Discourse Deficits Following Right Hemisphere Damage in Deaf Signers

doi:10.1006/BRLN.1998.1995

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Discourse Deficits Following Right Hemisphere Damage in Deaf Signers

Journal Article•DOI•

Discourse Deficits Following Right Hemisphere Damage in Deaf Signers

Gregory Hickok¹, Gregory Hickok², Margaret Wilson³, Kevin Clark², Edward S. Klima⁴, Edward S. Klima², Mark Kritchevsky⁴, Ursula Bellugi² - Show less +4 more•Institutions (4)

University of California, Irvine¹, Salk Institute for Biological Studies², North Dakota State University³, University of California, San Diego⁴

01 Feb 1999-Brain and Language (Academic Press)-Vol. 66, Iss: 2, pp 233-248

TL;DR: It is concluded that, as in the hearing population, discourse functions involve the right hemisphere; that distinct discourse functions can be dissociated from one another in ASL; and that brain organization for linguistic spatial devices is driven by its functional role in language processing, rather than by its surface, spatial characteristics.

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About: This article is published in Brain and Language.The article was published on 1999-02-01 and is currently open access. It has received 44 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Spatial cognition & Spatial ability.

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Figures (4)

FIG. 8. Samples of AR and SJ’s drawings and block designs, showing deficits in spatial processing in both RHD deaf subjects.

FIG. 6. Contrasting types of discourse errors in the two RHD deaf signers: Tangential utterances are very frequent in AR (60% of utterances) but essentially absent in SJ (left) and spatial errors in ASL discourse mechanisms are minimal in AR but rampant in SJ (right).

FIG. 1. Linguistic contrasts in ASL involving crucial use of space at the lexical level, the morphological level, and the syntactic level.

FIG. 5. Sample pictures from ‘‘Paint Story,’’ a wordless picture sequence designed to elicit spatialized discourse mechanisms of ASL.

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Journal Article•DOI•

Cognition and functional outcome among deaf and hearing people with schizophrenia

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Heather K. Horton¹, Steven M. Silverstein²•Institutions (2)

University at Albany, SUNY¹, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey²

01 Aug 2007-Schizophrenia Research

TL;DR: It is indicated that deaf and hearing subjects may benefit from interventions that address different domains of cognition and that deaf subjects outperformed hearing subjects in an unexpected domain (word memory/recognition).

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7 citations

Cites background from "Discourse Deficits Following Right ..."

...Similarly, deaf subjects with Broca's area damage have movement deficits – in their limbs rather than their mouths – related to the production of ASL (Hickok et al., 1999; Neville et al., 1997)....
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...The SCID was translated into ASL and back-translated into English by the author and a native signer....
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...Native signers include deaf and hearing persons whose first language is ASL....
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...Natural experiments created by deaf people born to hearing parents (90% of the deaf population) have led to the extensive research regarding the effect of delayed language acquisition (Emmorey, 1993; Mayberry, 1991, 1992, 1995; Neville et al., 1997; Singleton and Newport, 2004); the relationship between language and spatial cognition (Emmorey, 1993, 2002; Mayberry, 1992; Neville, 1995; Poizner et al., 1987); the attainment of cognitive and linguistic milestones (Bellugi et al., 1990; Chamberlain et al., 2000; Church and GoldinMeadow, 1986; Goldin-Meadow et al., 1996; GoldinMeadow and Mylander, 1991; Newport and Meier, 1985); the neural organization of American Sign Language (ASL) (Bellugi et al., 1989; Emmorey et al., 1998, 2002; Neville, 1988, 1995; Neville et al., 1998); and the relationship between language and affect (Corina, 1989; Corina et al., 1999; Reilly et al., 1990a, b)....
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...Test instructions and stimuli were administered in sign language for deaf subjects (either ASL or Pidgin Signed English) and spoken English for hearing subjects....
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Book Chapter•DOI•

Neurobiology of Sign Languages

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David P. Corina¹, Shane Blau¹•Institutions (1)

University of California, Davis¹

01 Jan 2016

TL;DR: Neuroimaging and aphasia studies of deaf signers reveal great commonalties in the neural systems used for sign and speech and provide evidence for a core neurobiological substrate for human linguistic communication.

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Abstract: Our current understanding of the neural systems underlying linguistic communication has been largely derived through the study of spoken languages. However, human languages are not limited to the oral–aural modality as naturally occurring manual-visual sign languages attest. The existence of sign languages used in deaf communities provides an opportunity to assess the contributions of general linguistic processing and the effects of the modality of language expression in crafting the neural systems for language. Neuroimaging and aphasia studies of deaf signers reveal great commonalties in the neural systems used for sign and speech and provide evidence for a core neurobiological substrate for human linguistic communication. Also observed are cases of modality-specific patterns of brain activation and modality-specific language impairments. These force us to entertain the possibility of cross-linguistic differences in the neural instantiation of language. Taken together, these studies advance our understanding of the neurobiological substrates of human language.

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4 citations

The Effect of Elaboration and Nonelaboration of Sign List Recall Tasks on Rate of Learning in Deaf Individuals

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Robert Whitaker

01 Jan 2017

TL;DR: Morere et al. as mentioned in this paper examined the effect of elaboration and non-elaboration of sign list recall tasks on rate of learning in deaf individuals, and found that visual aids or visual representations of information are commonly recommended as an effective strategy for teaching deaf individuals.

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Abstract: Purpose: Little research has been done on American Sign Language (ASL) based list learning in deaf individuals. The present study examined the effect of elaboration and non-elaboration of sign list recall tasks on rate of learning in deaf individuals. One of the main approaches for instruction of deaf individuals is the use of elaboration, or the combination of visual with linguistic information in the classroom. Visual aids or visual representations of information are commonly recommended as an effective strategy for teaching deaf individuals (DeafTEC, 2014). The main reasons for this approach are the assumption that vision is a stronger more efficient channel for instruction, “sensory compensation,” and the documented benefits of associating verbal with visual information, also known as dual coding theory (DCT; Paivio, 1971). Functional MRI studies have provided evidence of left temporal activation in deaf signers using ASL (Pettito, 2000), further suggesting that right activation, noted in fMRI studies of DCT, through the addition of pictures should support recall of ASL signs much like English words. The goal of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of pairing visual imagery with ASL as a common instructional recommendation. Method: Twenty deaf adults, whose primary mode of communication was ASL, were administered two modified versions of the Signed Verbal Learning Test (SVLT; Morere, 2013). One version included line drawings of objects embedded into the video and paired with their associated sign. The other included black screens where the pictures would have been. Session conditions were mixed and administered 3 weeks apart to reduce potential familiarity effects. Participants’ rates of learning over five trials on each version of the SVLT were recorded and statistically analyzed to determine potential effects of the added

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4 citations

How the Brain Processes Language in Different Modalities.

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Bencie Woll

01 Jan 2008

TL;DR: The linguistic structure of sign languages is introduced with a discussion of common myths about sign languages and a more detailed discussion of the linguistics of British Sign Language, with special reference to features which resemble or contrast with spoken languages.

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Abstract: Establishing which neural systems support processing of sign languages informs a number of important neuroscience and linguistic questions. In this chapter, the linguistic structure of sign languages is introduced with a discussion of common myths about sign languages. This is followed by a more detailed discussion of the linguistics of British Sign Language, with special reference to features which resemble or contrast with spoken languages. The final section describes language and the brain by describing a number of neuroimaging studies with signers and research on signers who have aphasia or other language deficits following strokes. The neuroimaging and aphasia data are used to explore the `core language system' - the regions of the brains used for language regardless of modality.

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3 citations

Cites background from "Discourse Deficits Following Right ..."

...The second exception to the observation that right hemisphere strokes do not cause sign language impairments is discourse [47] [48] [49]....
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Cerebral division of labour in verbal communication

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Michel Paradis¹•Institutions (1)

McGill University¹

09 Dec 2009

3 citations

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References

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Open Access

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Book•

The signs of language

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Edward S. Klima, Ursula Bellugi

01 Jan 1979

TL;DR: The two faces of sign and sign language have been studied in this paper, where the authors compare Chinese and American signs and feature analysis of handshapes and the rate of speaking and signing.

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Abstract: Introduction PART I: The Two Faces of Sign 1. Iconicity in Signs and Signing 2. Properties of Symbols in a Silent Language 3. Historical Change: From Iconic to Arbitrary PART II: The Structure of the Sign 4. Remembering without Words: Manual Memory 5. Slips of the Hands 6. A Comparison of Chinese and American Signs 7. A Feature Analysis of Handshapes 8. The Rate of Speaking and Signing PART III: Grammatical Processes 9. On the Creation of New Lexical Items by Compounding 10. Linguistic Expression of Category Levels 11. Aspectual Modulations on Adjectival Predicates 12. The Structured Use of Space and Movement: Morphological Processes PART IV: The Heightened Use of Language 13. Wit and Plays on Signs 14. Poetry and Song in a Language without Sound Appendix A: Notation Appendix B: Conventions Employed in Illustrations Notes References Index

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1,598 citations

"Discourse Deficits Following Right ..." refers background in this paper

...The sublexical units from which signs are composed are often articulated simultaneously rather than sequentially, and spatial location contrasts certain pairs of minimally different signs (Klima & Bellugi, 1979, Chap....
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...2); morphological inflections of signs generally alter the movement path of the sign, rather than concatenating morphemic units across time (Klima & Bellugi, 1979, Chap....
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...At the morphological level, ASL has grammatical markers that serve as inflectional and derivational morphemes; these are regular changes in form across classes of lexical items associated with systematic changes in meaning (Klima & Bellugi, 1979)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

The crosslinguistic study of language acquisition

[...]

Dan I. Slobin

23 Jan 1987-The Modern Language Journal

1,385 citations

Book•

What the hands reveal about the brain

[...]

Howard Poizner¹, Edward S. Klima, Ursula Bellugi•Institutions (1)

Salk Institute for Biological Studies¹

01 Jan 1987

TL;DR: This paper showed that there are primary linguistic systems passed down from one generation of deaf people to the next, which have been forged into antonomous languages and are not derived from front spoken languages.

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Abstract: What the Hands Reveal About the Brain provides dramatic evidence that language is not limited to hearing and speech, that there are primary linguistic systems passed down from one generation of deaf people to the next, which have been forged into antonomous languages and are not derived front spoken languages.

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579 citations

"Discourse Deficits Following Right ..." refers background in this paper

...…tasks, while the right lesioned signers exhibit marked deficits involving left neglect, loss of perspective, loss of the overall configuration of the figure, etc. (Hickok et al., 1995; Hickok et al., 1996; Poizner & Kegl, 1993; Bellugi, Poizner, & Klima, 1989, 1990; Poizner et al., 1987)....
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...But while RHD signers do not present with aphasia for sign at the lexical, morphological, or syntactic level, they do show significant deficits in nonlinguistic visuospatial processing (Bellugi & Hickok, 1995; Hickok et al., 1996; Poizner et al., 1987)....
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...The RHD deaf signers are much like the controls, while the LHD deaf signers show a range of different sign language aphasias (Poizner et al., 1987)....
[...]

Clinical neuropsychology, 3rd ed.

[...]

Kenneth M. Heilman, Edward Valenstein

01 Jan 1993

421 citations

Book Chapter•DOI•

The acquisition of American Sign Language.

[...]

Elissa L. Newport, Richard P. Meier

01 Jan 1985

TL;DR: The authors compare the acquisition of American Sign Language (ASLSA) with the acquisition process of spoken languages, and delineate those aspects of acquisition which are universal over languages of varying types, and those aspects which are specific to certain linguistic and modality-related typologies.

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Abstract: American Sign Language (ASL) is a fully grammaticized language, not a pantomimic communication system, and it displays the various grammatical characteristics typically found in spoken languages of the world, despite the apparent potential for a different type of organization offered by the visual-gestural modalities. Unlike English, ASL is a morphologically complex language, perhaps most comparable to polysynthetic spoken languages. The study of ASL acquisition may shed unique light on language acquisition processes more generally: comparisons of the acquisition of American Sign Language with the acquisition of spoken languages may help to delineate those aspects of acquisition which are universal over languages of varying types, and those aspects of acquisition which are specific to certain linguistic and modality-related typologies. Before reviewing the literature on the acquisition of ASL, this chapter describes the structure of the language.

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420 citations