필기체의 동작표상에서의 역동적 동작 강도 효과

Effects of Dynamic Action Magnitude of Cursive Writing in Action Representations: An fMRI Study

According to Embodied/Grounded Cognition accounts, brain regions which are traditionally linked to perception and action play an important role in grounding word and sentence meanings. Sensory-motor systems are taken to be supportive of mental simulations through which concepts are grounded. However, which details of sensory-motor experience are recruited in such simulations remains unclear. We explored whether sensory-motor brain regions are differentially involved depending on the magnitude of dynamic action associated with different fonts. We addressed this issue by examining the neuronal correlate of words written in relatively strong (cursive) and weak action (basic) fonts. The results showed that words with a cursive font that is associated with strong dynamic action, as compared with those with a font that implied weak dynamic action, elicited brain activity within the left inferior parietal lobule, a region of the execution of complex motor movements, tool use and the representation of action plans as well as the left inferior frontal gyrus and premotor cortex known to be responsible for planning and organizing action. These results suggest that the magnitude of dynamic action expressed in different fonts influences representational content and modulates the nature of grounding written words. Action-related regions play a greater role in representing writing linked to strong dynamic action.