Brains Work Harder While Processing Descriptions of Motion in Other Languages
Published:16 Dec.2020 Source:Georgia State University
Different languages describe motion differently, according to distinct lexical rules. And though we may not consciously notice those rules, we follow them--and Georgia State researchers have found they affect how our brains perceive and process descriptions of physical movement.
Our brain has to work a little harder when we're reading about physical movement in a way that is not typical in our native language, according to a new study by Şeyda Özçalışkan, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Georgia State University, former faculty member Christopher M. Conway, and Samantha Emerson, a former Georgia State University graduate student. Their study, "Semantic P600--but not N400--effects index crosslinguistic variability in speakers' expectancies for expression of motion" was published recently in the journal Neuropsychologia.