Schematic representation of semantic task.

<p>Each trial started with the presentation of a central red circle that participants had to touch and hold for a variable period. Then, a verb was shown above the central stimulus. After a variable delay (stimulus onset asynchrony; SOA) a peripheral target appeared. Participants were asked either to touch it, if the meaning of the verb referred to a concrete action (go-trials), or to refrain from moving if it had a content which did not clearly involve movement of the effectors (no-go trials; see Methods for more details).