language Action verbs Beta-oscillation Event-related desynchronization (ERD) a b s t r a c tBrain oscillations in the a-and b-range become suppressed during motor processing and motor imagery.It has recently been discussed that such power changes also occur during action language processing. In our study, we compared b 2 -oscillations (16-25 Hz) during the observation of prototypical arm movements (revealed via motion tracking) as well as during semantic processing of concrete and abstract sentences containing arm-related action verbs. Whereas we did find a strong desynchronization in the b 2 -range during action observation, the processing of action sentences evoked a rather weak desynchronization. However, this desynchronization occurred for action verbs in both concrete and abstract contexts. These results might indicate a tendency for abstract action language to be processed similar to concrete action language rather than abstract sentences. The oscillation patterns reflect the close relationship between language comprehension and motor functions -one of the core claims of current theories on embodied cognition.

In a behavioral study we analyzed the influence of visual action primes on abstract action sentence processing. We thereby aimed at investigating mental motor involvement during processes of meaning constitution of action verbs in abstract contexts. In the first experiment, participants executed either congruous or incongruous movements parallel to a video prime. In the second experiment, we added a no-movement condition. After the execution of the movement, participants rendered a sensibility judgment on action sentence targets. It was expected that congruous movements would facilitate both concrete and abstract action sentence comprehension in comparison to the incongruous and the no-movement condition. Results in Experiment 1 showed a concreteness effect but no effect of motor priming. Experiment 2 revealed a concreteness effect as well as an interaction effect of the sentence and the movement condition. The findings indicate an involvement of motor processes in abstract action language processing on a behavioral level.

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Yeasts are reported to be rich in folates, a group of vitamers known to be involved in several biosynthetic reactions such as methylation reactions, oxidation and reduction processes, and nucleotide synthesis. Not being able to synthesize folates, humans rely on external folate supply. Here, we show the application of LC/MS-MS methods using SIDA (stable isotope dilution analysis) assays for the quantitative analysis of different folate mono- and polyglutamates during growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Molecular networking (MN) was applied for detailed analysis of further folate metabolites. Highest folate contents of 13,120 μg/100 g were observed after 20 h of cultivation. The main vitamers 5-CH3-H4folate and H4folate decreased during cultivation, while 5-CHO-H4folate increased during cultivation. The hexa- and heptaglutamate of 5-CH3-H4folate accounted for >96% of the total 5-CH3-H4folate content. A shift of the major polyglutamate from hexa- to heptaglutamate was observed after 29 h. MN unraveled two groups of novel folates which could be assigned to a potentially existing C2-metabolism in yeast. In detail, 5,10-ethenyl-tetrahydrofolate and a further CO-substituted 5-CH3-H4folate were identified as hexa- and heptaglutamates. The latter was neither identified as 5-acetyl-tetrahydrofolate nor as EthylFox, the oxidation product of 5-ethyl-tetrahydrofolate. The structure needs to be elucidated in future studies.

Regarding the embodiment of language processing in adults, there is evidence of a close connection between sensorimotor brain areas and brain areas relevant to the processing of action verbs. This thesis is hotly debated and has therefore been thoroughly studied in adults. However, there are still questions concerning its development in children. The present study deals with the processing of action verbs in concrete and abstract sentences in 60 eleven-year-olds using a decision time paradigm. Sixty-five children mirrored arm movements or sat still and rated the semantic plausibility of sentences. The data of the current study suggest that eleven-year-olds are likely to misunderstand the meaning of action verbs in abstract contexts. Their decision times were faster and their error rates for action verbs in concrete sentences were lower. However, the gender of the children had a significant influence on the decision time and the number of errors, especially when processing abstract sentences. Females were more likely to benefit from an arm movement before the decision, while males were better if they sat still beforehand. Overall, children made quite a few errors when assessing the plausibility of sentences, but the female participants more often gave plausibility assessments that deviated from our expectations, especially when processing abstract sentences. It can be assumed that the embodiment of language processing plays some role in 11-year-old children, but is not yet as mature as it is in adults. Especially with regard to the processing of abstract language, the embodied system still has to change and mature in the course of child development.

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Structured signaling in the acoustic environment between two individuals usually leads to turns to avoid interference. Turn-taking in human communication is a precise system that enables interlocutors to interact very efficiently. Previous studies have detected criteria that allow for optimized timing within a conversation. For instance, lexico-syntax seems to be of outstanding relevance. Other aspects still under consideration in this context are prosody and rhythm beside others. In the current study, we focused on the question if language carries universal acoustic features which might make turn-taking in human communication uniquely efficient in contrast to e.g. 'turn-taking' in animals. We aimed at getting an impression of how language specific properties other than content and grammatical structure affect anticipation performance. Therefore, we contrasted the Anticipation Timing Accuracy (ATA) for mother-tongue stimuli in German, for items in six foreign languages (English, Italian, Polish, Turkish, Arabic, and Korean) and for simple sinusoidal tones. Results showed significant differences between the ATA of the foreign language stimuli. German subjects anticipated the ends of utterances in Indo-European languages and in stress-timed languages (German, English, Arabic) significantly better than the ends of items in non-Indo-European languages and in syllable-timed languages (Italian, Polish, Turkish, Korean, restrictions apply). We conclude that interlocutors' end-of-utterance anticipation performance is influenced by language inherent universal acoustic features.

Abstract Meir’s (2010) Double Mapping Constraint (DMC) states the use of iconic signs in metaphors is restricted to signs that preserve the structural correspondence between the articulators and the concrete source domain and between the concrete and metaphorical domains. We investigated ASL signers’ comprehension of English metaphors whose translations complied with the DMC (Communication collapsed during the meeting) or violated the DMC (The acid ate the metal). Metaphors were preceded by the ASL translation of the English verb, an unrelated sign, or a still video. Participants made sensibility judgments. Response times (RTs) were faster for DMC-compliant sentences with verb primes compared to unrelated primes or the still baseline. RTs for DMC-violation sentences were longer when preceded by verb primes. We propose the structured iconicity of the ASL verbs primed the semantic features involved in the iconic mapping and these primed semantic features facilitated comprehension of DMC-compliant metaphors and slowed comprehension of DMC-violation metaphors.