Abstract
Researchers and clinicians have long used meaningful intransitive (i.e., not tool-related; MFI) gestures to assess apraxia—a complex and frequent motor-cognitive disorder. Nevertheless, the neurocognitive bases of these gestures remain incompletely understood. Models of apraxia have assumed that meaningful intransitive gestures depend on either long-term memory (i.e., semantic memory and action lexicons) stored in the left hemisphere, or social cognition and the right hemisphere. This meta-analysis of 42 studies reports the performance of 2659 patients with either left or right hemisphere damage in tests of meaningful intransitive gestures, as compared to other gestures (i.e., MFT or meaningful transitive and MLI or meaningless intransitive) and cognitive tests. The key findings are as follows: (1) deficits of meaningful intransitive gestures are more frequent and severe after left than right hemisphere lesions, but they have been reported in both groups; (2) we found a transitivity effect in patients with lesions of the left hemisphere (i.e., meaningful transitive gestures more difficult than meaningful intransitive gestures) but a “reverse” transitivity effect in patients with lesions of the right hemisphere (i.e., meaningful transitive gestures easier than meaningful intransitive gestures); (3) there is a strong association between meaningful intransitive and transitive (but not meaningless) gestures; (4) isolated deficits of meaningful intransitive gestures are more frequent in cases with right than left hemisphere lesions; (5) these deficits may occur in the absence of language and semantic memory impairments; (6) meaningful intransitive gesture performance seems to vary according to the emotional content of gestures (i.e., body-centered gestures and emotional valence-intensity). These findings are partially consistent with the social cognition hypothesis. Methodological recommendations are given for future studies.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of Data and Materials
This is a meta-analysis of already published studies. The data are available in tables/figures in the manuscript and in the supplement. The dataset is available on reasonable request to the corresponding author.
References
Achilles, E. I. S., Ballweg, C. S., Niessen, E., Kusch, M., Ant, J. M., Fink, G. R., & Weiss, P. H. (2019). Neural correlates of differential finger gesture imitation deficits in left hemisphere stroke. NeuroImage: Clinical, 23, 101915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101915
Achilles, E. I. S., Fink, G. R., Fischer, M. H., Dovern, A., Held, A., Timpert, D. C., Schroeter, C., Schuetz, K., Kloetzsch, C., & Weiss, P. H. (2016). Effect of meaning on apraxic finger imitation deficits. Neuropsychologia, 82, 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.12.022
Adolphs, R. (1999). Social cognition and the human brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3(12), 469–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01399-6
Ambrosoni, E., Sala, S., Motto, C., Oddo, S., & Spinnler, H. (2006). Gesture imitation with lower limbs following left hemisphere stroke. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 21(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acn.2006.05.001
Armstrong, D. F. (2008). The gestural theory of language origins. Sign Language Studies, 8(3), 289–314.
Barbieri, C., & De Renzi, E. (1988). The executive and ideational components of apraxia. Cortex, 24(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-9452(88)80047-9
Bartolo, A., Cubelli, R., Sala, S. D., Drei, S., & Marchetti, C. (2001). Double dissociation between meaningful and meaningless gesture reproduction in apraxia. Cortex, 37(5), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-9452(08)70617-8
Bartolo, A., Cubelli, R., Della Sala, S., & Drei, S. (2003). Pantomimes are special gestures which rely on working memory. Brain and Cognition, 53(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-2626(03)00209-4
Bartolo, A., & Ham, H. S. (2016). A cognitive overview of limb apraxia. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 16(8), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-016-0675-0
Bartolo, A., Claisse, C., Gallo, F., Ott, L., Sampaio, A., & Nandrino, J.-L. (2019). Gestures convey different physiological responses when performed toward and away from the body. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 12862. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-49318-3
Bartolo, A., & Cubelli, R. (2014). The cognitive models of limb apraxia and the specific properties of meaningful gestures. Cortex, 57, 297–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2014.01.007
Basso, A., Capitani, E., Luzzatti, C., & Spinnler, H. (1981). Intelligence and left hemisphere disease the role of aphasia, apraxia and size of lesion : The role of aphasia, apraxia and size of lesion. Brain, 104(4), 721–734. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/104.4.721
Basso, A., Capitani, F., Sala, S. D., Laiacona, M., & Spinnler, H. (1987). Ideomotor apraxia : A study of initial severity. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 76(2), 142–146. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0404.1987.tb03557.x
Baumard, J., Osiurak, F., Lesourd, M., & Le Gall, D. (2014). Tool use disorders after left brain damage. Frontiers in Psychology, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00473
Baumard, J., Lesourd, M., Remigereau, C., Laurent, L., Jarry, C., Etcharry-Bouyx, F., Chauviré, V., Osiurak, F., & Le Gall, D. (2023). Meaningless imitation in neurodegenerative diseases : Effects of body part, bimanual imitation, asymmetry, and body midline crossing. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 1‑22. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643294.2022.2164487
Baumard, J., & Le Gall, D. (2021). The challenge of apraxia : Toward an operational definition? Cortex, 141, 66–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2021.04.001
Baumard, J., Lesourd, M., Jarry, C., Merck, C., Etcharry-Bouyx, F., Chauviré, V., Belliard, S., Moreaud, O., Croisile, B., Osiurak, F., & Le Gall, D. (2016). Tool use disorders in neurodegenerative diseases : Roles of semantic memory and technical reasoning. Cortex, 82, 119–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2016.06.007
Baumard, J., Lesourd, M., Remigereau, C., Lucas, C., Jarry, C., Osiurak, F., & Le Gall, D. (2020). Imitation of meaningless gestures in normal aging. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 27(5), 729–747. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825585.2019.1674773
Baumard, J., Lesourd, M., Remigereau, C., Merck, C., Jarry, C., Etcharry-Bouyx, F., Chauviré, V., Belliard, S., Moreaud, O., Osiurak, F., & Le Gall, D. (2019). The – weak – role of memory in tool use : Evidence from neurodegenerative diseases. Neuropsychologia, 129, 117–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.03.008
Bickerton, W.-L., Riddoch, M. J., Samson, D., Balani, A. B., Mistry, B., & Humphreys, G. W. (2012). Systematic assessment of apraxia and functional predictions from the Birmingham Cognitive Screen. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 83(5), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2011-300968
Binder, E., Dovern, A., Hesse, M. D., Ebke, M., Karbe, H., Saliger, J., Fink, G. R., & Weiss, P. H. (2017). Lesion evidence for a human mirror neuron system. Cortex, 90, 125–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2017.02.008
Binkofski, F., & Buxbaum, L. J. (2013). Two action systems in the human brain. Brain and Language, 127(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2012.07.007
Blonder, L. X., Burns, A. F., Bowers, D., Moore, R. W., & Heilman, K. M. (1995). Spontaneous gestures following right hemisphere infarct. Neuropsychologia, 33(2), 203–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/0028-3932(94)00099-B
Bonivento, C., Rothstein, P., Humphreys, G., & Chechlacz, M. (2014). Neural correlates of transitive and intransitive action imitation : An investigation using voxel-based morphometry. NeuroImage: Clinical, 6, 488‑497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2014.09.010
Bozeat, S., Lambon Ralph, M. A. L., Patterson, K., & Hodges, J. R. (2002). When objects lose their meaning : What happens to their use? Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 2(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.3758/CABN.2.3.236
Buchmann, I., Dangel, M., Finkel, L., Jung, R., Makhkamova, I., Binder, A., Dettmers, C., Herrmann, L., Liepert, J., Möller, J. C., Richter, G., Vogler, T., Wolf, C., & Randerath, J. (2020). Limb apraxia profiles in different clinical samples. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 34(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2019.1585575
Buxbaum, L. J., Johnson-Frey, S. H., & Bartlett-Williams, M. (2005a). Deficient internal models for planning hand–object interactions in apraxia. Neuropsychologia, 43(6), Article 6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2004.09.006
Buxbaum, L. J., Kyle, K. M., & Menon, R. (2005b). On beyond mirror neurons : Internal representations subserving imitation and recognition of skilled object-related actions in humans. Cognitive Brain Research, 25(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogbrainres.2005.05.014
Buxbaum, L. J., Kyle, K., Grossman, M., & Coslett, B. (2007). Left inferior parietal representations for skilled hand-object interactions : Evidence from stroke and corticobasal degeneration. Cortex, 43(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-9452(08)70466-0
Buxbaum, L. J., & Kalénine, S. (2010). Action knowledge, visuomotor activation, and embodiment in the two action systems. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1191(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05447.x
Buxbaum, L. J. (2001). Ideomotor apraxia : A call to action. Neurocase, 7, 445–458.
Buxbaum, L. J. (2017). Learning, remembering, and predicting how to use tools : Distributed neurocognitive mechanisms: Comment on Osiurak and Badets (2016). Psychological Review, 124(3), 346–360. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000051
Carmo, J. C., & Rumiati, R. I. (2009). Imitation of transitive and intransitive actions in healthy individuals. Brain and Cognition, 69(3), 460–464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2008.09.007
Chestnut, C., & Haaland, K. Y. (2008). Functional significance of ipsilesional motor deficits after unilateral stroke. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 89(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2007.08.125
Cochet, H., & Vauclair, J. (2014). Deictic gestures and symbolic gestures produced by adults in an experimental context : Hand shapes and hand preferences. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 19(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1080/1357650X.2013.804079
Corballis, M. C. (2010). Mirror neurons and the evolution of language. Brain and Language, 112(1), 25–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2009.02.002
Coslett, H. B. (2018). Apraxia, neglect, and agnosia. Continuum: Lifelong Learning in Neurology, 24(3), 768‑782. https://doi.org/10.1212/CON.0000000000000606
Cubelli, R., Marchetti, C., Boscolo, G., & Della Sala, S. (2000). Cognition in action : Testing a model of limb apraxia. Brain and Cognition, 44(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1006/brcg.2000.1226
Cubelli, R., Bartolo, A., Nichelli, P., & Della Sala, S. (2006). List effect in apraxia assessment. Neuroscience Letters, 407(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2006.08.019
De Renzi, E. (1980). Imitating gestures : A quantitative approach to ideomotor apraxia. Archives of Neurology, 37(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1980.00500500036003
De Renzi, E., Faglioni, P., & Sorgato, P. (1982). Modality-specific and supramodal mechanisms of apraxia. Brain, 105(2), 301–312. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/105.2.301
De Renzi, E., Faglioni, P., Scarpa, M., & Crisi, G. (1986). Limb apraxia in patients with damage confined to the left basal ganglia and thalamus. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 49(9), 1030–1038. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.49.9.1030
De Renzi, E., Pieczuro, A., & Vignolo, L. A. (1966). Oral apraxia and aphasia. Cortex, 2(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-9452(66)80028-X
Dellasala, S., Faglioni, P., Motto, C., & Spinnler, H. (2006). Hemisphere asymmetry for imitation of hand and finger movements, Goldenberg’s hypothesis reworked☆. Neuropsychologia, 44(8), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.11.011
Devlin, J. T., & Watkins, K. E. (2007). Stimulating language : Insights from TMS. Brain, 130(3), 610–622. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awl331
Donovan, N. J., Kendall, D. L., Heaton, S. C., Kwon, S., Velozo, C. A., & Duncan, P. W. (2008). Conceptualizing functional cognition in stroke. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 22(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1177/1545968307306239
Dovern, A., Fink, G. R., & Weiss, P. H. (2012). Diagnosis and treatment of upper limb apraxia. Journal of Neurology, 259(7), 1269–1283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-011-6336-y
Dressing, A., Nitschke, K., Kümmerer, D., Bormann, T., Beume, L., Schmidt, C. S. M., Ludwig, V. M., Mader, I., Willmes, K., Rijntjes, M., Kaller, C. P., Weiller, C., & Martin, M. (2018). Distinct contributions of dorsal and ventral streams to imitation of tool-use and communicative gestures. Cerebral Cortex, 28(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhw383
Dumont, C., Ska, B., & Schiavetto, A. (1999). Selective impairment of transitive gestures : An unusual case of apraxia. Neurocase, 5(5), 447–458. https://doi.org/10.1080/13554799908402739
Esteves, P. O., Oliveira, L. A. S., Nogueira-Campos, A. A., Saunier, G., Pozzo, T., Oliveira, J. M., Rodrigues, E. C., Volchan, E., & Vargas, C. D. (2016). Motor planning of goal-directed action is tuned by the emotional valence of the stimulus : A kinematic study. Scientific Reports, 6(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep28780
Ferri, F., Busiello, M., Campione, G. C., De Stefani, E., Innocenti, A., Romani, G. L., Costantini, M., & Gentilucci, M. (2014). The eye contact effect in request and emblematic hand gestures. European Journal of Neuroscience, 39(5), 841–851. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.12428
Ferro, J. M., Martins, I. P., Mariano, G., & Caldas, A. C. (1983). CT scan correlates of gesture recognition. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 46(10), 943–952. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.46.10.943
Ferro, J. M., Santos, M. E., Castro-caldas, A., & Mariano, M. G. (1980). Gesture recognition in aphasia. Journal of Clinical Neuropsychology, 2(4), 277–292. https://doi.org/10.1080/01688638008403800
Finkelnburg. (1870). Vortrag über aphasie. Berliner Klinische Wochenschrift, 7, 449–450.
Foundas, A. L., Macauley, B. L., Raymer, A. M., Maher, L. M., Heilman, K. M., & Rothi, L. J. G. (1995a). Ecological implications of limb apraxia : Evidence from mealtime behavior. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 1(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617700000114
Foundas, A. L. (2013). Apraxia. In Handbook of clinical neurology (Vol. 110, p. 335‑345). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-52901-5.00028-9
Foundas, A. L., & Duncan, E. S. (2019). Limb apraxia : A disorder of learned skilled movement. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 19(10), 82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-019-0989-9
Foundas, A. L., Henchey, R., Gilmore, R. L., Fennell, E. B., & Heilman, K. M. (1995b). Apraxia during Wada testing. Neurology, 45(7), 1379–1383. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.45.7.1379
Foundas, A. L., Macauley, B. L., Raymer, A. M., Maher, L. M., Rothi, L. J., & Heilman, K. M. (1999). Ideomotor apraxia in Alzheimer disease and left hemisphere stroke : Limb transitive and intransitive movements. Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology, and Behavioral Neurology, 12(3), 161–166.
Frenkel-Toledo, S., Liebermann, D. G., Bentin, S., & Soroker, N. (2016). Dysfunction of the human mirror neuron system in ideomotor apraxia : Evidence from Mu suppression. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 28(6), 775–791. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00936
Frith, C. D. (2008). Social cognition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 363(1499), 2033–2039. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0005
Gainotti, G., & Lemmo, M. A. (1976). Comprehension of symbolic gestures in aphasia. Brain and Language, 3(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(76)90039-0
Gallagher, H. L., & Frith, C. D. (2004). Dissociable neural pathways for the perception and recognition of expressive and instrumental gestures. Neuropsychologia, 42(13), 1725–1736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2004.05.006
Gamboz, N., Coluccia, E., Iavarone, A., & Brandimonte, M. A. (2009). Normative data for the pyramids and palm trees test in the elderly Italian population. Neurological Sciences, 30(6), 453–458. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-009-0130-y
Gentilucci, M., & Corballis, M. (2006). From manual gesture to speech : A gradual transition. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 30(7), 949–960. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2006.02.004
Gerwing, J., & Bavelas, J. (2005). Linguistic influences on gesture’s form. Gesture, 4(2), 157–195. https://doi.org/10.1075/gest.4.2.04ger
Goldenberg, G. (1995). Imitating gestures and manipulating a mannikin—The representation of the human body in ideomotor apraxia. Neuropsychologia, 33(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/0028-3932(94)00104-W
Goldenberg, G., & Hagmann, S. (1997). The meaning of meaningless gestures : A study of visuo-imitative apraxia. Neuropsychologia, 35(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0028-3932(96)00085-1
Goldenberg, G., Hartmann, K., & Schlott, I. (2003). Defective pantomime of object use in left brain damage : Apraxia or asymbolia? Neuropsychologia, 41(12), Article 12. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0028-3932(03)00120-9
Goldenberg, G., & Spatt, J. (2009). The neural basis of tool use. Brain, 132(6), Article 6. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awp080
Goldenberg, G. (2009). Apraxia and the parietal lobes. Neuropsychologia, 47(6), Article 6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.07.014
Goldenberg, G. (1996). Defective imitation of gestures in patients with damage in the left or right hemispheres. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 61(2), 176–180. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.61.2.176
Goldenberg, G. (1999). Matching and imitation of hand and finger postures in patients with damage in the left or right hemispheres. Neuropsychologia, 37, 559–566.
Goldenberg, G., Münsinger, U., & Karnath, H.-O. (2009). Severity of neglect predicts accuracy of imitation in patients with right hemisphere lesions. Neuropsychologia, 47(13), 2948–2952. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.06.024
Goldman, A., & de Vignemont, F. (2009). Is social cognition embodied? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13(4), 154–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2009.01.007
Goldstein, K. (1948). Language and language disturbances: Aphasic symptom complexes and their significance for medicine and theory of language. Grune & Stratton.
Goodglass, H., & Kaplan, E. (1963). Disturbance of gesture and pantomime in aphasia. Brain, 86(4), 703–720. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/86.4.703
Haaland, K. Y., Harrington, D. L., & Knight, R. T. (2000). Neural representations of skilled movement. Brain, 123(11), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/123.11.2306
Halsband, U., Schmitt, J., Weyers, M., Binkofski, F., Grützner, G., & Freund, H.-J. (2001). Recognition and imitation of pantomimed motor acts after unilateral parietal and premotor lesions : A perspective on apraxia. Neuropsychologia, 39(2), 200–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0028-3932(00)00088-9
Hanna-Pladdy, B. (2001). Cortical and subcortical contributions to ideomotor apraxia : Analysis of task demands and error types. Brain, 124(12), 2513–2527. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/124.12.2513
Hanna-Pladdy, B., Heilman, K. M., & Foundas, A. L. (2003). Ecological implications of ideomotor apraxia : Evidence from physical activities of daily living. Neurology, 60(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.60.3.487
Happé, F., Brownell, H., & Winner, E. (1999). Acquired ‘theory of mind’ impairments following stroke. Cognition, 70(3), 211–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-0277(99)00005-0
Heath, M., Roy, E. A., Black, S. E., & Westwood, D. A. (2001). Intransitive limb gestures and apraxia following unilateral stroke*. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 23(5), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1076/jcen.23.5.628.1240
Hermsdörfer, J., Hentze, S., & Goldenberg, G. (2006). Spatial and kinematic features of apraxic movement depend on the mode of execution. Neuropsychologia, 44(10), 1642–1652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.03.023
Higgins, W. C., Ross, R. M., Langdon, R., & Polito, V. (2023). The “reading the mind in the eyes” test shows poor psychometric properties in a large, demographically representative U.S. sample. Assessment, 30(6), 1777–1789. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911221124342
Hodges, J. R. (2000). The role of conceptual knowledge in object use evidence from semantic dementia. Brain, 123(9), Article 9. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/123.9.1913
Hogrefe, K., Ziegler, W., Weidinger, N., & Goldenberg, G. (2012). Non-verbal communication in severe aphasia : Influence of aphasia, apraxia, or semantic processing? Cortex, 48(8), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2011.02.022
Holler, J., & Stevens, R. (2007). The effect of common ground on how speakers use gesture and speech to represent size information. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 26(1), 4–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X06296428
Jackson, H. (1866). Notes on the physiology and pathology of language. Brain, 38, 48–58.
Jason, G. W. (1985). Gesture fluency after focal cortical lesions. Neuropsychologia, 23(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/0028-3932(85)90002-8
Kaya, K., Unsal-Delialioglu, S., Kurt, M., Altinok, N., & Ozel, S. (2006). Evaluation of ideomotor apraxia in patients with stroke : A study of reliability and validity. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 38(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1080/16501970500312255
Kittel, A. F. D., Olderbak, S., & Wilhelm, O. (2022). Sty in the mind’s eye : A meta-analytic investigation of the nomological network and internal consistency of the “reading the mind in the eyes” test. Assessment, 29(5), 872–895. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191121996469
Knecht, S., Dräger, B., Deppe, M., Bobe, L., Lohmann, H., Flöel, A., Ringelstein, E.-B., & Henningsen, H. (2000). Handedness and hemispheric language dominance in healthy humans. Brain, 123(12), 2512–2518. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/123.12.2512
Lesourd, M., Le Gall, D., Baumard, J., Croisile, B., Jarry, C., & Osiurak, F. (2013). Apraxia and Alzheimer’s disease : Review and perspectives. Neuropsychology Review, 23(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-013-9235-4
Liepmann, H. (1905). Die linke hemisphere und das handeln. Münchener Medizinische Wochenschrift, 49, 2322–2326.
Liepmann, H. (1920). Apraxie. Ergebnisse der gesamten Medizin, 1, 516–540.
Mengotti, P., Corradi-Dell’Acqua, C., Negri, G. A. L., Ukmar, M., Pesavento, V., & Rumiati, R. I. (2013). Selective imitation impairments differentially interact with language processing. Brain, 136(8), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awt194
Mengotti, P., Ripamonti, E., Pesavento, V., & Rumiati, R. I. (2015). Anatomical and spatial matching in imitation : Evidence from left and right brain-damaged patients. Neuropsychologia, 79, 256–271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.06.038
Morlaas, J. (1928). Contribution à l’étude de l’apraxie. Legrand.
Mostofsky, S. H., Dubey, P., Jerath, V. K., Jansiewicz, E. M., Goldberg, M. C., & Denckla, M. B. (2006). Developmental dyspraxia is not limited to imitation in children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 12(03). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617706060437
Mozaz, M., Rothi, L. J. G., Anderson, J. M., Crucian, G. P., & Heilman, K. M. (2002). Postural knowledge of transitive pantomimes and intransitive gestures. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8(7), Article 7. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617702870114
Negri, G. A. L., Rumiati, R. I., Zadini, A., Ukmar, M., Mahon, B. Z., & Caramazza, A. (2007). What is the role of motor simulation in action and object recognition? Evidence from apraxia. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 24(8), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643290701707412
Olderbak, S., & Wilhelm, O. (2020). Overarching principles for the organization of socioemotional constructs. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(1), 63–70. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721419884317
Ortiz, K. Z., & Mantovani-Nagaoka, J. (2017). Limb apraxia in aphasic patients. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 75(11), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.1590/0004-282x20170150
Osiurak, F. (2014). What neuropsychology tells us about human tool use? The four constraints theory (4CT): Mechanics, space, time, and effort. Neuropsychology Review, 24(2), 88–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-014-9260-y
Osiurak, F., Reynaud, E., Baumard, J., Rossetti, Y., Bartolo, A., & Lesourd, M. (2021). Pantomime of tool use : Looking beyond apraxia. Brain Communications, fcab263. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcab263
Papadatou-Pastou, M., Ntolka, E., Schmitz, J., Martin, M., Munafò, M. R., Ocklenburg, S., & Paracchini, S. (2020). Human handedness : A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146(6), 481–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000229
Papagno, C., Della Sala, S., & Basso, A. (1993). Ideomotor apraxia without aphasia and aphasia without apraxia : The anatomical support for a double dissociation. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 56(3), 286–289. https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.56.3.286
Papeo, L., & Rumiati, R. I. (2013). Lexical and gestural symbols in left-damaged patients. Cortex, 49(6), Article 6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2012.09.003
Pavlova, M. A., & Sokolov, A. A. (2022). Reading language of the eyes. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 140, 104755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104755
Pazzaglia, M., Smania, N., Corato, E., & Aglioti, S. M. (2008). Neural underpinnings of gesture discrimination in patients with limb apraxia. Journal of Neuroscience, 28(12), Article 12. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5748-07.2008
Quental, N. B. M., Brucki, S. M. D., & Bueno, O. F. A. (2013). Visuospatial function in early Alzheimer’s disease—the use of the visual object and space perception (VOSP) battery. PLoS ONE, 8(7), e68398. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0068398
Quesque, F., & Rossetti, Y. (2020). What do theory-of-mind tasks actually measure? Theory and practice. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(2), 384–396. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619896607
Raade, A. S., Gonzalez Rothi, L. J., & Heilman, K. M. (1991). The relationship between buccofacial and limb apraxia. Brain and Cognition, 16(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/0278-2626(91)90002-P
Rapcsak, S. Z., Ochipa, C., Beeson, P. M., & Rubens, A. B. (1993). Praxis and the right hemisphere. Brain and Cognition, 23(2), 181–202. https://doi.org/10.1006/brcg.1993.1054
Reynaud, E., Lesourd, M., Navarro, J., & Osiurak, F. (2016). On the neurocognitive origins of human tool use : A critical review of neuroimaging data. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 64, 421–437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.03.009
Reynaud, E., Navarro, J., Lesourd, M., & Osiurak, F. (2019). To watch is to work : A review of neuroimaging data on tool use observation network. Neuropsychology Review, 29(4), 484–497. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-019-09418-3
Rothi, L. J., Ochipa, C., & Heilman, K. M. (1991). A cognitive neuropsychological model of limb praxis. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 8(6), Article 6. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643299108253382
Rothi, L. J. G., Ochipa, C., & Heilman, K. M. (1997). A cognitive neuropsychological model of limb praxis and apraxia. In L. J. G. Rothi & K. M. Heilman (Eds.), Apraxia: The neuropsychology of action (pp. 29–49). Psychology Press/Erlbaum (UK) Taylor & Francis. (Reprinted in modified form from Cognitive Neuropsychology, 8, 1991, pp. 443–458).
Roy, E. A., & Square, P. A. (1985). Common considerations in the study of limb, verbal and oral apraxia. In Advances in psychology (Vol. 23, p. 111‑161). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-4115(08)61139-5
Roy, E. A., Square-storer, P., Hogg, S., & Adams, S. (1991). Analysis of task demands in apraxia. International Journal of Neuroscience, 56(1‑4), Article 1‑4. https://doi.org/10.3109/00207459108985414
Schnider, A., Hanlon, R. E., Alexander, D. N., & Benson, D. F. (1997). Ideomotor apraxia : behavioral dimensions and neuroanatomical basis. Brain and Language, 58(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1006/brln.1997.1770
Schwoebel, J., Buxbaum, L. J., & Branch Coslett, H. (2004). Representations of the human body in the production and imitation of complex movements. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 21(2–4), Article 2–4. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643290342000348
Sekine, K., & Rose, M. L. (2013). The relationship of aphasia type and gesture production in people with aphasia. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2013/12-0030
Stamenova, V., Roy, E. A., & Black, S. E. (2010). Associations and dissociations of transitive and intransitive gestures in left and right hemisphere stroke patients. Brain and Cognition, 72(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2010.01.004
Stamenova, V., Black, S. E., & Roy, E. A. (2012). An update on the conceptual–production systems model of apraxia : Evidence from stroke. Brain and Cognition, 80(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2012.03.009
Stieglitz Ham, H., Bartolo, A., Corley, M., Rajendran, G., Szabo, A., & Swanson, S. (2011). Exploring the relationship between gestural recognition and imitation : Evidence of dyspraxia in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1011-1
Stieglitz Ham, H., Bartolo, A., Corley, M., Swanson, S., & Rajendran, G. (2010). Case report : Selective deficit in the production of intransitive gestures in an individual with autism. Cortex, 46(3), 407–409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2009.06.005
Straube, B., Green, A., Bromberger, B., & Kircher, T. (2011). The differentiation of iconic and metaphoric gestures : Common and unique integration processes. Human Brain Mapping, 32(4), 520–533. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.21041
Sunderland, A., & Shinner, C. (2007). Ideomotor apraxia and functional ability. Cortex, 43(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-9452(08)70461-1
Sunderland, A., Bowers, M. P., Sluman, S.-M., Wilcock, D. J., & Ardron, M. E. (1999). Impaired dexterity of the ipsilateral hand after stroke and the relationship to cognitive deficit. Stroke, 30(5), 949–955. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.30.5.949
Szaflarski, J. P., Binder, J. R., Possing, E. T., McKiernan, K. A., Ward, B. D., & Hammeke, T. A. (2002). Language lateralization in left-handed and ambidextrous people : fMRI data. Neurology, 59(2), 238–244. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.59.2.238
Tessari, A., Canessa, N., Ukmar, M., & Rumiati, R. I. (2006). Neuropsychological evidence for a strategic control of multiple routes in imitation. Brain, 130(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awm003
Unsal-Delialioglu, S., Kurt, M., Kaya, K., Culha, C., & Ozel, S. (2008). Effects of ideomotor apraxia on functional outcomes in patients with right hemiplegia. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 31(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.1097/MRR.0b013e3282fc0fb9
van Nispen, K., van de Sandt-Koenderman, M., Mol, L., & Krahmer, E. (2016). Pantomime production by people with aphasia : what are influencing factors? Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 59(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1044/2015_JSLHR-L-15-0166
Van Overwalle, F. (2009). Social cognition and the brain : A meta-analysis. Human Brain Mapping, 30(3), 829–858. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.20547
Vanbellingen, T., Kersten, B., Van Hemelrijk, B., Van de Winckel, A., Bertschi, M., Müri, R., De Weerdt, W., & Bohlhalter, S. (2010). Comprehensive assessment of gesture production : A new test of upper limb apraxia (TULIA): A new test of upper limb apraxia. European Journal of Neurology, 17(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-1331.2009.02741.x
Vanbellingen, T., Schumacher, R., Eggenberger, N., Hopfner, S., Cazzoli, D., Preisig, B. C., Bertschi, M., Nyffeler, T., Gutbrod, K., Bassetti, C. L., Bohlhalter, S., & Müri, R. M. (2015). Different visual exploration of tool-related gestures in left hemisphere brain damaged patients is associated with poor gestural imitation. Neuropsychologia, 71, 158–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.04.001
Vingerhoets, G., Acke, F., Alderweireldt, A.-S., Nys, J., Vandemaele, P., & Achten, E. (2012). Cerebral lateralization of praxis in right- and left-handedness : Same pattern, different strength. Human Brain Mapping, 33(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.21247
Walther, S., Mittal, V. A., Stegmayer, K., & Bohlhalter, S. (2020). Gesture deficits and apraxia in schizophrenia. Cortex, 133, 65–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2020.09.017
Walther, S., Vanbellingen, T., Müri, R., Strik, W., & Bohlhalter, S. (2013). Impaired gesture performance in schizophrenia : Particular vulnerability of meaningless pantomimes. Neuropsychologia, 51(13), 2674–2678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.08.017
Weiss, P. H., Ubben, S. D., Kaesberg, S., Kalbe, E., Kessler, J., Liebig, T., & Fink, G. R. (2016). Where language meets meaningful action : A combined behavior and lesion analysis of aphasia and apraxia. Brain Structure and Function, 221(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-014-0925-3
Willems, R. M., Özyürek, A., & Hagoort, P. (2007). When language meets action : The neural integration of gesture and speech. Cerebral Cortex, 17(10), 2322–2333. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhl141
Xu, J., Gannon, P. J., Emmorey, K., Smith, J. F., & Braun, A. R. (2009). Symbolic gestures and spoken language are processed by a common neural system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(49), Article 49. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0909197106
Yang, J., Andric, M., & Mathew, M. M. (2015). The neural basis of hand gesture comprehension : A meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 57, 88–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.08.006
Zwinkels, A., Geusgens, C., van de Sande, P., & van Heugten, C. (2004). Assessment of apraxia : Inter-rater reliability of a new apraxia test, association between apraxia and other cognitive deficits and prevalence of apraxia in a rehabilitation setting. Clinical Rehabilitation, 18(7), 819–827. https://doi.org/10.1191/0269215504cr816oa
Funding
This work was supported by grants from Region Normandie (“PEREMO” Project; JB and VB), from the University of Rouen Normandie (UNIROUEN, ED 556 HSRT, RIN Doctorant 2020 100%; JB), from the French National Research Agency (ANR; Project TECHNITION: ANR-21-CE28-0023-01; FO and ML) and the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (NUMERICOG-2017-900-EA 3082 EMC-R-2075; FO).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors have made substantial contributions to the work, proofread the manuscript, and approved the version to be published. The specific contributions were as follows: Josselin Baumard: conception and design, data collection and analysis, interpretation, drafting, and submission process. Alice Laniepce: data collection and analysis. Mathieu Lesourd: conception and design. Léna Guézouli: conception and design. Virginie Beaucousin: data collection and analysis. Maureen Gehin: conception and design, data collection, and analysis. François Osiurak: conception and design. Angela Bartolo: conception and design.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics Approval
This is a meta-analysis of already published studies. We have followed the PRISMA guidelines. The data given in the supplement were from healthy human participants who all gave informed consent to participate in the study.
Competing Interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Baumard, J., Laniepce, A., Lesourd, M. et al. The Neurocognitive Bases of Meaningful Intransitive Gestures: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Neuropsychological Studies. Neuropsychol Rev (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-024-09634-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-024-09634-6