Consensus Paper: Situated and Embodied Language Acquisition.

Theories of embodied cognition postulate that perceptual, sensorimotor, and affective properties of concepts support language learning and processing. In this paper, we argue that language acquisition, as well as processing, is situated in addition to being embodied. In particular, first, it is the situated nature of initial language development that affords for the developing system to become embodied. Second, the situated nature of language use changes across development and adulthood. We provide evidence from empirical studies for embodied effects of perception, action, and valence as they apply to both embodied cognition and situated cognition across developmental stages. Although the evidence is limited, we urge researchers to consider differentiating embodied cognition within situated context, in order to better understand how these separate mechanisms interact for learning to occur. This delineation also provides further clarity to the study of classroom-based applications and the role of embodied and situated cognition in the study of developmental disorders. We argue that theories of language acquisition need to address for the complex situated context of real-world learning by completing a "circular notion": observing experimental paradigms in real-world settings and taking these observations to later refine lab-based experiments.

Action verbs drive motor activity in adolescents but not in children.

In adults, grip force has reliably been used to investigate motor simulation evoked by linguistic action, suggesting that motor phenomena are linked to semantic action. The parietal and frontal lobes and their connexions are essential neural structures for pragmatic aspects of hand semantic action. In this perspective, the aim of the study was to determine the extent to which two groups of children and adolescents, classically characterized by degree of axonal myelination in fronto-parietal circuits, monitored the occurrence of nouns and manual action verbs presented auditorily while holding a grip force sensor. Differential effects of grip force were seen only in the adolescents when monitoring action verbs. Interestingly, weaker effects of grip force were modulated by noun targets only in the younger children, revealing that the ability to profit from a full semantic representation of verbs is not clearly established in the younger children. Grip force modulation was observed as early as 300 ms post target onset and peaked at the 500-750 ms window of observation for both groups. These group differences are in line with the motor simulation difficulties seen in younger children. The results may also indicate that degree of grip force in response to specific linguistic categories parallels the maturation of the parietal-frontal circuits, including the anterior intra-parietal area which plays a determining role in semantic aspects of hand action.

Assessing language-induced motor activity through Event Related Potentials and the Grip Force Sensor, an exploratory study.

The link between language processing and motor systems has been the focus of increasing interest to Cognitive Neuroscience. Some classical papers studying Event Related Potentials (ERPs) induced by linguistic stimuli have found differences in electrophysiological activity when comparing action and non-action words; more specifically, a bigger p200 for action words. On the other hand, a series of studies have validated the use of a grip force sensor (GFS) to measure language-induced motor activity during both isolated words and sentence listening, finding that action words induce an augmentation in the grip force around 250-300 ms after the onset of the stimulus. The purpose of the present study is to combine both techniques to assess if the p200 is related to the augmentation of the grip force measured by a GFS. We measured ERP and GFS changes elicited by listening to action and non-action words while maintaining an active grasping task. Our results show that both the p200 and the grip force around 300 ms are bigger for action words, compared to non-action. We also report a statistical correlation between these measures. To our knowledge, this is the first study where the electrophysiological activity and the changes in the grip force induced by auditory language processing are put together, opening new venues of interpretation for the sensorimotor interaction in language processing.

Manual action verbs modulate the grip force of each hand in unimanual or symmetrical bimanual tasks.

Manual action verbs modulate the right-hand grip force in right-handed subjects. However, to our knowledge, no studies demonstrate the ability to accomplish this modulation during bimanual tasks nor describe their effect on left-hand behavior in unimanual and bimanual tasks. Using load cells and word playlists, we evaluated the occurrence of grip force modulation by manual action verbs in unimanual and symmetrical bimanual tasks across the three auditory processing phases. We found a significant grip force increase for all conditions compared to baseline, indicating the occurrence of modulation. When compared to each other, the grip force variation from baseline for the three phases of both hands in the symmetrical bimanual task was not different from the right-hand in the unimanual task. The left-hand grip force showed a lower amplitude for auditory phases 1 and 2 when compared to the other conditions. The right-hand grip force modulation became significant from baseline at 220 ms after the word onset in the unimanual task. This moment occurred earlier for both hands in bimanual task (160 ms for the right-hand and 180 for the left-hand). It occurred later for the left-hand in unimanual task (320 ms). We discuss the hypothesis that Broca's area and Broca's homologue area likely control the left-hand modulation in a unilateral or a bilateral fashion. These results provide new evidence for understanding the linguistic function processing in both hemispheres.

Efficient injection of low-mass ions into high magnetic field Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometers.

RATIONALE: Low-mass cut-off restrictions for injecting ions from external ion sources into high magnetic fields impose limitations for wide mass range analyses with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) instruments. Radio-frequency (RF)-only quadrupole ion guides (QIGs) with higher frequencies can be used to overcome low-mass cut-off in FTICR instruments. METHODS: RF signals (1.0 MHz to 10.0 MHz) were applied to QIGs to transfer externally generated ions from either electron ionization (EI) or electrospray ionization (ESI) sources into ICR cells of 9.4 T FTICR mass spectrometers. Efficiencies of QIGs were evaluated using externally generated ions from: EI of acetone, air, and perfluorotributylamine mixture, EI of gas chromatography (GC)-separated components of a standard sample mixture, and ESI of complex mixtures such as petroleum and fulvic acid samples. RESULTS: We were able to transfer ions with m/z as low as 26 from an external EI source into the ICR cell of a 9.4 T FTICR mass spectrometer and extend the operational low-mass range for ESI-FTICR analyses. High mass resolving power and mass measurement accuracy of GC/FTICR mass spectrometry were utilized to discriminate between oxygenated and non-oxygenated compounds in a 'Grob' sample. Ion losses based on SIMION ion trajectory predictions were consistent with experimental findings. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that the use of high-frequency QIGs can extend the operational lower m/z range for both external EI- and ESI-FTICR mass spectrometers. By considering both ICR and Mathieu equations of motions to describe ion trajectories, theoretical ion ejection thresholds (consistent with our experimental findings) could be predicted.

Metallophilic interactions in closed-shell d10 metal-metal dicyanide bonded luminescent systems Eu[Ag(x)Au(1-x)(CN)2]3 and their tunability for excited state energy transfer.

We report on the heterobimetallic system, Eu[Ag(x)Au(1-x)(CN)(2)](3) (x = 0-1) in which sensitization of europium luminescence occurs by energy transfer from [Ag(x)Au(1-x)(CN)(2)](-) donor excited states. The donor states have energies which are tunable and dependent on the Ag/Au stoichiometric ratio. These layered systems exhibit interesting properties, one of which is their emission energy tunability when excited at different excitation wavelengths. In this paper, we report on their use as donor systems with Eu(III) ions as acceptor ions in energy transfer studies. Luminescence results show that the mixed metal dicyanides with the higher silver loading have a better energy transfer efficiency than the pure Ag(CN)(2)(-) and Au(CN)(2)(-) donors. The better energy transfer efficiency is due to the greater overlap between the donor emission and acceptor excitation. Additionally, more acceptor states are available in the high silver loading mixed metal Eu(III) complexes. The results from a crystal structure determination and Raman experiments are also presented in this paper and provide information about metallophilic interactions in the closed-shell d(10) metal-metal [Ag(x)Au(1-x)(CN(2)](-) dicyanide clusters.