Recent theories propose a flexible recruitment of sensory and motor brain regions during conceptual processing depending on context and task. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging study investigated the influence of context and task on conceptual processing of action and sound verbs. Participants first performed an explicit semantic context decision task, in which action and sound verbs were presented together with a context noun. The same verbs were repeatedly presented in a subsequent implicit lexical decision task together with new action and sound verbs. Thereafter, motor and acoustic localizer tasks were administered to identify brain regions involved in perception and action. During the explicit task, we found differential activations to action and sound verbs near corresponding sensorimotor brain regions. During the implicit lexical decision task, differences between action and sound verbs were absent. However, feature-specific repetition effects were observed near corresponding sensorimotor brain regions. The present results suggest flexible conceptual representations depending on context and task. Feature-specific effects were observed only near, but not within corresponding sensorimotor brain regions, as defined by the localizer tasks. Our results therefore only provide limited evidence in favor of grounded cognition theories assuming a close link between the conceptual and the sensorimotor systems.

中文翻译：

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上下文中动作和声音动词的处理：FMRI研究。

最近的理论提出了根据上下文和任务在概念处理过程中灵活地恢复感觉和运动脑区域的方法。当前的功能磁共振成像研究调查了上下文和任务对动作和声音动词的概念处理的影响。参与者首先执行了明确的语义上下文决策任务，其中将动作和声音动词与上下文名词一起呈现。在随后的隐式词汇决策任务中，相同的动词与新的动作和发音动词一起反复出现。此后，执行运动和声学定位器任务以识别参与感知和动作的大脑区域。在明确的任务中，我们在相应的感觉运动脑区域附近发现了对动作和声音动词的不同激活。在隐式词汇决策任务中，动作和声音动词之间没有差异。但是，在相应的感觉运动脑区域附近观察到特定于特征的重复效应。目前的结果表明，取决于上下文和任务的灵活概念表示形式。根据定位器任务的定义，仅在相应的感觉运动脑区域附近但未观察到特定功能的影响。因此，假设概念和感觉运动系统之间存在紧密联系，我们的研究结果仅提供了有限的证据支持扎根的认知理论。目前的结果表明，取决于上下文和任务的灵活概念表示形式。根据定位器任务的定义，仅在相应的感觉运动脑区域附近但未观察到特定功能的影响。因此，假设概念和感觉运动系统之间存在紧密联系，我们的研究结果仅提供了有限的证据支持扎根的认知理论。目前的结果表明，取决于上下文和任务的灵活概念表示形式。根据定位器任务的定义，仅在相应的感觉运动脑区域附近但未观察到特定功能的影响。因此，假设概念和感觉运动系统之间存在紧密联系，我们的研究结果仅提供了有限的证据支持扎根的认知理论。