Embodiment of action-related language into the motor system has been extensively documented. Yet the case of sensory words, especially referring to touch, remains overlooked. We investigated the influence of verbs denoting tactile sensations on tactile perception. In Experiment 1, participants detected tactile stimulations on their forearm, preceded by tactile or non-tactile verbs by one of three delays (170, 350, 500 ms) reflecting different word processing stages. Results revealed shorter reaction times to tactile stimulations following tactile than non-tactile verbs, irrespective of delay. To ensure that priming pertained to tactile, and not motor, verb properties, Experiment 2 compared the impact of tactile verbs to both action and non-tactile verbs, while stimulations were delivered on the index finger. No priming emerged following action verbs, therefore not supporting the motor-grounded interpretation. Facilitation by tactile verbs was however not observed, possibly owing to methodological changes. Experiment 3, identical to Experiment 2 except that stimulation was delivered to participants' forearm, replicated the priming effect. Importantly, tactile stimulations were detected faster after tactile than after both non-tactile and action verbs, indicating that verbs' tactile properties engaged resources shared with sensory perception. Our findings suggest that language conveying tactile information can activate somatosensory representations and subsequently promote tactile detection.

中文翻译：

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感觉更好：触觉动词加快了触觉检测的速度。

与动作相关的语言在电机系统中的体现已得到广泛记录。然而，感觉词的情况，特别是指触摸，仍然被忽略。我们调查了表示触感的动词对触感的影响。在实验1中，参与者在前臂上检测到触觉刺激，然后在触觉或非触觉动词之前加上三个延迟（170、350、500 ms）之一，反映了不同的单词处理阶段。结果表明，无论延迟如何，触觉后对触觉刺激的反应时间都比非触觉动词短。为了确保启动与触觉而非运动动词属性有关，实验2将触觉动词对动作和非触觉动词的影响进行了比较，同时在食指上施加了刺激。动作动词之后没有启动，因此不支持基于动作的解释。然而，可能由于方法的变化，未观察到触觉动词的促进作用。实验3与实验2相同，只是将刺激传递到参与者的前臂，从而重复了启动作用。重要的是，触觉后的触觉刺激比非触觉和动作动词都更快，这表明动词的触觉特性占用了与感官知觉共享的资源。我们的发现表明，传达触觉信息的语言可以激活体感表征并随后促进触觉检测。可能是由于方法上的变化。实验3与实验2相同，只是将刺激传递到参与者的前臂，从而重复了启动作用。重要的是，触觉后的触觉刺激比非触觉和动作动词都更快，这表明动词的触觉特性占用了与感官知觉共享的资源。我们的发现表明，传达触觉信息的语言可以激活体感表征并随后促进触觉检测。可能是由于方法上的变化。实验3与实验2相同，只是将刺激传递到参与者的前臂，从而重复了启动作用。重要的是，触觉后的触觉刺激比非触觉和动作动词都更快，这表明动词的触觉特性占用了与感官知觉共享的资源。我们的发现表明，传达触觉信息的语言可以激活体感表征并随后促进触觉检测。触觉特性会占用与感官知觉共享的资源。我们的发现表明，传达触觉信息的语言可以激活体感表征并随后促进触觉检测。触觉特性会占用与感官知觉共享的资源。我们的发现表明，传达触觉信息的语言可以激活体感表征并随后促进触觉检测。