Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

Perspectives on Neuroscience
Published on: July 31, 2007
How neurons make meaning: brain mechanisms for embodied and abstract-symbolic semantics
1Brain Language Laboratory, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany. friedemann.pulvermuller@fu-berlin.de
Abstract:
How brain structures and neuronal circuits mechanistically underpin symbolic meaning has recently been elucidated by neuroimaging, neuropsychological, and neurocomputational research. Modality-specific 'embodied' mechanisms anchored in sensorimotor systems appear to be relevant, as are 'disembodied' mechanisms in multimodal areas. In this paper, four semantic mechanisms are proposed and spelt out at the level of neuronal circuits: referential semantics, which establishes links between symbols and the objects and actions they are used to speak about; combinatorial semantics, which enables the learning of symbolic meaning from context; emotional-affective semantics, which establishes links between signs and internal states of the body; and abstraction mechanisms for generalizing over a range of instances of semantic meaning. Referential, combinatorial, emotional-affective, and abstract semantics are complementary mechanisms, each necessary for processing meaning in mind and brain.
Related Concept Videos
Neurons as Communicators of the Brain
Cell Body
The cell body, also known...
Neuronal Communication
Storage
Encoding
Automatic processing involves the encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words, usually done without conscious...
Neuron Structure
Structure and Function of Neurons
The neuronal cell body—the soma— houses the nucleus and organelles vital to cellular...
Neuron Structure

