Professional Bio

My research investigates the role of perceptual, motor, and affective neural systems in cognitive processes such as language processing and mental imagery. I’m particularly interested in the mind’s ability to ‘simulate’ perceptual, motor, and affective experience to ground concept knowledge, and how this varies between concrete and abstract concepts. My current research highlights the flexible, multidimensional nature of concept knowledge that varies based on individual differences in mental imagery and the type of information needed in the moment. My research program also includes the study of mental imagery extremes, such as the absence of mental imagery known as aphantasia. The natural variability of mental imagery across individuals affords substantial insight into how we use imagery to support our cognition more broadly. I use behavioural and neuroimaging methods (EEG, fMRI) with univariate and multivariate analytic approaches to probe these cognitive processes and identify their underlying mechanisms.

Muraki, E.J. & Pexman, P.M. (2025). Simulation in the “blind” mind: Do people with aphantasia show sensorimotor simulation effects during language processing? Neuropsychologia, 217, 109208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2025.109218

Diveica, V., Muraki, E.J., Binney, R.J., & Pexman, P.M. (2025). The multidimensionality, variability and flexibility of concepts: Opening editorial. Cortex, 188, 7–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2025.05.011

Mahmood, F., Muraki, E.J., Diveica, V., Binney, R.J., Protzner, A.B., & Pexman, P.M. (2025). Abstract words are hard to acquire; Does social relevance help? Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-025-02719-0

Muraki, E. J., Pexman, P. M., & Binney, R. J. (2025). Mapping Contributions of the Anterior Temporal Semantic Hub to the Processing of Abstract and Concrete Verbs. Human Brain Mapping, 46(6), e70210. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hbm.70210

Muraki, E.J., Born, S., & Pexman, P.M. (2025). Grasping variance in word norms: Individual differences in motor imagery and semantic ratings. Journal of Cognition, 8(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.418

Muraki, E.J., Speed, L.J., & Pexman, P.M. (2023). Insights into embodied cognition and mental imagery from aphantasia. Nature Reviews Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-023-00221-9

Muraki, E. J., Dahm, S. F., & Pexman, P. M. (2023). Meaning in hand: Investigating shared mechanisms of motor imagery and sensorimotor simulation in language processing. Cognition, 240, Article105589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105589