Language as a Tool: Motor Proficiency Using a Tool Predicts Individual Linguistic Abilities

Brozzoli, Claudio; Roy, Alice C.; Lidborg, Linda H.; Lövdén, Martin

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01639

Language as a Tool: Motor Proficiency Using a Tool Predicts Individual Linguistic Abilities

Brozzoli, Claudio; Roy, Alice C.; Lidborg, Linda H.; Lövdén, Martin

Authors

Claudio Brozzoli

Alice C. Roy

Dr Linda Lidborg linda.h.lidborg@durham.ac.uk
Postdoctoral Research Associate

Martin Lövdén

Abstract

Different disciplines converge to trace language evolution from motor skills. The human ability to use tools has been advocated as a fundamental step toward the emergence of linguistic processes in the brain. Neuropsychological and neuroimaging research has established that linguistic functions and tool-use are mediated by partially overlapping brain networks. Yet, scholars still theoretically debate whether the relationship between tool-use and language is contingent or functionally relevant, since empirical evidence is critically missing. Here, we measured both linguistic production and tool-use abilities in the same participants, as well as manual and linguistic motor skills. A path analysis ruling out unspecific contributions from manual or linguistic motor skills, showed that motor proficiency using a tool lawfully predicts differences in individual linguistic production. In addition, more complex tool-use reveals stronger association between linguistic production and tool mastery. These findings establish the existence of shared cognitive processes between tool-use and language.

Citation

Brozzoli, C., Roy, A. C., Lidborg, L. H., & Lövdén, M. (2019). Language as a Tool: Motor Proficiency Using a Tool Predicts Individual Linguistic Abilities. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 1639. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01639

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jun 28, 2019
Online Publication Date	Jul 16, 2019
Publication Date	Jul 16, 2019
Deposit Date	Aug 2, 2019
Publicly Available Date	Aug 2, 2019
Journal	Frontiers in Psychology
Print ISSN	1664-1078
Electronic ISSN	1664-1078
Publisher	Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	10
Article Number	1639
DOI	https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01639
Public URL	https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1291262

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Copyright Statement
© 2019 Brozzoli, Roy, Lidborg and Lövdén. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.