Discourse Deficits Following Right Hemisphere Damage in Deaf Signers
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.
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.
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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TL;DR: The authors found that the neural systems supporting signed and spoken languages are very similar: both involve a predominantly left-lateralised perisylvian network. But they also highlighted processing differences between languages in these different modalities.
226 citations
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that the RH angular gyrus is active during ASL processing only in native signers (hearing, ASL-English bilinguals) but not in those who acquired ASL after puberty ( hearing, native English speakers).
Abstract: Signed languages such as American Sign Language (ASL) are natural languages that are formally similar to spoken languages, and thus present an opportunity to examine the effects of language structure and modality on the neural organization for language. Native learners of spoken languages show predominantly left-lateralized patterns of neural activation for language processing, whereas native learners of ASL show extensive right hemisphere (RH) and LH activation. We demonstrate that the RH angular gyrus is active during ASL processing only in native signers (hearing, ASL-English bilinguals) but not in those who acquired ASL after puberty (hearing, native English speakers). This is the first demonstration of a 'sensitive' or 'critical' period for language in an RH structure. This has implications for language acquisition and for understanding age-related changes in neuroplasticity more generally.
193 citations
TL;DR: Results indicate that anterior and posterior areas may play distinct roles in early and late stages of language production, and suggest a novel model for lateralization of cerebral activity during the generation of discourse.
Abstract: In order to identify brain regions that play an essential role in the production of discourse, H2 15O-PET scans were acquired during spontaneous generation of autobiographical narratives in English and in American Sign Language in hearing subjects who were native users of both. We compared languages that differ maximally in their mode of expression yet share the same core linguistic properties in order to differentiate the stages of discourse production: differences between the languages should reflect later, modality-dependent stages of phonological encoding and articulation; congruencies are more likely to reveal the anatomy of earlier modality-independent stages of conceptualization and lexical access. Common activations were detected in a widespread array of regions; left hemisphere language areas classically related to speech were also robustly activated during sign production, but the common neural architecture extended beyond the classical language areas and included extrasylvian regions in both right and left hemispheres. Furthermore, posterior perisylvian and basal temporal regions appear to play an integral role in spontaneous self-generated formulation and production of language, even in the absence of exteroceptive stimuli. Results additionally indicate that anterior and posterior areas may play distinct roles in early and late stages of language production, and suggest a novel model for lateralization of cerebral activity during the generation of discourse: progression from the early stages of lexical access to later stages of articulatory-motor encoding may constitute a progression from bilateral to left-lateralized activation. This pattern is not predicted by the standard Wernicke-Geschwind model, and may become apparent when language is produced in an ecologically valid context.
159 citations
Cites background from "Discourse Deficits Following Right ..."
...More recently, neuropsychological, electrophysiological and neuroimaging studies in neurologically intact subjects, and more detailed clinical evaluation of aphasics, suggest that the right hemisphere plays a significant role in the processing of both signed and spoken language particularly in the more complex, pragmatic features of each (Frederiksen et al., 1990; Bloom et al., 1992; Neville et al., 1998; Hickok et al., 1999)....
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...…clinical evaluation of aphasics, suggest that the right hemisphere plays a significant role in the processing of both signed and spoken language particularly in the more complex, pragmatic features of each (Frederiksen et al., 1990; Bloom et al., 1992; Neville et al., 1998; Hickok et al., 1999)....
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Book•
21 Sep 2006TL;DR: This chapter focuses on the development of an integrated theory of language acquisition through the acquisition of phonology, syntax, semantics and semantics in the context of a young child.
Abstract: The remarkable way in which young children acquire language has long fascinated linguists and developmental psychologists alike. Language is a skill that we have essentially mastered by the age of three, and with incredible ease and speed, despite the complexity of the task. This accessible textbook introduces the field of child language acquisition, exploring language development from birth. Setting out the key theoretical debates, it considers questions such as what characteristics of the human mind make it possible to acquire language; how far acquisition is biologically programmed and how far it is influenced by our environment; what makes second language learning (in adulthood) different from first language acquisition; and whether the specific stages in language development are universal across languages. Clear and comprehensive, it is set to become a key text for all courses in child language acquisition, within linguistics, developmental psychology and cognitive science.
148 citations
References
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TL;DR: General principles aphasia and other dominant hemisphere Syndromes disorders of perception, attention and awareness frontal, collosal and subcortical syndromes memory and amnesia delirium and dementia epilepsy and related issues emotional disorders neurobehavioural disorders in children.
Abstract: General principles aphasia and other dominant hemisphere syndromes disorders of perception, attention and awareness frontal, collosal and subcortical syndromes memory and amnesia delirium and dementia epilepsy and related issues emotional disorders neurobehavioural disorders in children .
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386 citations
"Discourse Deficits Following Right ..." refers background in this paper
...At the syntactic level, ASL specifies relations among signs using a variety of mechanisms, including sign order, spatial relations among signs, and grammaticized facial expressions (e.g., to mark conditionals) (Liddell, 1980; Lillo-Martin, 1991; Lillo-Martin & Klima, 1990)....
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TL;DR: Results showed that RHD patients have more trouble answering inference questions, especially those concerning incorrect inferences, than answering questions about the factual content of the passages, which suggest the impairment of several components of normal discourse processing subsequent to right hemisphere brain damage.
333 citations
"Discourse Deficits Following Right ..." refers result in this paper
...The first is an ability to maintain topical cohesion, and its disruption results in ‘‘tangential speech’’ similar to that observed in hearing RHD patients (Brownell et al., 1986)....
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TL;DR: The results suggest that, in contrast to the other populations, right-hemisphere patients exhibit special difficulties in processing complex linguistic entities and in utilizing the surrounding context as they assess linguistic messages.
320 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a set of principles of Cortical Organization, including the Locales, Varieties and Uses of Maps Sense and Movement Categorization, Generalization and Memory Speech and Language Developmental and Theoretical Principles.
Abstract: Principles of Cortical Organization The Locales, Varieties and Uses of Maps Sense and Movement Categorization, Generalization and Memory Speech and Language Developmental and Theoretical Principles.
313 citations
"Discourse Deficits Following Right ..." refers background in this paper
...The present study addresses two further questions: first, do extra-grammatical discourse functions in deaf signers show the same right-hemisphere dominance observed for discourse functions in hearing subjects; and second, do discourse functions in ASL This research was supported in part by NIH…...
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