Simulation across representation: The interplay of schemas and simulation-based inference on different levels of abstraction

Abstract

Language comprehension of action verbs recruits embodied representations in the brain that are assumed to invoke a mental simulation (e.g., "grasping a peanut"). This extends to abstract concepts, as well ("grasping an idea"). We, therefore, argue that mental simulation works across levels of abstractness and involves higher-level schematic structures that subsume a generic structure of actions and events.