How movements and gestures are grounded in our memories?

There is evidence showing that multimodal encoding—processing information simultaneously through different senses (e.g., vision, hearing, touch) or movements—helps us recall information. Studies indicate that self-performed actions associated with linguistic tasks can support memorization of words and the learning of new word meanings. More specifically, it is easier to remember the sentence “grasp the orange” if we perform the action of grasping an (imaginary) orange ourselves, rather than observing someone else perform the action or simply reading or hearing the sentence.

In addition, a recent study showed that memorizing words was more effective when participants were asked to draw an image of the item to be remembered, rather than simply writing it down (Roberts, Meade, & Fernandes, 2025). This suggests that drawing engages visual, semantic, and motor processes during encoding. At the stage of retrieval, memory access becomes easier when multiple pathways—such as sensory and motor cues—are available. Several studies also demonstrate that, during retrieval, the same (sensory) brain areas are activated as those engaged during encoding—even when the information was encoded implicitly and without conscious effort to memorize. This implies that, during retrieval, we can accurately reconstruct past experiences through sensory and motor processes.

In everyday life, hand movements—or gestures—are a natural part of conversation. Some gestures are iconic, meaning they visually represent aspects such as the size, shape, or location of concrete objects (e.g., using our fingers to illustrate quantity or physical characteristics). Other gestures are more metaphoric or abstract, allowing us to convey concepts like time (e.g., referring to the past or future), certainty or uncertainty, or emotional states such as positivity or negativity through posture or hand movements. Typically, these gestures are congruent with our speech content and play a role in enhancing communication and understanding.

One study investigated whether upward or downward movements during the recall of autobiographical memories could aid the retrieval process. The results showed that participants retrieved memories more quickly when the direction of movement was congruent with the emotional valence of the memory—upward movements for positive memories and downward for negative ones (Casasanto & Dijkstra, 2010). Another study found that gestures were associated with specific episodic details, suggesting that gesturing may facilitate the recall of additional episodic information (Aydin, Göksun, Otenen, Tanis, & Şentürk, 2023).

All these studies demonstrate that movements, postures, and actions are implicitly grounded in our memories. But how can we use these abstract movements or gestures as a source of information in somatic therapy? In the Hakomi method, such movements and gestures can serve as an access to a person’s inner world and the organization of their mind. By mindfully exploring these bodily expressions, individuals may gain access to implicit memories—those formed outside of conscious awareness.

Reference and further reading:

Aydin, C., Göksun, T., Otenen, E., Tanis, S. B., & Şentürk, Y. D. (2023). The role of gestures in autobiographical memory. Plos one, 18(2), e0281748.

Casasanto, D., & Dijkstra, K. (2010). Motor action and emotional memory. Cognition, 115(1), 179-185.

Roberts, B. R., Meade, M. E., & Fernandes, M. A. (2025). Brain regions supporting retrieval of words drawn at encoding: fMRI evidence for multimodal reactivation. Memory & Cognition, 53(1), 282-298.