How the Brain Links Gestures, Perception and Meaning

In Dick’s words, “Gesture essentially is one spire in a broader language system,” one that integrates both semantic processing regions and sensorimotor areas. Specifically, the neural systems underlying gesture observation and understanding are influenced by our past experiences of generating those same movements, according to Elizabeth Wakefield. Adults showed more activity in these regions than children did, however, and Wakefield thinks that is because the adults had more experience with making similar motions (children tend to gesture less when they talk).

Source: www.quantamagazine.org