US)
ORCID
Lakoff, George
Venue
Cognitive Neuropsychology
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2005-05-01
Volume
22
Issue
3-4
Pages
455-479
ISSN
  • 0264-3294 (ISSN-L)
  • 1464-0627
DOI
10.1080/02643290442000310
OpenAlex
W2157853130
Cited by
2,726
References
10
Citations by year
2026: 144 · 2025: 122 · 2024: 146 · 2023: 129 · 2022: 189 · 2021: 131 · 2020: 123 · 2019: 205 · 2018: 134 · 2017: 147 · 2016: 118 · 2015: 134 · 2014: 148 · 2013: 143 · 2012: 134
FWCI
34.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
doi.org/10.1080/policies-text-data-mining (tdm)
Locations
  • Cognitive Neuropsychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Categorization, perception, and language
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
Keywords
concepts, sensorimotor system, abstract concepts, symbolic representation, neural computation, cognitive linguistics, conceptual knowledge, grammatical constructions, inference patterns, concept of action

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