BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk// X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:"\;Embodied semantics in autism spectrum conditions"\; - Friedemann Pulvermuller \, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit DTSTART:20110519T120000Z DTEND:20110519T130000Z UID:TALK30272@talks.cam.ac.uk CONTACT:Teresa Tavassoli DESCRIPTION:The embodied semantics framework suggests that conceptual know ledge is represented in a modal fashion in the perceptual and action syste ms of the brain which are activated when we perceive and interact with con cepts in the world. Consequently\, the motor system and occipitotemporal v entral processing stream are typically activated by action- and object-rel ated words respectively. Whether such differential organisation of word ca tegories arises in the autistic brain is highly questionable. We hypothesi sed that due to reported abnormalities in neural connectivity\, relative s trengths in visual processing and contrasting deficits in movement and act ion perception\, people with ASC would show a particular abnormality in th e representation of action words. Eighteen typically-developed controls an d eighteen subjects with ASC took part in a silent reading task during eve nt-related fMRI in which they read different types of action-related\, vis ually-related and abstract words. Our prediction held true: whilst they sh owed considerable overlap with controls in the representation of visual ob ject words\, the ASC group showed a specific lack of activation in the fro ntocentral motor system for action words. We here discuss the implications of these findings on word processing\, semantic representation and the br ain in ASC. LOCATION:Large Meeting Room (groundfloor)\, Douglas House\, 18 B\, Trumpin gton Road END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR