The link between language and action in aging

Christel Bidet-Ildei (1, 2) , Sophie-Anne Beauprez (1) , Geoffroy Boucard (1)

1 CeRCA [Poitiers] - Centre de recherches sur la cognition et l'apprentissage [UMR 7295]
2 Université de Poitiers - Faculté des Sciences du sport

Objective: Many studies have demonstrated the existence of a link between action verb processing and action. However, little is known about the changes in this relationship with aging. Method: To assess this point, we compare the performances of younger and older people during a priming task consisting of judging whether an image contains a human after listening to an action verb. Results: In accordance with previous literature, the results showed that younger people were faster to detect the presence of a human in the image in congruent conditions, namely, when the action verb and the image refer to the same action. However, this effect was not present in older adults participants. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the link between action and language decreases with age. We discuss these findings in the context of the embodied view of cognition. .

Mots clés: action verb processing; aging; action observation; motor simulation; embodiment 2

Domaines: Psychologie; Neurosciences

Christel Bidet-Ildei, Sophie-Anne Beauprez, Geoffroy Boucard. The link between language and action in aging. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2020, pp.104099. ⟨10.1016/j.archger.2020.104099⟩. ⟨hal-02866906⟩