Embodiment in Cognition, Language, and Communication

Embodiment in cognition, language, and communication examines how sensorimotor systems intertwine with language comprehension, suggesting that even the understanding of abstract expressions may be rooted in physical experience (Barsalou, 2010). The established body of research supports the idea that abstract cognition is not merely amodal or symbolic but is grounded in interactions between the body and environment (Aziz-Zadeh & Damasio, 2008; Gibbs, 2006; Johnson, 2015; Khatin-Zadeh et al., 2023). Cognitive neuroscience and psychology studies reveal that metaphorical language activates brain areas associated with perception and action, underscoring the impact of embodied experiences on conceptual structures (D’Angiulli, Griffiths, & Marmolejo-Ramos, 2015). Recognizing language's embodied nature is crucial; it is entwined with sensory, motor, and affective experiences, and structured through metaphorical mappings (Khatin-Zadeh & Vahdat, 2015).

This Research Topic aims to explore the profound relationships between language, cognition, and embodied experiences, challenging traditional abstract symbolic processing models. By advancing interdisciplinary insights from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, computational modeling, and communication studies, we seek to study the fundamental role of sensorimotor experiences, gestures, and perceptual simulations in meaning-making across linguistic and cultural contexts. We are particularly interested in cross-cultural communication, examining how diverse communities utilize gestures and motor simulations for comprehension and representation. Research exploring embodied cognition, metaphor use, co-speech gestures, bilingualism, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions, and technological approaches to language processing is especially encouraged. 

To gather further insights into the scope of embodiment in shaping language, cognition, and communication, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- Neural and cognitive mechanisms of embodied language processing.
- The impacts of co-speech gestures and motor simulations on comprehension.
- Intersection between language and non-linguistic cognitive domains.
- Cultural variations in metaphor use and non-verbal communication.
- Technological and computational approaches to study embodiment.

Through both theoretical and empirical contributions, this Research Topic aspires to deepen understanding of how sensorimotor experiences influence human cognition and communication across cultures and linguistic communities. We welcome submissions of Original Research, Review, and Opinion articles.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Embodied Cognition, Embodied Language, Abstract Concepts, Metaphor, Conceptualization, Gestural Simulation, Mind

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.