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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

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Published on: September 3, 2021
Neural correlates of intentional communication
Matthijs L Noordzij1, Sarah E Newman-Norlund, Jan Peter de Ruiter
1Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen Nijmegen, Netherlands.
Communicators select actions based on predicting how others will interpret their intentions. This intention recognition is processed in the brain and influenced by message ambiguity, not physical effort.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Psychology
Background:
- Extensive knowledge exists on neurophysiological mechanisms of instrumental actions (altering the environment).
- Limited understanding surrounds the selection of communicative actions (modifying mental states).
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide empirical evidence for a predictive mechanism in action selection for communication.
- To investigate how communicators predict addressees' intention recognition.
Main Methods:
- Empirical investigation of action selection based on predicted intention recognition.
- Analysis of cerebral implementation and modulation factors.
Main Results:
- Communicators select actions based on predicted intention recognition by the addressee.
- This predictive mechanism is implemented within the communicator's intention recognition system.
- Modulation is influenced by communicative act ambiguity, not sensorimotor complexity.
Conclusions:
- Human communicative abilities are distinct from sensorimotor and linguistic processes.
- A predictive mechanism underlies the selection of communicative actions.
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