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Beyond Laterality: A Critical Assessment of Research on the Neural Basis of Metaphor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 September 2009

GWENDA L. SCHMIDT ,
ALEXANDER KRANJEC ,
EILEEN R. CARDILLO  and
ANJAN CHATTERJEE
GWENDA L. SCHMIDT
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
ALEXANDER KRANJEC
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
EILEEN R. CARDILLO
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
ANJAN CHATTERJEE*
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Anjan Chatterjee, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Neurology, 3400 Spruce Street, 3W Gates/Chatterjee, Philadelphia, PA 19104. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Metaphors are a fundamental aspect of human cognition. The major neuropsychological hypothesis that metaphoric processing relies primarily on the right hemisphere is not confirmed consistently. We propose ways to advance our understanding of the neuropsychology of metaphor that go beyond simple laterality. Neuropsychological studies need to more carefully control confounding lexical and sentential factors, and consider the role of different parts of speech as they are extended metaphorically. They need to incorporate recent theoretical frameworks such as the career of metaphor theory, and address factors such as novelty. We also advocate the use of new methods such as voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping, which permits precise and formal tests of hypotheses correlating behavior with lesions sites. Finally, we outline a plausible model for the neural basis of metaphor. (JINS, 2010, 16, 1–5.)

Keywords

Figurative languageRight hemisphereCareer of metaphorNoveltySalienceAbstraction
Type
Short Review
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 1 - 5
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2009

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