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Decomposing metaphor processing at the cognitive and neural level through functional magnetic resonance imaging
Valentina Bambini1, Claudio Gentili, Emiliano Ricciardi
1Laboratorio di Linguistica G. Nencioni, Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri, Pisa, Italy. v.bambini@sns.it
Brain Research Bulletin
|August 2, 2011
Summary
This study reveals metaphor comprehension involves a bilateral brain network, not just the right hemisphere. It breaks down this process into distinct functional sub-systems for conceptual, attentional, and social cognition aspects.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Linguistics
- Neuropragmatics
Background:
- Prior neuroimaging research on metaphor comprehension lacked consensus and a clear understanding of its functional architecture.
- Existing models often focused narrowly on the right hemisphere, neglecting a distributed, bilateral network perspective.
Purpose of the Study:
- To decompose metaphor comprehension into its constituent functional sub-systems.
- To investigate the neural underpinnings of metaphor processing using a large-scale network model.
- To reconcile neuroimaging findings with pragmatic and cognitive science theories of figurative language.
Main Methods:
- Participants implicitly processed metaphorical and non-metaphorical passages during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
- An explicit adjective matching task was used post-reading to ensure engagement with the passages.
- Analysis focused on identifying brain regions with differential activation between metaphorical and non-metaphorical stimuli.
Main Results:
- Metaphor comprehension engaged a bilateral network including the inferior frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, angular gyrus, and anterior cingulate.
- Distinct sub-systems were identified: conceptual/pragmatic (inferior frontal gyrus, angular gyrus), attentional (anterior cingulate, prefrontal areas), and Theory of Mind (superior temporal sulcus).
- Unfamiliar metaphors showed greater activation in the Theory of Mind system, linked to recognizing communicative intent.
Conclusions:
- Metaphor comprehension is supported by a distributed, bilateral neural network, challenging the right-hemisphere-centric view.
- The process can be functionally decomposed into interacting sub-systems for meaning integration, attention, and social cognition.
- Findings have significant implications for neuropragmatics, particularly regarding the neuropsychology of figurative language and the role of both hemispheres.
