Publications
Publication details [#13728]
Benedek, Mathias, Roger Beaty, Emanuel Jauk, Karl Koschutnig, Andreas Fink and Paul J. Silvia. 2014. Creating metaphors: The neural basis of figurative language production. NeuroImage 90 : 99–106. 8 pp. ![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English
Keywords
Place, Publisher
Amsterdam: Elsevier
Abstract
The present paper tries to bridge the gap between how nonliteral language is dealt with in metaphor understanding and how the brain actually produces nonliteral language. The study analysed how, during functional imaging, participants accomplished sentences through the creation of new metaphors or of literal synonyms. Metaphor creation was connected to the main activity of the left-hemispheric brain regions. In particular, brain activation in the left anterior dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and the right middle temporal gyrus seem to grow together with the creative quality of metaphor responses. These outcomes are linked to neuroscientific data on metaphor understanding and creative idea production.