Taking as a starting point L. M. Mingorance´s Functional Lexematic Model (FLM) of semantic description, the main aim of this paper is (i) to examine some of the postulates of this paradigm from the Cognitive Linguistics perspective, and (ii) to analyse the metaphorical mappings underlying the lexico-conceptual domain of CHANGE verbs (as well as some other related domains). The author manages to make the Functional Lexematic Model compatible with the cognitive paradigm, and illustrates how mappings from the domains of EXISTENCE, POSSESSION, ACTION, MOVEMENT, LIGHT, FEELING, and POSITION are activated when lexical entries related to change are accessed for production or retrieved from memory by language users. These ideas are illustrated with an analysis of metaphorical mappings such as TO BECOME IS TO EXIST, TO WITHER IS A FORM OF DYING, or TO ACCUMULATE IS TO HAVE. (Noelia Jiménez Martínez-Losa and Francisco Ruiz de Mendoza)