RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Electrifying discourse: Anodal tDCS of the primary motor cortex selectively reduces action appraisal in naturalistic narratives
A1 Birba, Agustina
A1 Vitale, Francesca
A1 Padrón González, Iván
A1 Dottori, Martı´n
A1 Vega Rodríguez, Manuel de
A1 Zimerman, Maximo
A1 Sedeno, Lucas
A1 Ibánez, Agustín
A1 García, Adolfo M.
A2 Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación
K1 Action semantics
K1 Embodied cognition
K1 Ecological validity
K1 Naturalistic text processing
K1 Transcranial direct current
stimulation
AB Non-invasive stimulation of the primary motor cortex (M1) modulates processing ofdecontextualized action words and sentences (i.e., verbal units denoting bodily motion).This suggests that language comprehension hinges on brain circuits mediating the bodilyexperiences evoked by verbal material. Yet, despite its relevance to constrain mechanisticlanguage models, such a finding fails to reveal whether and how relevant circuits operatein the face of full-blown, everyday texts. Using a novel naturalistic discourse paradigm, weexamined whether direct modulation of M1 excitability influences the grasping of narratedactions. Following random group assignment, participants received anodal transcranialdirect current stimulation over the left M1, or sham stimulation of the same area, or anodalstimulation of the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Immediately afterwards, theylistened to action-laden and neutral stories and answered questions on information realized by verbs (denoting action and non-action processes) and circumstances (conveyinglocative or temporal details). Anodal stimulation of the left M1 selectively decreased outcomes on action-relative to non-action information ea pattern that discriminated betweenstimulated and sham participants with 74% accuracy. This result was particular to M1 and held irrespective of the subjects’ working memory and vocabulary skills, further attestingto its specificity. Our findings suggest that offline modulation of motor-network excitabilitymight lead to transient unavailability of putative resources needed to evoke actions innaturalistic texts, opening promising avenues for the language embodiment framework.
SN 0010-9452
YR 2020
FD 2020
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/35577
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/35577
LA es
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 19-may-2024