Language-induced motor perturbations during the execution of a reaching movement

Abstract

In a recent study Boulenger et al. (2006) found that processing action verbs assisted reaching movement when the word was processed prior to movement onset and interfered with the movement when the word was processed at movement onset. The present study aimed to further corroborate the existence of such cross-talk between language processes and overt motor behaviour by demonstrating that the reaching movement can be disturbed by action words even when the words are presented delayed with respect to movement onset (50 ms and 200 ms). The results are compared to studies that show language–motor interaction in conditions where the word is presented prior to movement onset and are discussed within the context of embodied theories of language comprehension.

Keywords:

• Embodied cognition
• Language
• Motor system.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Martin Fischer and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier version of this article. TAN and BS are members of the Marie Curie Research and Training Network: Language and Brain (RTN: LAB) funded by the European Commission (MRTN-CT-2004–512141) as part of its Sixth Framework Program.