Neural Correlates of Abstract Verb Processing

orrelates of Abstract Verb Processing Javier Rodríguez-Ferreiro1 , Silvia P. Gennari2 , Robert Davies3 , and Fernando Cuetos4 ■ The present study investigated the neural correlates of the ng of abstract (low imageability) verbs. An extensive body ature has investigated concrete versus abstract nouns but s known about how abstract verbs are processed. Spanish verbs including emotion verbs (e.g., amar, “to love”; molestar, “to annoy”) were compared to concrete verbs (e.g., llevar, “to carry”; arrastrar, “to drag”). Results indicated that abstract verbs elicited stronger activity in regions previously associated with semantic retrieval such as inferior frontal, anterior temporal, and posterior temporal regions, and that concrete and abstract activation networks (compared to that of pseudoverbs) were partially distinct, with concrete verbs eliciting more posterior activity in these regions. In contrast to previous studies investigating nouns, verbs strongly engage both ...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2011
• Where: JOCN
• Authors: Javier Rodríguez-Ferreiro, Silvia P. Gennari, Robert Davies, Fernando Cuetos
• Keywords: Abstract Verbs, JOCN 2011, Semantic Retrieval, Verbs