Neuropragmatics

Neuropragmatics can be defined as the study of the neurocognitive basis of pragmatic processes as they are accounted for in the Gricean tradition, that is, with a focus on the inferential activities supporting the comprehension of intended meanings and the production of discourse and conversation. Because of its connection with both language and socio‐cognitive functioning, neuropragmatics stands out as a domain of interdisciplinary research that straddles the border between neurolinguistics, theoretical and experimental pragmatics, as well as other areas of cognitive neuroscience. The field was shaped in the early 2000s, grounding on two decades of studies on pragmatic difficulties in clinical populations, and rapidly incorporated methods from cognitive neuroscience, including the use of neuroimaging and electrophysiological recordings. Nowadays, neuropragmatics encompasses different research strands, from those focused on the study of pragmatics in clinical groups (clinical pragmatics) to those based on neuroscience approaches. Currently, key topics in neuropragmatics revolve around the relationship between pragmatic abilities and other cognitive skills, as this issue might contribute to solving important theoretical questions related to the status of pragmatics in the architecture of the mind, such as the hypothesis that pragmatics is a dedicated mind‐reading module. In addition, neuropragmatics carries relevant societal implications related to how to classify, diagnose, and promote pragmatic abilities in individuals who have difficulties in pragmatic tasks. In particular, given the centrality of communication in human life, an informed neuropragmatic approach can offer a better grounding for assessing and treating pragmatic language disorder, contributing to promoting well-being.