{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,5]],"date-time":"2026-02-05T19:32:16Z","timestamp":1770319936834,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":61,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769731200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["3197070624"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["3197070624"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Human interaction with manipulable objects relies heavily on the ability to perceive and execute grasping actions, yet it remains unclear whether the semantics of these actions are processed without conscious awareness. While previous work has identified bottom-up influences on grasp recognition, direct evidence for subliminal semantic processing of grasping actions is limited. Grounded in embodied cognition theory\u2014which posits overlapping neural mechanisms for action language and action execution\u2014the present study examined whether grasp-related verbs can elicit subliminal priming effects on grasping-action recognition. Using a masked priming paradigm, participants classified objects requiring either precision or power grasps while subliminal Chinese action verbs served as primes. Behavioral measures revealed faster responses for semantically congruent cue\u2013target pairs. ERP analyses further demonstrated congruency effects in the N400 and P600 components, reflecting semantic integration and conflict monitoring, as well as modulation of the P300 associated with action-related evaluation. Both grasp types showed evidence of unconscious semantic processing, though precision- and power-grasping actions produced distinct neural patterns. These findings provide direct experimental support for subthreshold semantic activation of grasping actions and confirm the viewpoint of action-language-embodied processing. The study advances the theoretical understanding of unconscious-action semantics and offers a framework for investigating how manipulative-action meaning is accessed below the threshold of awareness.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16020206","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]],"date-time":"2026-01-30T17:38:34Z","timestamp":1769794714000},"page":"206","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Subliminal Semantic Processing of Grasping Actions: Evidence from ERP Measures of Action-Verb Priming"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2641-8654","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yanglan","family":"Yu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anmin","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15214","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0805867105","article-title":"Unconscious processing dissociates along categorical lines","volume":"105","author":"Almeida","year":"2008","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"79","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bandl.2006.06.012","article-title":"Action and object processing in aphasia: From nouns and verbs to the effect of manipulability","volume":"100","author":"Arevalo","year":"2007","journal-title":"Brain Lang"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"665","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.00249.2002","article-title":"Importance of cutaneous feedback in maintaining a secure grip during manipulation of hand-held objects","volume":"89","author":"Augurelle","year":"2003","journal-title":"Journal of Neurophysiology"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104595","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jml.2024.104595","article-title":"The contribution of learning and memory processes to verb-specific syntactic processing","volume":"141","author":"Ball","year":"2025","journal-title":"Journal of Memory and Language"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103630","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bandc.2019.103630","article-title":"Physical and observational practices of unusual actions prime action verb processing","volume":"138","author":"Beauprez","year":"2020","journal-title":"Brain and Cognition"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"152","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cortex.2021.03.004","article-title":"Decoding stimuli (tool-hand) and viewpoint invariant grasp-type information","volume":"139","author":"Bergstrom","year":"2021","journal-title":"Cortex"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"433","DOI":"10.1163\/156856897X00357","article-title":"The psychophysics toolbox","volume":"10","author":"Brainard","year":"1997","journal-title":"Spatial Vision"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13183","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.0597-14.2014","article-title":"The neural correlates of planning and executing actual tool use","volume":"34","author":"Brandi","year":"2014","journal-title":"Journal of Neuroscience"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Brodeur, M. 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