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Related Concept Videos

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges
07:18

Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges

Published on: January 26, 2024

Gestures orchestrate brain networks for language understanding.

Jeremy I Skipper1, Susan Goldin-Meadow, Howard C Nusbaum

  • 1Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. jis2013@med.cornell.edu

Current Biology : CB
|March 31, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The brain dynamically integrates nonverbal cues like facial movements and gestures into language comprehension. Motor and language areas work together, adapting cortical networks based on whether speech is paired with facial movements or meaningful gestures.

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Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping
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Published on: August 12, 2019

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Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges
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Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping
13:12

Translational Brain Mapping at the University of Rochester Medical Center: Preserving the Mind Through Personalized Brain Mapping

Published on: August 12, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psycholinguistics

Background:

  • Nonverbal behaviors, including facial movements and gestures, provide crucial communicative information that aids language comprehension.
  • The brain's mechanisms for integrating these multimodal cues with spoken language are not fully understood.
  • Mouth movements relate to phonology, while cospeech gestures convey semantic content.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how the brain processes and integrates facial movements and cospeech gestures during language comprehension.
  • To explore the functional connectivity between motor and language processing areas based on different nonverbal cues.
  • To determine if the motor system plays a role in interpreting the meaning of gestures.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
  • Participants listened to speech accompanied by either facial movements or meaningful gestures.
  • Functional connectivity analyses examined the interplay between motor planning/production areas and language perception areas.

Main Results:

  • Facial movements during speech comprehension showed strong functional connectivity between motor planning areas and posterior phonological speech perception areas.
  • Cospeech gestures during comprehension revealed strong functional connectivity between motor planning areas and anterior semantic language comprehension areas.
  • Motor areas were not activated by meaningless hand movements, suggesting a role in interpreting meaningful gestures.

Conclusions:

  • The brain dynamically organizes cortical networks for language comprehension based on available contextual information, such as facial movements or meaningful gestures.
  • The motor system actively participates with language comprehension areas to derive semantic meaning from accompanying gestures.
  • Cortical networks for language comprehension are flexible and adapt to the type of nonverbal cues presented during communication.