In this work, we intend to examine the primary meta phor CONTROL IS UP . By means of this metaphor, the domain of CONTROL (or POWER ) is conceptualized on a vertical axis, in such a way that powerful entities are conceptualized as being higher up than less powerful ones, which are construed as being down. This gives rise to many linguistic expressions, such as "he has complete control over her", "he's under my supervision", etc. In this study we want to test whether vertical organization is prese nt in the on-line processing of relation- ships of control. To this end, we have conducted a number of studies. In the first one, participants were shown pairs of words; their task was to say wh ether both words were related seman- tically or not. Word-pairs were presented one on to p of the other on the screen: sometimes the "powerful" member of the pair (e.g., captain ) was on top and the less powerful one (e.g., soldier ) below, a configuration of positions coherent with the metaphor CONTROL IS UP ; other times words were presented in a metaphor-in congruent position. Our prediction that canonical positions would elicit a quicker res ponse was confirmed. To discard this possibility that subjects were con ceptualizing the relationship be- tween both words focusing on a relationship other t han 'control' (e.g., social prestige, wealth, etc.), we conducted a second experiment in which subjects read a text involving two human participants (e.g, Tim & Tom ), one of which was presented as having control over the other. Subjects were then offered the two names in metaphor congruent and in- congruent vertical positions (i.e., 'controlling' p articipant up and 'controlled' down, and viceversa). Their task was to say whether those wer e the names of the participants in the previous story. Our hypothesis that metaphor-congru ent vertical orientation would elicit quicker reaction times than incongruent positions w as only partially confirmed. Results are discussed and future work suggested. Are conceptual metaphors accessible on-line? A psycholinguistic exploration of the CONTROL IS UP metaphor (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255642728_Are_conceptual_metaphors_accessible_on-line_A_psycholinguistic_exploration_of_the_CONTROL_IS_UP_metaphor [accessed Sep 20, 2017].