Language, perception, and the schematic representation of spatial relations

Abstract

Schemas are abstract nonverbal representations that parsimoniously depict spatial relations. Despite their ubiquitous use in maps and diagrams, little is known about their neural instantiation. We sought to determine the extent to which schematic representations are neurally distinguished from language on the one hand, and from rich perceptual representations on the other. In patients with either left hemisphere damage or right hemisphere damage, a battery of matching tasks depicting categorical spatial relations was used to probe for the comprehension of basic spatial concepts across distinct representational formats (words, pictures, and schemas). Left hemisphere patients underperformed right hemisphere patients across all tasks. However, focused residual analyses using VLSM (voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping) suggest that (1) left hemisphere deficits in the representation of categorical spatial relations are difficult to distinguish from deficits in naming these relations and (2) the right hemisphere plays a special role in extracting schematic representations from richly textured pictures.

The Biology of Linguistic Expression Impacts Neural Correlates for Spatial Language

“…For spoken languages (primarily English), the preponderance of evidence indicates a specific role for the left supramar-ginal gyrus (SMG) in the comprehension and production of categorical locative morphemes, that is, spatial verbs and prepositions (Noordzij, Neggers, Ramsey, & Postma, 2008; Tranel & Kemmerer, 2004; see Kemmerer, 2006, for review). Recently, Amorapanth et al (2012) found that the right SMG may play a critical role in extracting schematic spatial representations relevant to the use of locative prepositions (see also Damasio et al, 2001). Location and movements within a classifier construction are schematic in the sense used by Amorapanth et al (2012), that is, representations in which “perceptual detail has been abstracted away from a complex scene or event while preserving critical aspects of its analog qualities (p. 226).” If the link between linguistic and visual–spatial representations is parallel for signed and spoken languages, then the conjunction of categorical and schematic representations in classifier constructions might result in bilateral activation in inferior parietal cortex.…”

“…Recently, Amorapanth et al (2012) found that the right SMG may play a critical role in extracting schematic spatial representations relevant to the use of locative prepositions (see also Damasio et al, 2001). Location and movements within a classifier construction are schematic in the sense used by Amorapanth et al (2012), that is, representations in which “perceptual detail has been abstracted away from a complex scene or event while preserving critical aspects of its analog qualities (p. 226).” If the link between linguistic and visual–spatial representations is parallel for signed and spoken languages, then the conjunction of categorical and schematic representations in classifier constructions might result in bilateral activation in inferior parietal cortex. Alternatively, the linguistic–spatial interface might differ for sign languages because classifier morphemes categorize object type— not type of spatial relation—and the location and motion schemas map iconically to the body, rather than to categorical spatial morphemes.…”

Neural bases of action abstraction

“…One intermediate mode of representing actions is schematic pictograms of action, such as line drawings or stick figures like those used to identify sports during the Olympic games. These are intermediate in the sense that they share some symbolic properties of words and some analog properties of pictures (Amorapanth et al, 2012; Chatterjee, 2001; Kranjec, Ianni, & Chatterjee, 2013). Schematic representations of spatial relations may be the foundation upon which we understand abstract spatial information.…”

“…Such image schemas (e.g., arrows, lines, or circles representing abstract concepts) may provide a structure that allows us to conceptualize more complex relations between abstract entities (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999; Talmy, 1983). Schematic representations of spatial relations may especially rely on the right supramarginal gyrus (Amorapanth et al, 2012). Other recent work demonstrates that symbolic stimuli preferentially activate the left inferior frontal gyrus (Muayqil, Davies-Thompson, & Barton, 2015).…”

Fronto-temporal regions encode the manner of motion in spatial language

“…Here, we ask whether the same regions are involved in processing path and manner during action language processing. Such a finding would provide evidence for commonalities between verbal, conceptual, and perceptual representations of action [9, 16]. Additionally, we used a functionally-masked analysis to examine what additional brain regions might be involved in processing path and manner in a language-based task.…”