What does action do to object? The case of metaphoric action.

We examined whether embodiment effects at a particular word influence subsequent words. We recorded EEG while participants read action sentences that were literal-concrete (LC), literal-abstract (LA), and metaphorical (MET). Prior work showed that at the verbs, both LC and MET elicited more negative N400s than LA, reflecting sensorimotor simulations. We found that at the object nouns, LC elicited a more negative negativity in the 500-700 ms time window than LA and MET, which may reflect combined influences from embodiment spilled over from the verbs and imagery linked to noun concreteness and imageability. These findings suggested that literal action embodiment can yield extended motor engagement extending into subsequent words, but metaphorical action verbs cannot. Moreover, lexical properties at the noun played a role.