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

Convergent Evolution01:54

Convergent Evolution

27.9K
Evolution shapes the features of organisms over time, ensuring that they are suited for the environments in which they live. Sometimes, selection pressure leads to the rise of similar but unrelated adaptations in organisms with no recent common ancestors, a process known as convergent evolution.
27.9K
Concepts and Prototypes01:24

Concepts and Prototypes

178
The human nervous system handles vast amounts of information by translating sensory stimuli into neural impulses, which the brain processes, creating thoughts expressed through language or stored as memories. The brain also synthesizes information from emotions and memories, which significantly influence thoughts and behaviors. This intricate process creates a comprehensive mental picture.
The brain organizes this information using concepts, which are mental categories grouping linguistic data,...
178
Evolutionary Psychology01:20

Evolutionary Psychology

305
Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the...
305
Neuroplasticity01:01

Neuroplasticity

567
Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.
567
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

914
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...
914
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

374
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
374

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Auditory Processing of Intonational Rises and Falls in German: Rises Are Special in Attention Orienting.

Journal of cognitive neuroscience·2024
Same author

What naturalistic stimuli tell us about pronoun resolution in real-time processing.

Frontiers in artificial intelligence·2023
Same author

Anaphoric Pronouns and the Computation of Prominence Profiles.

Journal of psycholinguistic research·2022
Same author

A Bayesian Approach to German Personal and Demonstrative Pronouns.

Frontiers in psychology·2022
Same author

Referential Chains Reveal Predictive Processes and Form-to-Function Mapping: An Electroencephalographic Study Using Naturalistic Story Stimuli.

Frontiers in psychology·2021
Same author

The Cost of the Epistemic Step: Investigating Scalar Implicatures in Full and Partial Information Contexts.

Frontiers in psychology·2021

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 18, 2025

Perspectives on Neuroscience
00:26

Perspectives on Neuroscience

Published on: July 31, 2007

5.0K

Tracking meaning evolution in the brain: Processing consequences of conventionalization.

Petra B Schumacher1, Hanna Weiland-Breckle2, Guendalina Reul1

  • 1Department of German Language and Literature I, Linguistics, University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923 Cologne, Germany.

Cognition
|August 21, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study shows how language evolves, using place-for-event metonymy to track meaning changes. Event readings with low conventionalization and place readings with high conventionalization reveal distinct processing demands.

Keywords:
ConventionalizationERPExperimental pragmaticsLanguage comprehensionLate PositivityMetonymy

More Related Videos

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition
12:49

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Published on: July 13, 2019

17.0K
Comprehensive Analysis of Transcription Dynamics from Brain Samples Following Behavioral Experience
08:14

Comprehensive Analysis of Transcription Dynamics from Brain Samples Following Behavioral Experience

Published on: August 26, 2014

11.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 18, 2025

Perspectives on Neuroscience
00:26

Perspectives on Neuroscience

Published on: July 31, 2007

5.0K
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition
12:49

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Published on: July 13, 2019

17.0K
Comprehensive Analysis of Transcription Dynamics from Brain Samples Following Behavioral Experience
08:14

Comprehensive Analysis of Transcription Dynamics from Brain Samples Following Behavioral Experience

Published on: August 26, 2014

11.7K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Linguistics
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Language users creatively refer to new concepts using innovative expressions.
  • Place-for-event metonymy, where a location names an event (e.g., Woodstock), illustrates this phenomenon.
  • The conventionalization of such metonymy varies based on the event's socio-cultural impact.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neurophysiological processes underlying different stages of conventionalization in place-for-event metonymy.
  • To compare the processing of place and event readings of metonymic expressions.
  • To use event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine how meaning evolution is reflected in the brain.

Main Methods:

  • An event-related potential (ERP) reading study was conducted.
  • Participants processed expressions involving place-for-event metonymy.
  • Ratings of the degree of conventionalization were used as predictors in the analysis.

Main Results:

  • A modulation of the Late Positivity (500-750 ms post-onset) was observed, influenced by condition (event vs. place reading) and conventionalization.
  • Event readings with low conventionalization showed the most pronounced positivity.
  • Place readings with high conventionalization also elicited a significant positivity.

Conclusions:

  • The Late Positivity likely reflects processing demands during the reconceptualization needed for utterance interpretation.
  • The findings suggest that distinct stages of meaning evolution in language are detectable through neurophysiological processes.
  • Place-for-event metonymy serves as a valuable model for studying semantic change and conventionalization.