An examination of conceptual knowledge using near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography

Traditionally, models of conceptual knowledge have relied upon amodal theories that largely overlook how environmental stimuli are converted into amodal representations and how perceptions reactivate these representations and translate them back into subjective modal experiences. Developed more recently, grounded cognition theories propose that physical experiences and conceptual knowledge rely, at least in part, on the same brain regions. Thus, conceptual knowledge is hypothesized to be experienced through the reactivation of the same brain regions that are activated during physical experiences with the environment. Furthermore, if these grounded hypotheses are correct, researchers should be able to observe predictable influences of grounded information on brain activity as well as participant response latencies and accuracy in experimental conditions. To this end, three experiments were conducted testing these hypotheses using semantic categorization tasks while simultaneous recordings were taken using functional near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and electroencephalography. It was hypothesized that the influence of automatically reactivated grounded information would be facilitatory (i.e., resulting in faster and more accurate responses for semantically richer words) when it was task congruent, but would be inhibitory (i.e., resulting in slower and less accurate responses for semantically richer words) when it was task incongruent, thus illustrating the automatic simulation of grounded information in the processing and retrieval of conceptual knowledge. NIRS was employed to monitor event-related patterns of prefrontal cortex (PFC) hemodynamics associated with these tasks. It was hypothesized that trials with high levels of task-relevant semantic information would be discernably different than those with low levels or those trials high in task-incongruent information. That is, given the high levels of task-relevant semantic information, these trials should be comparatively easier, thus requiring less activity in the PFC, resulting in less pronounced hemodynamic responses. Electroencephalography was employed to monitor the full-scalp event-related patterns of brain activity associated with the experimental tasks. It was hypothesized that event-related potential deflections and scalp topography would be able to discern qualitatively and quantitatively different patterns of activity as a function of the amount and relevance of grounded information obtained through physical and emotional experiences with the word stimuli’s referents. The behavioural, accuracy, and electroencephalography data generally support these hypotheses. When a stimulus’s grounded information is high and task relevant, participants responded more quickly and accurately, and had discernably different patterns of brain activity than when a stimulus’s grounded information was low and task relevant. When a stimulus’s grounded information was high and task-irrelevant, participants were slower and less accurate, and exhibited patterns of brain activity that reflected both the additional semantic information and the additional processing necessary to reconcile the task incongruence. Unfortunately, data obtained from NIRS failed to illustrate meaningful condition differences. Possible reasons for this are discussed in detail in Chapter 3. Collectively, the data presented in this dissertation serve to advance and extend the claims made by grounded cognition theorists by illustrating the automatic simulation of information obtained through interactions with the environment. Further research is required to extend this work to other brain regions and to develop NIRS methods that can address these research questions.

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