Kestrell

Teller, of Penn and Teller, has been involved in studying the cognition of magic for decades, and my favorite academic on the subject is Barton Whaley, an MIT alum who became the father of "deception studies"
https://www.bbc.com/news/education-47827346

It's not unusual for people to apologize for finding themselves using gestures while talking to me, although I always assure them that, being Italian, I get it.

Here is an article that explores the theory that gestures and other body movements are an integral part of learning language itself, and that making related gestures can improve language learning
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-brain-links-gestures-perception-and-meaning-20190325/