Thanks! There's still a lot to unpack about why people with aphantasia may still unconsciously access sensory representations for higher-order cognitive processes like language processing. But @juhasilvanto.bsky.social has some interesting papers on this topic of disrupted conscious imagery ☺️

➡️ Faster processing of motor-linked words in aphantasia suggest that mental simulation is intact even in the absence of conscious mental imagery.

📄 Full article in this Neuropsychologia special issue (doi.org/10.1016/j.ne...)

Huge thanks to Faris Mahmood, @veronicadiveica.bsky.social, @rjbinney.bsky.social, @drandreaprotzner.bsky.social‬, and @pennypexman.bsky.social for a great collaboration!

Check out the full paper at 🔗 rdcu.be/ethPV

#CognitiveScience #LanguageDevelopment #AbstractConcepts #Psycholinguistics

When emotional valence was included, the benefit of socialness for abstract words weakened.

💏 An interaction suggests highly social/emotional words are learned early, regardless of concreteness

Our results highlight the complexity of social relevance in word learning.

🔗 Read the paper: dx.doi.org/10.1002/hbm....

🔍 Using distortion-corrected fMRI, we found consistent activity within the ventral ATL for abstract verbs, reinforcing its role as a semantic hub.

🙏 Huge thanks to @bangorimagingunit.bsky.social, @psychbangor.bsky.social, @mitacscanada.bsky.social, and NSERC for hosting and supporting this work.