What Is Neurosemantics?

Neurosemantics is the study of how words or phrases are interpreted within a person’s psychology, and the overall reactions that result. Some experts define neurosemantics as the study of the way that meaning gets converted into feeling. This complex kind of scientific study has generated various theories and ideas within its field, and within the larger context of the human sciences.

Another way to understand neurosemantics is that words often influence emotions. This issue can also be seen as the study of the intake of language or other semantic symbols into the central nervous system, where nerve responses can correlate to emotional reactions. To understand neurosemantics, it’s important to understand the meaning of semantics: semantics themselves are visual, literary or other sensory symbols that humans, and some animals, interpret in various ways

The field of neurosemantics is interdisciplinary. This means that it takes place within a larger array of human sciences. Some of these include anthropology, sociology, study of literature, study of religion, and study of philosophy. Other more technical sciences like linguistics and anatomy also border on understanding neurology and semantics.

Some scientific professionals approach "neuro-semantics" in different ways. One of these is to understand semantic internalization as something that happens through the electromagnetic spectrum. Another way to understand this kind of intake is in terms of "cognitive territory" where scientists may talk about mapping semantic concepts.

Among the various theories of neurosemantics in professional fields, many have to do with issues of “self-actualization” or other ways that humans interpret and actualize data. For example, one of these that is proposed by some scientists is that the interpretation of language may be similar to the interpretation of pressure to the retina as perceived light patterns. This kind of theory implies that the internalization of semantics may be less random than the way that these semantics were originally generated.

The field of neurosemantics may have many practical applications to psychology and psychiatry, but it should not be confused with these disciplines. The broader study of neurosemantics may also inform new efforts to create highly effective technologies for allowing humans to interact with each other, as well as with the technologies themselves, in new and empowering ways. Part of what generates interest in the intersection of neurology and semantics is the idea that by bringing more definition to the study of the brain, scientists could help to alleviate some negative conditions or limitations of the human mind.