Presentations

Abstract

Building on previous calls for the need to study communication in its multimodal manifestation and ecological context, we offer an original perspective that bridges recent advances in psycholinguistics and sensory neuroscience into a neurocognitive model of multimodal face-to- face communication. First, we highlight a psycholinguistic framework that characterises face-to- face communication at three parallel processing levels:
multiplex signals, multimodal gestalts and multilevel predictions. Second, we consider the recent proposal of a ateral neural visual pathway specifically dedicated to the dynamic aspects of social perception and reconceive it from a multimodal perspective (“lateral processing pathway”). Third, we reconcile the two frameworks into a
neurocognitive model that proposes how multiplex signals, multimodal gestalts, and multilevel predictions may be implemented along the lateral processing pathway. We conclude that the time is mature to accept the challenge we, among others before, advocated in this perspective and move beyond the speech-centred perspective dominating research on the neurocognitive mechanisms of human communication and language. Testing our framework represents a novel and promising endeavour for future research.