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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Stimulating the Lip Motor Cortex with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Stimulating the Lip Motor Cortex with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Published on: June 14, 2014

Modulation of the motor system during visual and auditory language processing.

Ludovica Labruna¹, Miguel Fernández-del-Olmo, Ayelet Landau

¹Health Science Department, University of Molise, Molise, Italy. lulabrun@gmail.com

Experimental Brain Research

|May 4, 2011

Summary

Action word processing engages the motor system, but this effect depends on the sensory input. Reading action words enhanced motor cortex activity, while listening to them did not.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Motor Control
Psycholinguistics

Background:

Embodied cognition theory suggests motor system activation during action word processing.
Previous transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies on linguistic modulation of the motor cortex yielded inconsistent findings regarding corticospinal excitability changes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the modality-specific effects of action word processing on motor system engagement.
To clarify inconsistent findings in previous TMS research by comparing visual and auditory word presentation.

Main Methods:

Participants processed action words and control words presented visually and auditorily.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to measure motor evoked potentials (MEPs) over the left motor cortex at 150 ms and 300 ms post-word onset.

Main Results:

Action words, compared to control words, significantly increased MEPs when presented visually.
No significant changes in MEPs were observed when action words were presented auditorily.
A literature review confirmed similar modality effects in prior TMS studies.

Conclusions:

Visual processing of action words modulates corticospinal excitability, supporting embodied cognition.
Auditory processing of action words does not appear to engage the motor system in the same way.
The modality of sensory input plays a crucial role in the motor system's response to action semantics.