In Print: ‘The Neuroscience of Word Meaning’

Publication title

The Neuroscience of Word Meaning

Purdue author

David Kemmerer

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Publication date

Feb. 27, 2026

About the book (from the publisher)

Words are among the basic building blocks of language, allowing us to share a tremendous range of ideas. This book summarizes research on how words are represented, organized and processed in our brain, offering a fascinating window into the neural basis of language. It begins with a foundational overview of linguistics and neuroscience, including neurons, networks and functional areas. It then delves into key topics and theories. It explores such questions as How do the meanings of words for objects and events relate to the brain regions involved in perception and action? Are different semantic categories of words, like those for animals and tools, segregated in the brain? What are the neural substrates of abstract words? The book describes how different theories answer these questions, and how numerous experiments help adjudicate between them. It also includes learning objectives, chapter summaries and over 60 figures.

About the Purdue author

David Kemmerer is a professor in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychological Sciences. His areas of expertise include neurolinguistics, semantics and grounded cognition. Kemmerer has published more than 60 articles and chapters and two editions of the “Cognitive Neuroscience of Language” textbook.

About the In Print series

To celebrate our faculty’s excellence in scholarship, Purdue Today’s weekly book series highlights faculty expertise across diverse subjects and disciplines. Find out more about the Purdue University Books Initiative and how to suggest a book for the In Print series on the Office of the Provost website. Purdue University’s Libraries and School of Information Studies’ authored books collection is available here.