ABSTRACT
I discuss converging evidence from experimental psychology, cognitive neuropsychology and functional brain imaging on the question of how actions are retrieved from visually presented objects. I argue that structural information from objects is coded in terms of the actions that can be performed on object parts, and this structural information can be linked directly to ‘afford' associated actions. These affordances modulate action retrieval independently of semantic information about inter-object associations and contextual knowledge. I show how the findings on action retrieval can be captured by a ‘dual route’ model combining affordance-and semantic-based routes to action. I discuss the implications for understanding a variety of neuropsychological disorders and normal cognitive development.
