Seven trends regarding the categories that tend to be impaired/preserved in category-specific semantic deficits were identified. The authors hypothesized these arise despite multiple sources of variation patient testing because numerous factors structure memory probabilistically converge make some knowledge more susceptible damage than others. Analysis feature norms and corpus data for 541 concepts revealed differences distribution types across are sufficient explain 6 necessary loss about...

Behavioral experiments and a connectionist model were used to explore the use of featural representations in computation word meaning. The research focused on role correlations among features, differences between speeded untimed tasks with respect information. results indicate that are initial meaning (as an attractor network), patterns feature differ artifacts living things, degree which features intercorrelated plays important organization semantic memory. studies also suggest it may be...

Abstract Previous research has shown that na_ve participants display a high level of agreement when asked to choose or drawschematic representations, image schemas, concrete and abstract verbs [Proceedings the 23rd Annual Meeting Cognitive Science Society, 2001, Erlbaum, Mawhah, NJ, p. 873]. For example, tended ascribe horizontal schema push, vertical respect. This consistency in offline data is preliminary evidence language invokes spatial forms representation. It also provided norms were...

Abstract Thematic roles are typically viewed as slot and filler m echanisms in which the slots devoid of content, or content is limited to a few syntactically relevant features. This traditional view excludes important knowledge that people possess about who tends do what whom specific situations. Thus it was extended here by treating thematic verb-specific, feature-based concepts. In Experiment 1, subjects produced features for agent patient such "someone frightened". Role/filler typicality...

An attractor network was trained to compute from word form semantic representations that were based on subject‐generated features. The model driven largely by higher‐order structure. simulated two recent experiments employed items included in its training set (McRae and Boisvert, 1998). In Simulation 1, short stimulus onset asynchrony priming demonstrated for semantically similar items. 2 reproduced subtle effects obtained varying degree of similarity. Two predictions the then tested human...

Grounded theories assume that there is no central module for cognition. According to this view, all cognitive phenomena, including those considered the province of amodal cognition such as reasoning, numeric, and language processing, are ultimately grounded in (and emerge from) a variety bodily, affective, perceptual, motor processes. The development expression constrained by embodiment agents various contextual factors (physical social) which they immersed. framework has received numerous...

The authors show that verb aspect influences the activation of event knowledge with 4 novel results.First, common locations events (e.g., arena) are primed following verbs imperfective was skating) but not perfect had skated).Second, people generate more locative prepositional phrases as completions to sentence fragments than those aspect.Third, amplitude N400 component location nouns varies a function and typicality, being smallest for sentences highly expected largest less...

Embodied theories are increasingly challenging traditional views of cognition by arguing that conceptual representations constitute our knowledge grounded in sensory and motor experiences, processed at this sensorimotor level, rather than being represented abstractly an amodal system. Given the established empirical foundation, relatively underspecified to date, many researchers extremely interested embodied but clamouring for more mechanistic implementations. What is needed stage a push...

Abstract People possess a great deal of knowledge about how the world works, and it is undoubtedly true that adults use this when understanding producing language. However, psycholinguistic theories differ regarding whether extra‐linguistic pragmatic can be activated used immediately, or only after delay. The authors present research investigates people immediately their generalized common events This demonstrates (i) individual isolated words activate event‐based knowledge; (ii)...

In some theories of sentence comprehension, linguistically relevant lexical knowledge, such as selectional restrictions, is privileged in terms the time-course its access and influence. We examined whether event knowledge computed by combining multiple concepts can rapidly influence language understanding even absence restriction violations. Specifically, we investigated instruments combine with actions to comprehension ensuing patients (as Rayner, Warren, Juhuasz, & Liversedge, 2004; Warren...

The authors present data from 2 feature verification experiments designed to determine whether distinctive features have a privileged status in the computation of word meaning. They use an attractor-based connectionist model semantic memory derive predictions for experiments. Contrary central conceptual structure account, but consistent with their own model, empirical evidence that both living and nonliving things do indeed role explain mechanism through which these effects are produced by...