Description

It has been put forward in the literature that the ontogeny, phylogeny, and phenotypic expression of language and action are connected (e.g., Greenfield, 1991). The assumed similarities between both domains have usually been inferred either from formal comparisons between the abstract structures of language and action or from the observation that both recruit partially overlapping neural resources, especially in the inferior frontal cortex (i.e. Broca’s area). Recent work has called these assumptions into doubt, both on formal and neuroanatomical grounds (Coopmans et al. 2021; Zaccarella et al., 2021). In line with this, neuroimaging studies indicate that potentially shared neural resources between language and action are not located in Broca’s area but may instead be found in the phylogenetically older subcortex (Papitto et al., 2020; Thibault et al., 2021). This neuroanatomical segregation between different types of combinatorial systems is complemented by data from sign language processing, which recruits portions of Broca’s area implicated in spoken and written language processing but not those implicated in action processing (Trettenbrein et al., 2021). Finally, beyond Broca’s area, the (sub-)cortical networks recruited for action and language processing may differ in functional and/or structure, even if a functional overlap in some of the involved regions and structures can be observed.

In this workshop, we will seek to collaboratively re-examine the similarities and differences between language and action on theoretical and neurobiological grounds by bringing together current perspectives from action, spoken (and written) language, and sign language processing, as well as from comparative neuroanatomy. Our invited speakers will each cover one specific topic in the domain of language and action processing. To establish the foundations of the workshop and ensure that all participants have a shared set of definitions at their disposal, the first speakers will offer a formal perspective and comparison of language and action. The following speakers will then each cover a different aspect of language, action, and their overlap or segregation on a neurobiological level. According to their individual area of expertise, every speaker will cover the neurobiology of action processing, spoken and written language processing, and sign language processing. This will be complemented by speakers who offer an evolutionary perspective on the neural substrates of language and action processing. Presentations will then be followed by a joint discussion.

Potential topics of the joint discussion include but are not limited to the following questions: Are there any deep similarities between language and action on a theoretical level? Do language and action processing recruit partially overlapping neural resources and if so in what part of the brain (e.g., cortex, subcortex, etc.)? How can these findings be interpreted in an evolutionary context?

Coopmans, C. W., Kaushik, K. R., & Martin, A. E. (2021). Hierarchical structure in language and action: A formal comparison [Preprint]. PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/x59un

Greenfield, P. (1991). Language, tools and brain: The ontogeny and phylogeny of hierarchically organized sequential behavior. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 14(4), 531-551. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00071235

Papitto, G., Friederici, A. D., & Zaccarella, E. (2020). The topographical organization of motor processing: An ALE meta-analysis on six action domains and the relevance of Broca’s region. NeuroImage, 206, 116321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116321

Thibault, S., Py, R., Gervasi, A. M., Salemme, R., Koun, E., Lövden, M., Boulenger, V., Roy, A. C., & Brozzoli, C. (2021). Tool use and language share syntactic processes and neural patterns in the basal ganglia. Science, 374(6569), eabe0874. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe0874

Trettenbrein, P. C., Papitto, G., Friederici, A. D., & Zaccarella, E. (2021). Functional neuroanatomy of language without speech: An ALE meta‐analysis of sign language. Human Brain Mapping, 42(3), 699–712. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25254

Zaccarella, E., Papitto, G., & Friederici, A. D. (2021). Language and action in Broca’s area: Computational differentiation and cortical segregation. Brain and Cognition, 147, 105651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2020.105651