REVIEW article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology of Language
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1637855
This article is part of the Research TopicRethinking the Embodiment of Language: Challenges and Future HorizonsView all 5 articles
Dynamics of language grounding: On the time course, durability, adaptability, and vulnerability of embodied effects
Provisionally accepted
Boris Kogan1
Agustina Birba2
Mariano Nicolás Díaz Rivera2
Catalina González Santibáñez3
Adolfo M. García2*- 1National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 2Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 3Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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From an embodiment stance, semantic processes reactivate specialized brain networks supporting daily experiences. While this general claim has been amply supported, key questions remain unanswered regarding the time course, durability, adaptability, and vulnerability of the underlying mechanisms. This work reviews the main findings on these topics, based on behavioral, neuropsychological, neuroanatomical, hemodynamic, magnetoencephalographic, electroencephalographic, and intracranial methods. The evidence suggests that language-induced sensorimotor reactivations are (a) primary and extended during the temporal flow of meaning, (b) enduring as an anchor for verbal learning throughout life, (c) responsive to individual experiences, and (d) selectively vulnerable to diverse brain alterations. Such conclusions have theoretical, educational, and clinical implications, affording constraints for neurolinguistic models, innovations in language teaching, and early markers of brain disorders. These insights deepen our understanding of the neurocognitive phenomena shaping daily language use.
Keywords: Embodied Cognition, temporal dynamics, word learning, individual differences, Neurodegenerative disorders
Received: 29 May 2025; Accepted: 27 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kogan, Birba, Díaz Rivera, González Santibáñez and García. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Adolfo M. García, Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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