Moving beyond domain-specific versus domain-general options in cognitive neuroscience

Comparative research on language, music, and action in cognitive neuroscience keeps finding evidence for both shared and non-shared components of cognitive systems. The discussions, then, tend to quickly fall into the sterile dichotomy between domain-specific versus domain-general options. In this position paper, we take issue with this dichotomy and argue for an alternative account based on neural reuse theories to understand findings on the relationship between language, music, and action. We argue that the differences between those cognitive systems can be explained in terms of the specialization of the same brain mechanism(s) for each domain, which emerges in the course of development and/or evolution.