Samuel McNerny explores the theory of "embodied cognition," the theory that "the mind is not only connected to the body but that the body influences the mind:"
[O]ur cognition is influenced, perhaps determined by, our experiences in the physical world. This is why we say that something is “over our heads” to express the idea that we do not understand; we are drawing upon the physical inability to not see something over our heads and the mental feeling of uncertainty. Or why we understand warmth with affection; as infants and children the subjective judgment of affection almost always corresponded with the sensation of warmth, thus giving way to metaphors such as “I’m warming up to her.”
Other recent thoughts on mind-brain issues here.
The Dish 