Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Concrete spatial language: see what I mean?

Mikkel Wallentin1, Svend Ostergaard, Torben Ellegaard Lund

  • 1Centre for Semiotics, University of Aarhus, Niels Juels Gade 84, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark. mikkel@pet.auh.dk

Brain and Language
|February 22, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Understanding spatial language activates brain regions for navigation and memory. Abstract language engages areas for complex semantics, supporting a link between language and non-linguistic spatial processing.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Seven core qualities of good vs. bad play? A principal component analysis of 504 children's play memories and development of a Play Qualities Inventory.

Frontiers in psychology·2026
Same author

Microglial activation is raised in preclinical Alzheimer's disease and associated with covert memory impairment.

Frontiers in dementia·2026
Same author

This and that in depression: Cross-linguistic semantic effects.

PLOS mental health·2026
Same author

Diffusion kurtosis imaging detects cortical microstructural alterations in amyloid-positive MCI patients.

Frontiers in dementia·2026
Same author

Neurodegeneration and energy depletion in MS: Links between tissue integrity loss and microvascular changes in white matter disease.

Neuroimage. Reports·2026
Same author

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association·2025

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Linguistics
  • Neuroimaging

Background:

  • Human language excels at conveying complex mental scenarios.
  • Cognitive linguistics posits this relies on activating non-linguistic spatial processing systems.
  • Brain imaging studies are crucial for understanding the neural basis of language comprehension.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural correlates of concrete spatial versus abstract language.
  • To compare brain activation patterns for sentences with spatial meaning versus abstract meaning.
  • To determine if language comprehension recruits non-linguistic spatial processing networks.

Main Methods:

  • Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) study.
  • Comparison of brain activity between concrete spatial sentences and abstract sentences.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of activation in specific brain regions, including posterior and prefrontal networks.

    • Main Results:

    • Concrete spatial sentences (with motion and topographical context) activated bilateral posterior networks (e.g., fusiform/parahippocampal, retrosplenial cortex, temporal-occipital-parietal junction).
    • These activated regions are known for spatial navigation and memory.
    • Abstract sentences activated a largely left-lateralized network in anterior temporal and prefrontal cortices, associated with complex semantics.

    Conclusions:

    • Sentence meaning involving concrete spatial content recruits brain regions involved in non-linguistic spatial processing.
    • Abstract language comprehension engages networks typically associated with complex semantic processing.
    • Findings support a model where spatial semantics in language emerge from non-linguistic spatial brain systems.