Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

6.0K
Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
6.0K
Somatosensation01:33

Somatosensation

36.9K
The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
36.9K
Lateralization01:28

Lateralization

1.3K
Brain lateralization refers to the division of mental processes and functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, a phenomenon that optimizes neural efficiency and underpins complex abilities in humans. This specialization allows each hemisphere to perform tasks where it has a comparative advantage, facilitating more refined cognitive capabilities across different domains.
1.3K
Cerebral Hemispheres01:05

Cerebral Hemispheres

3.8K
The human brain, a complex organ, is functionally divided into two cerebral hemispheres—left and right. These hemispheres are interconnected by a structure of paramount importance, the corpus callosum. This substantial bundle of neural fibers is not just a bridge between the hemispheres but a crucial element for the brain's comprehensive functioning. It enables efficient communication between the two hemispheres, allowing each side of the brain to control and receive sensory and motor...
3.8K
The Representativeness Heuristic02:13

The Representativeness Heuristic

15.4K
The representative heuristic describes a biased way of thinking, in which you unintentionally stereotype someone or something. For example, you may assume that your professors spend their free time reading books and engaging in intellectual conversation, because the idea of them spending their time playing volleyball or visiting an amusement park does not fit in with your stereotypes of professors.
15.4K
Muscles of the Forearm that Move the Hand and Fingers01:16

Muscles of the Forearm that Move the Hand and Fingers

3.4K
The muscles of the forearm that move the wrist, hand, and digits are numerous and diverse. They can be classified into two groups based on their location and function — the anterior and posterior compartment muscles.
Anterior Compartment
The anterior compartment muscles originate from the humerus. They primarily function as flexors and are also known as flexor muscles. They typically insert on the carpals, metacarpals, and phalanges. The superficial layer includes the flexor carpi...
3.4K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Mapping the task-general and task-specific neural correlates of speech production: Meta-analysis and fMRI direct comparisons of category fluency and picture naming.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2025
Same author

The left posterior angular gyrus is engaged by autobiographical recall not object-semantics, or event-semantics: Evidence from contrastive propositional speech production.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2025
Same author

A network-level test of the role of the co-activated default mode network in episodic recall and social cognition.

Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior·2023
Same author

A middle ground where executive control meets semantics: the neural substrates of semantic control are topographically sandwiched between the multiple-demand and default-mode systems.

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)·2022
Same author

Dual-axes of functional organisation across lateral parietal cortex: the angular gyrus forms part of a multi-modal buffering system.

Brain structure & function·2022
Same author

Animacy interactions with individual variability in sentence production and comprehension reveal similar lexically driven competitive processes.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2022
Same journal

The causal efficacy of consciousness: a neuroscientific analysis and explanation.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Temporal-oscillatory entrainment: a multi-timescale framework for rhythmic coordination from neural to social frequencies.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Role of AQP4 in ameliorating heat stress-induced cellular injury in a cell line model through active heat acclimation.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Correction: Cognitive state monitoring for neuroadaptive information visualization.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
Same journal

The synthetic self-hypothesis: dopaminergic redirection through self-face recognition in stuttering therapy.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
Same journal

A randomised, placebo-controlled, triple-blind clinical trial to investigate the efficacy of <i>Ginkgo biloba</i> extract EGb 761<sup>®</sup> in cognitive impairment associated with post COVID-19 syndrome-the EGb COCOS protocol.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
07:36

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

16.6K

Hand specific representations in language comprehension.

Claire Moody-Triantis1, Gina F Humphreys2, Silvia P Gennari1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of York York, UK.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|June 12, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Language comprehension recruits hand-specific motor plans, not full action re-enactments. Shared representations between language and action are stronger for the dominant hand, reflecting motor experience.

Keywords:
action executionaction representationslanguage comprehensionleft handmirror neuronspremotor cortexright hand

More Related Videos

Block Building Task Identifies Distinct Groups of Left/Right-hand Choice Patterns After Unilateral Peripheral Nerve Injury
07:06

Block Building Task Identifies Distinct Groups of Left/Right-hand Choice Patterns After Unilateral Peripheral Nerve Injury

Published on: March 21, 2025

1.2K
Author Spotlight: Deciphering the Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Gesture in Communication
07:18

Author Spotlight: Deciphering the Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Gesture in Communication

Published on: January 26, 2024

1.4K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects
07:36

Eye Tracking During Visually Situated Language Comprehension: Flexibility and Limitations in Uncovering Visual Context Effects

Published on: November 30, 2018

16.6K
Block Building Task Identifies Distinct Groups of Left/Right-hand Choice Patterns After Unilateral Peripheral Nerve Injury
07:06

Block Building Task Identifies Distinct Groups of Left/Right-hand Choice Patterns After Unilateral Peripheral Nerve Injury

Published on: March 21, 2025

1.2K
Author Spotlight: Deciphering the Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Gesture in Communication
07:18

Author Spotlight: Deciphering the Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Gesture in Communication

Published on: January 26, 2024

1.4K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Motor Control

Background:

  • Embodied cognition theories propose language comprehension involves sensory-motor re-enactments.
  • The specificity of these re-enactments and the action-language link are debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Investigate hand-specific information recruitment in language comprehension and action execution.
  • Clarify the relationship between language processing and motor representations.

Main Methods:

  • fMRI study comparing action execution and sentence comprehension tasks.
  • Participants performed left/right hand actions and read sentences describing these actions.
  • Tasks were designed for maximal similarity to compare neural activity.

Main Results:

  • Language comprehension showed overlap with action planning regions (pre-motor, parietal), not primary motor/somatosensory cortex.
  • A dominant hand effect was observed: both hands' actions and sentences elicited stronger activity for the dominant hand.
  • Left pre-central gyrus (dorsal and ventral) was recruited by both tasks, suggesting shared schematic representations.

Conclusions:

  • Language comprehension elicits hand-specific motor representations similar to action plans, not complete re-enactments.
  • Language and action share schematic, hand-specific representations influenced by dominant hand motor experience.