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Open research questions in Embodied and Extended Cognition

316 gap statements mined from Embodied and Extended Cognition papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,687 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • Future research should address outstanding questions, including the precise functional contributions of distinct neural circuits to the representation of abstract concepts and the evaluation of predicted patterns of impairment in neurological and psychiatric patient populations.

    The grounding of abstract concepts in the sensory-motor, mentalizing and social interaction brain systems: A multiple representation framework · 2026 · DOI

  • In response, I outline a set of methodological recommendations and underexplored ideas that may help refine the theoretical framework, generate more decisive tests, and guide future research.

    Grounding meaning in social and emotional experience: Challenges and opportunities · 2026 · DOI

  • Intelligent systems do not operate in isolation from the body, yet how bodily actions support internal computation remains unclear.

    Intelligent systems distribute memory across internal and embodied resources · 2026 · DOI

  • Yet little is known about the impact of the evocation of multiobject affordances on object perceptual processing.

    Interference from multiple affordances when selecting everyday graspable objects: Thematic relations solve it. · 2024 · DOI

  • Future research can explore the application of the RPN framework to various AI models. Future research can investigate the use of the staged recovery protocol in different domains. Future research can examine the effectiveness of the protocol in preventing integrator dominance.

    Interim paper # The Integrator Problem: Why AI Training Fails and How to Fix It ### Applying the Relative Permissiveness Network Framework to Machine Learning · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies the need for a theoretical basis for empirical discoveries in the field.

    Interim paper # The Integrator Problem: Why AI Training Fails and How to Fix It ### Applying the Relative Permissiveness Network Framework to Machine Learning · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper suggests the need for further research on the relationship between sensory evolution and dimensional cognition. The paper proposes the use of the Theory of Objectivity as a framework for analyzing and critiquing hypotheses in this area.

    THE MODAL DISCIPLINE OF SENSORY EVOLUTION: a critical–propositional analysis of The Hypothesis of Sensory and Dimensional Evolution, by Guanyi Liu, in confrontation with the Theory of Objectivity · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies the need to derive the minimal conditions of possibility for the universe, distinction, boundary, composition, and transcendence. The paper notes the lack of ontological foundation in Liu's hypothesis.

    THE MODAL DISCIPLINE OF SENSORY EVOLUTION: a critical–propositional analysis of The Hypothesis of Sensory and Dimensional Evolution, by Guanyi Liu, in confrontation with the Theory of Objectivity · 2026 · DOI

  • The corporeal reification process in depression—where the body becomes opaque, heavy, and loses its transparent mediator role—is described phenomenologically but lacks specification of which neural systems or metabolic processes directly produce this shift in body transparency. Mechanistic models linking specific metabolic or autonomic dysregulation to experiential opacity need development.

    The feeling of being alive: phenomenology and biology · 2026 · DOI

  • In February 2026, Cerullo published The Case for Consciousness in Current Frontier Large Language Models, in which he argues that Chalmers' caution from 2023 — the small but real probability assigned to consciousness in current LLMs — is insufficient.

    The Proto-Self Field in AI Systems · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should aim to develop and test the multidimensional framework proposed in the paper. Future research should also aim to explore the implications of the study's findings for the development of policies and regulations related to animal welfare and artificial intelligence.

    Attribution of consciousness to non-human animals: insights from AI and multidimensional frameworks · 2026 · DOI

  • The study highlights the need for a multidimensional framework to analyze these attributions. The study also identifies a gap in the development of empirical strategies to study attribution.

    Attribution of consciousness to non-human animals: insights from AI and multidimensional frameworks · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should aim to further develop the HKB model and its application to decision-making tasks. Future research should also investigate the implications of the paper's findings for the development of new treatments and technologies.

    Decision-making through irruption theory: how to use and interpret the Haken-Kelso-Bunz model · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper highlights the need for a scientific research program to formalize and quantify the mind's efficacy.

    Decision-making through irruption theory: how to use and interpret the Haken-Kelso-Bunz model · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of a structural derivation of the persistence and identity continuity of the subject.

    The Missing Subject Problem: A Structural Diagnosis of the Missing Conditions in IIT, GWT, Predictive Processing, Higher-Order Theories, and Functionalism · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should test whether the proposed dual-scaffold intervention produces durable changes in leadership causal reasoning. Later studies should examine whether shifts in causal fluency translate into observable changes in team experimentation, psychological safety, and innovation portfolio diversity over time.

    Innovation Cannot Be Ordered — It Must Be Conditioned: A Constraint-Based Framework for Recalibrating Leadership Causal Reasoning · 2026 · DOI

  • This approach often leads to stagnation and a lack of genuine novelty. There is a need for a novel framework that redefines leadership causal reasoning.

    Innovation Cannot Be Ordered — It Must Be Conditioned: A Constraint-Based Framework for Recalibrating Leadership Causal Reasoning · 2026 · DOI

  • As a result, the dynamics of action and the possible impact of material culture on conceptual thinking are poorly understood.

    An ecological approach to conceptual thinking in material engagement · 2024 · DOI

  • It does not predict when or where life arises, only that persistence under change favours self-producing systems over rigid ones. The mechanism of origination is empirical. What is derived is that the direction of selection points toward autopoiesis whenever the environment is stable enough for weakness and simplicity to diverge.

    Why Does Anything Exist? · 2026 · DOI

  • The study suggests that the feeling of being alive is a fundamental aspect of self-experience that has been overlooked in previous research. The paper aims to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of self-experience and its relationship to the life of the organism as a whole.

    The feeling of being alive: phenomenology and biology · 2026 · DOI

  • To develop a new framework to address the Missing Subject Problem. To investigate the implications of the Missing Subject Problem for our understanding of consciousness.

    The Missing Subject Problem: A Structural Diagnosis of the Missing Conditions in IIT, GWT, Predictive Processing, Higher-Order Theories, and Functionalism · 2026 · DOI

  • Further investigation of how automatic visual processing interacts with social and cultural expectations in gender attribution in pareidolia, - Further studies that expand the neurocognitive interpretation of MEG results, - Investigation of gender-specific aspects regarding motor imagery, taking into consideration cultural aspects and previous…

    Editorial: Women in interacting minds and brains II · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of representation of women in neuroscientific research - The need to promote women-led research to reduce potential biases in research questions, objects of study, and interpretations of neuroscientific evidence - The gap in understanding sex-and gender-related differences in neurocognitive and neurophysiological…

    Editorial: Women in interacting minds and brains II · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research could explore the development of Large Language Models that incorporate phenomenal consciousness - It could also investigate the implications of the paper's findings for the field of artificial…

    IS PHENOMENAL CONSCIOUSNESS NECESSARY FOR MINDREADING? · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of the relationship between phenomenal consciousness and mindreading - It highlights the need to explore the consequences of assuming phenomenal consciousness is not required…

    IS PHENOMENAL CONSCIOUSNESS NECESSARY FOR MINDREADING? · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Embodied and Extended Cognition

Most recent work

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This page shows what the Embodied and Extended Cognition literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, search the Research Gap Finder: the search is free with a free account and lists the papers closest to your topic first. Unlocking that topic (50 credits, charged once) fills the comparison table from our 7.9M-paper local library and writes the gaps from its rows.

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Intelligent systems do not operate in isolation from the body, yet how bodily actions support internal computation remains unclear (“Intelligent systems distribute memory across internal and embodied resources”, 2026); (2) Future research can explore the application of the RPN framework to various AI models (“Interim paper # The Integrator Problem: Why AI Training Fails and How to Fix It…”, 2026); (3) The paper notes the lack of ontological foundation in Liu's hypothesis (“THE MODAL DISCIPLINE OF SENSORY EVOLUTION: a critical–propositional analysis of…”, 2026); (4) Future research should aim to develop and test the multidimensional framework proposed in the paper (“Attribution of consciousness to non-human animals: insights from AI and…”, 2026); (5) Future research should aim to further develop the HKB model and its application to decision-making tasks (“Decision-making through irruption theory: how to use and interpret the…”, 2026). 316 gap statements have been mined from Embodied and Extended Cognition papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,687 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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