Summary of David Kemmerer’s
Cognitive Neuroscience of Language
Under the guidance of
Prof. Amitabha Mukerjee
By Group 4
Bhuvesh, Anusha, Parth
January 19, 2016
Outline
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
1
Speech Production
Selection of the Word and the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control and feed-back mechanism
2
Speech Perception
3
Sign Language
4
Object Nouns
5
Action Verbs
6
Abstract Words
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 2 of 66
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Speech Production and Perception
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 3 of 66
Speech Production
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Average adult human has a lexicon of 50,000 to 100,000
words.
Speech production involves the coordination of about 80
muscles.
The correct word to be spoken in milliseconds with very
high accuracy.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 4 of 66
Division into Stages
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
The production of speech has been broadly divided into two
stages:
The selection of the word and the encoding of their
phonetic forms
The Speech motor control and feed-back mechanism.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 5 of 66
The lemma model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Theory proposed by W.J.M Levelt in the 1970s with
experiments being done till date. A feedforward mechanism
which states that this stage is divided into two processes:
Lexicon selection
Form Encoding
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 6 of 66
Lexicon Selection
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
The concepts are stored in the form of a graph.
The concepts are represented as nodes.
The edges between the nodes signify the relations between
the concepts.
The middle temporal gyrus is mainly involved in lexicon
selection.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 7 of 66
Lexicon Selection: Cont.
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
The lexical concepts are in the forms of nodes and are
connected to related lexical concepts and the lemmas.
When a lemma i.e. a real life concept or object is to be
converted into a lexical entity, the nodes connected to the
lemma are activated.
Several lemmas and lexical concept nodes are activated in
parallel and the lexical concept with the highest degree of
activation is selected as the correct lexical concept.
Other nodes activated help in the context formation and
hence aid in the formation of sentences.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 8 of 66
Lexicon Selection Example
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Figure : Graphical Representation of Concepts (from page 151
of [1])
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 9 of 66
Form encoding
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Once the lexicon is selected, the task is to assign to reach
the phonological representation of the word.
A three step pipeline
The morphemes are attached to the root lexical concept.
election of the correct morpheme is controlled by the left
posterior STG/STS (Wernickes area), posterior MTG; the left
anterior insula; and the right SMA.
2 The completes word is divided into individual phonemes.
3 The phonemes are joined to form syllables. The last two
steps are performed mainly by the broca’s area
1
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 10 of 66
Form Encoding Example
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Figure : The three stage pipeline (from page 152 of [1])
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 11 of 66
Mental Syllabary
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Existence of a mental syllabary which is dictionary from
syllables to their phonetic encodings called the articulatory
score.
After syllabification, the articulatory score of the syllables
are sent to the motor systems for articulation.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 12 of 66
Word Frequency Effect
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
The words which are more frequent in the language are
easily recalled.
Lemma Model states the stage responsible for this effect is
the form encoding and articulation stage and not at lemma
selection.
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Homophone effect as an experimental proof (from page 154
of [1])
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 13 of 66
The DIVA Model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Directions Into Velocities of Articulators Model of speech
motor control.
Proposed by Frank Guenther, a researcher at Boston
University in mid 1990s.
Starts where the Lemma model leaves off, i.e. with the
phonetic encoding.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 14 of 66
Division
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
The architecture is divided into two subsystems:
1
Feedforward control: Activating motor commands for
articulation and transmitting these commands to the vocal
apparatus through the subcortical nuclei.
2
Feedback control:Using auditory and somatosensory
input form the self produced speech to recognize errors and
decide the corrections to be sent to the articulatory part.
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 15 of 66
Feedforward Control
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
The system is organised as:
The Speech Sound Map: Repository of speech sound
representations i.e. equivalent to the index of the dictionary
in the Mental Syllabary concept from the lemma model.
Present in the left posterior IFG and ventral premotor
cortex.
The Articulatory Velocity and Position Maps: Contain
vocal tract representations of the larynx, lips, jaw, tongue,
and palate. Present in ventral primary motor cortex.
Initiation Map: A module that sends a go signal. Present in
the Supplementary motor area (SMA).
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 16 of 66
Feedback Control
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
The Feedback control systems is divided into two feedback
circuits:
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
1
The auditory feedback circuit
2
The somatosensory feedback circuit
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 17 of 66
The auditory feedback circuit
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
The Auditory Target Map: Receives the acoustic
expectations from the Speech Sound Map.
The Auditory State Map: Receives the speech auditory
input.
The Auditory Error Map: A module that computes
discrepancies between the anticipated sounds stored in the
Auditory Target Map and the actual sounds produced,
stored in the Auditory State Maps.
Feedback Control Map: Updates articulatory commands
according to the sensory feedback from the Error Map.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 18 of 66
The somatosensory feedback circuit
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
The Somatosensory Target Map: Receives the tactile and
proprioceptive expectations from the Speech Sound Map.
The Somatosensory State Map: Receives the represents
tactile and proprioceptive input from speech production.
The Somatosensory Error Map: A module that computes
discrepancies between the anticipated tactile and
proprioceptive sensations and the actual sensations
produced.
Feedback Control Map: Updates articulatory commands
according to the sensory feedback from the Error Maps.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 19 of 66
Dual Stream Model of Speech Perception
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Figure : Dual Stream Model of Speech Perception (from page 114
of [1])
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 20 of
Group 4
66
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
SIGN LANGUAGE
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 21 of 66
Sign Language: Preliminaries
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Sign language is one of the integral communication
systems for the deaf people.
There are currently about 120 different sign languages.
Some examples are Indian Sign Language, American Sign
Language, British Sign Language etc.
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Deafs communicate by signs(src: rochellebarlow.com)
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 22 of 66
Parameters
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
The three main factors which play a great role in producing
different signs are :
Object Nouns
Handshape
Action Verbs
Location
Abstract Words
Movement
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 23 of 66
Different Signs in ISL (taken from page 248)
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Figure : Signs differentiated by movement,location,handshape
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 24 of 66
Structural Aspects
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Phonology : a whole sign is composed of individual
features or elements.
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 25 of 66
Structural Aspects
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Phonology : a whole sign is composed of individual
features or elements.
Morphology : deals with internal grammar of words (can
be compounding, derivation or inflection).
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 25 of 66
Structural Aspects
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Phonology : a whole sign is composed of individual
features or elements.
Morphology : deals with internal grammar of words (can
be compounding, derivation or inflection).
Syntax : the rules used for producing and joining words.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 25 of 66
Structural Aspects
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Phonology : a whole sign is composed of individual
features or elements.
Morphology : deals with internal grammar of words (can
be compounding, derivation or inflection).
Syntax : the rules used for producing and joining words.
Non-manual signs : while conveying a sign we tilt our
head/body and use facial expressions.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 25 of 66
Signs differentiated by Inflection
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Figure : (A)I SHOW YOU (B)YOU SHOW ME (C)HE SHOWS YOU
(from page 250 of [1])
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 26 of 66
Signs differentiated by Syntax
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Figure : Syntax of Force differs from Give (from page 252 of [1])
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 27 of 66
Wada Testing
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
In 1986 Damasio et. al. conducted an experiment on a
27-year-old woman where it was observed that when her left
hemisphere was stopped from functioning properly by a
drug, she showed aphasia (even though in normal life she
knew both ASL and English).
This proved that sign language depends mainly on left
hemisphere of the brain.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 28 of 66
Sign Language and Visuospatial Cognition
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
Sign Language and Visuospatial Cognition go in hand in
hand.
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 29 of 66
Supporting Experiment for Visuospatial
Cognition
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Experiment : In 1996 Hickok et al. did an experiment with 13
LHD (left hemisphere damaged) patients and 10 RHD (right
hemisphere damaged) patients.
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Observation : The LHD patients exhibited impaired sign
language but proper visuospatial cognition and the RHD
patients had just the opposite of this.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 30 of 66
Sign Language and Symbolic Gesture
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Sign language and sybmolic gesture goes hand in hand.
Experiment : In 2004, a 56-year old left temporoparietal
stroke patient named Charles could not name a toothbrush
when he was shown its picture, but when he was told to act
out how a person brushes, he did so properly starting from
putting the paste to brushing up and down.
Conclusion : The route responsible for symbolic gesture is
different from the one used for sign production.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 31 of 66
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns and Action Verbs
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 32 of 66
Object Nouns
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Object Nouns are names for concrete objects e.g.meercat ,
(animal) , guava(fruit), pen(tool), aeroplane(vehicle) and so
on. There are two competing theories to explain the
representations of meanings of object nouns in the brain :
1.Amodal Symbolic Model
2.Grounded Cognition Model
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 33 of 66
Amodal Symbolic Model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Maintains that the semantic system( where concepts are
represented and processed) and modality-specific systems
for action and perception are completely different.[1]
Was popular from 1970s to 1990s
Abstract Words
Lacks strong support from modern neuroscience studies.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 34 of 66
Grounded Cognition Model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Maintains that concepts are anchored in modality-specific
systems, such that understanding word meanings involves
activating high-level perceptual and motor representations.
[1]
Dates back to ancient philosophers such as Epicurus
(341–270 BC)
Was resurrected in 1990s
Empirically supported by recent neuroscience studies.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 35 of 66
Grounded Cognition Model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Research has supported the hypothesis that neural
substrates of the meaning of object nouns are the same as
that associated with high-level perception.e.g Color features
are stored in the same brain area that is associated with
high-level color perception and so on.
Color features =⇒ ventral temporal cortex especially area
V4α.
Shape features
animal concepts =⇒ lateral portion of the mid-fusiform gyrus
tool concepts =⇒ medial portion of the mid-fusiform gyrus
Motion features =⇒ posterolateral temporal cortex.
Motor features =⇒ aIPS/SMG and the vPMC.
Auditory features =⇒ posterior superior/middle temporal
cortex
Olfactory and gustatory features =⇒ orbitofrontal cortex
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 36 of 66
Grounded Cognition Model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 37 of 66
Hub and Spoke Model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Combines elements from both the Grounded Cognition
Model and Amodal Symbolic Model.
It maintains that concepts are based not only on
modality-specific brain systems for perception and action,
but also on a modality-invariant integrative device—the
semantic hub—in the anterior temporal lobes (ATLs).[1]
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 38 of 66
Hub and Spoke Model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 39 of 66
The semantic hub
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
It integrates the different modality-specific features(which
are located in different parts of the brain) into a single
concept.
This makes it possible to determine whether an object falls
within the scope of a concept or outside of it.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 40 of 66
The semantic hub
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 41 of 66
Where is the semantic hub located?
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
There are several sources of evidence which position this
"semantic hub" in ATLs(bilaterally):
SD(Semantic Dementia) patients show gradual degradation
of object concepts with the atrophy of ATLs.
ATLs are activated when healthy subjects process object
concepts.
Disrupting ATLs using rTMS reduces the ability to process
object concepts.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 42 of 66
Design and Results
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 43 of 66
A New Challenge
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Some cases of brain-damaged patients with
category-specific deficits of object concepts have been
reported with deficits in three major domains:animals, tools,
fruits/vegetables.
Animal concepts =⇒ bilateral damage to the ventral and
medial sectors of the mid- to-anterior temporal lobes.
Fruit/Vegetable concepts =⇒ unilateral left-hemisphere
damage to relatively more posterior areas, including the
mid-fusiform gyrus.[1]
Tool concepts =⇒ unilateral left-hemisphere dam- age to
the posterior lateral temporal region (pMTG), inferior
parietal region (aIPS/SMG), and/or inferior frontal region
(vPMC)[1]
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 44 of 66
Two approaches
Speech
Production
1
2 approaches to explain category-specific deficits:
Differential Weighting Hypothesis
different domains of object concepts are characterized by
different mixtures and "weightings" of modality-specific
features
this causes them to gravitate, over the course of cognitive
development, toward different networks of brain regions.
Thus, disrupting a particular region that is functionally more
important for one conceptual domain than for others may be
sufficient to generate a category-specific deficit.[1]
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
2
Distributed Domain-Specific Hypothesis
Group 4
Different conceptual domains are innately programmed to
have segregated neural implementations not only at the level
of modality-specific systems for perception and action, but
also at a more abstract level of pure semantic structure.
Thus, a particular type of category-specific deficit would most
likely result from damage to the corresponding
category-specific component of the system that is restricted
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 45 of 66
exclusively to representing
conceptual knowledge.
An illustration
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 46 of 66
Verb Diversity
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Some examples of action verbs given in [1] :
Sign Language
rapid motion : dash, rush, scramble
Object Nouns
leisurely motion : amble, drift, stroll
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
smooth motion : glide, slide, slink, slip
awkward motion : limp, lurch, stagger, stumble
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 47 of 66
Involvement of left PLTC to process Action verbs
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Experiment : In 2008 Kemmerer et.al. gave 5 classes of
verbs to people : running , hitting , cutting , speaking, change
of state and told them to distinguish verbs within each class.
For e.g. limp is more like trudge than stroll.
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Observation: fMRI showed that everyone used the left
posterolateral temporal cortex (PLTC). To strengthen his
claim, Kemmerer increased it to 6 tasks with 226 patients.
Conclusion : The left PLTC is very important in processing
action verbs.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 48 of 66
Motor Cortex
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Figure : Action zones in motor cortex(which is in frontal lobe) of a
monkey (page 315 [1])
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 49 of 66
Overview of Models
There are 3 models which have been discussed.
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Grounded Cognition Model : semantic features that
involve “visual motion patterns and motor specifications”
depend on same neural systems that support “high-level
action preparation”.
Hub and Spoke Model : The semantic hub binds the
cortically distributed sensory and motor features of
concepts. Details are already described.
Abstract Words
Semantic Somatotopy Hypothesis : The motor features
of verbs are present in “somatotopically mapped frontal
areas”. As per the book, verbs for face-related actions(lick)
depend on those ventral areas which control these type of
actions, and verbs for arm-related actions (pick) depend on
the lateral and dorsolateral areas which control these type
of actions.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 50 of 66
Semantic Somatotopy Hypothesis
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Figure : Motor features of verbs for face-related actions (lick) are
indicated by blue nodes in inferior frontal region, arm-related
actions by purple nodes in lateral frontal region, leg-related
actions(kick) by yellow nodes in dorsal frontal region (pg. 317 [1])
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 51 of 66
Activation patterns evoked by hockey sentences
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Figure : The left dorsal premotor cortex was engaged in experts
and fans but not novices. This effect correlated positively with
comprehension efficiency. (pg. 319 [1])
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 52 of 66
Activation patterns evoked by hockey sentences
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Figure : The dorsal primary sensory-motor cortex was engaged
bilaterally in novices but not experts or fans. This effect correlated
negatively with comprehension efficiency. (pg. 319 [1])
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 53 of 66
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Abstract Words
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 54 of 66
Abstract Words
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Abstract words are words without a direct correspondence
to a real world physical objects.
The concepts they represent are high-level(more abstract)
as compared to those represented by object nouns or
action verbs.
E.g. freedom, love, war, sad, word, abstract, word, concept
and so on
Abstract concepts are harder to imagine and take greater
time to process as compared to concrete words.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 55 of 66
Two Competing Models
Speech
Production
According to the Dual Coding Model
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
all word meanings are based on both modality-specific
representations (non- verbal codes) and lexical associations
(verbal codes), but they differ with regard to the relative
preponderances of the two types of information.
Concrete concepts draw more or less equally on both
systems, whereas abstract concepts rely primarily on the
verbal system. [1]
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
According to the Context Availability Model
All word meanings are amodal in format, but they differ with
regard to how hard they are to pin down.
Concrete concepts are fairly stable and insensitive to context,
whereas abstract concepts are more variable and sensitive to
context. [1]
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 56 of 66
Dual coding model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 57 of 66
Analysis contd.
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
A meta-analysis of 19 PET/fMRI studies by Wang et al.
(2010) revealed that the following brains regions were more
active while processing concrete words as compared to
abstract words
The left fusiform gyrus (associated with visual shape and
color representations).
The bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus (associated with
visual imagery, spatial attention, navigation, and episodic
memory).
The left angular gyrus (associated with various integrative
functions).
[1] These findings are more compatible with the the Dual
Coding Model.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 58 of 66
Analysis contd.
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
For the abstract> concrete contrast the following brain
regions were found:
The left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, associated with
auditory–verbal short-term memory and the strategic
control of semantic processing).
The left middle/superior sector of the anterior temporal lobe
(ATL, associated with high-level spoken language
comprehension and amodal semantic structures).
These findings can be handled equally well by the Dual
Coding Model and the Context Availability Model. [1]
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 59 of 66
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 60 of 66
Evidence for Context Availability Model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
To investigate the role of IFG in abstract word processing ,
Hoffman et al. (2010) conducted a study to evaluate
understanding of abstract words in
(a) absence of any context (b) presence of context in both
brain damaged patients and patients having undergone
rTMS in the IFG region.
This study is strongly compatible with Context Availability
Model as compared to Dual Coding model.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 61 of 66
Evidence for Context Availability Model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 62 of 66
Evidence for Context Availability Model
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 63 of 66
Some interesting things I learned..
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Our brain isn’t "magical". i.e. A small brain damage can
impair us, which is not much different from a malfunctioning
machine
Most of the studies referenced were surprisingly new ! This
is a frontier in brain science and there is a lot left to be
explored.
How "common sense" shapes science and vice versa.
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 64 of 66
References
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Cognitive Neuroscience of Language. By David
Kemmerer.
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Other useful sources:
Abstract Words
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sign_language
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 65 of 66
Conclusion
Speech
Production
Selection of the Word and
the phonetic encoding
The Speech motor control
and feed-back mechanism
Speech
Perception
Sign Language
Object Nouns
Action Verbs
Abstract Words
Group 4
Kemmerer Book Summary
Slide 66 of 66