In my research I take part of an incorporated approach which stipulates that cognition would not be independent of perception and motor skills (Ellis and Tucker, 2000). This theory contemplates the idea that accessing to knowledge (i.e., concept), is essential to simulate using sensorimotor processes, all of the characteristics of the experience associated with the object. From this approach follows the potentiating effect which suggests that following the simple perception of a graspable object, certain compatible actions would be facilitated (Ellis and Tucker, 2004). In the main part of my researches I have focused on manipulable objects (eg, apple) because throughout life we keep in memory a large amount of experiences. Experiences allow us to build categories or concepts that include both perceptual characteristics but also and above all motor characteristics.

During my thesis, the potentiating effect was a key element on which we focused. Through our experiences it is this effect that we have tried to achieve each time in different paradigms and context. More specifically, my work is the stimulus-responses-compatibility paradigm, the aim of which was to induce compatibility / incompatibility between the stimulus presented. This work was established to understand the body role during the conceptualization of differents stimuli. It could be images of graspable objects or linguistic stimuli with graspable object words and action verbs.

The ultimate goal of my research is to show a functional role of sensorimotor processes during the conceptualization of graspable object.