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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Book•
01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: The luminescent screen collecting the photo-electrons of an imaging device is provided with a cover layer that decelerates the electrons so that luminescence occurs only if the photo -electrons have been accelerated to at least a quarter and preferably at least one half of the value of the nominal operating voltage.
Abstract: The luminescent screen collecting the photo-electrons of an imaging device is provided with a cover layer that decelerates the electrons so that luminescence occurs only if the photo-electrons have been accelerated to at least a quarter and preferably at least one half of the value of the nominal operating voltage thereby increasing the control range of the permissible intensity variations within the acceptable image definition limits of the device.
266 citations
"Discourse Deficits Following Right ..." refers background in this paper
..., body shift, eye gaze, and crosssentential pronominal reference) the signer can manipulate the spatial referential framework to mark shifts in discourse focus, to assume the role and perspective of a given character in the discourse, and to mark semantic roles (Bahan & Petitto, 1980; Engberg-Pedersen, 1993; Padden, 1986)....
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...…crosssentential pronominal reference) the signer can manipulate the spatial referential framework to mark shifts in discourse focus, to assume the role and perspective of a given character in the discourse, and to mark semantic roles (Bahan & Petitto, 1980; Engberg-Pedersen, 1993; Padden, 1986)....
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TL;DR: Three-dimensional lesion mapping technique based on the manipulation of magnetic resonance raw data obtained with a special protocol permits the direct visual identification of neuroanatomical landmarks in each brain specimen and eliminates the need to rely on averaged templates of human brain sections.
Abstract: We describe a multistep technique for three-dimensional reconstruction and analysis of brain lesions in vivo, based on the manipulation of magnetic resonance raw data obtained with a special protocol. The technique permits the direct visual identification of neuroanatomical landmarks in each brain specimen and eliminates the need to rely on averaged templates of human brain sections, which can be a source of lesion localization error. The technique also allows for the bidirectional cross-reference between data points in two-dimensional slices and in volume reconstruction and for the projection of subcortical structures onto the three-dimensional cortical surface. The three-dimensional lesion mapping technique can be applied to research with the lesion method in both human and nonhuman primates, to the planning of neurosurgical lesion approach, and to the teaching of neuroanatomy.
239 citations
"Discourse Deficits Following Right ..." refers background or methods in this paper
...Surface reconstruction using Brainvox software (Damasio & Frank, 1992) showed that the lesion involved the length of the right superior and middle temporal gyri, the angular and supramarginal gyri, and inferior area 7—with deep subcortical extension....
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...Surface reconstruction (Damasio & Frank, 1992) showed that the lesion involved cortex in the immediate perisylvian area of the right hemisphere and extended subcortically over a large region in the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes....
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01 Jan 1993
190 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the internal structure of syllables in ASL, the language of deaf communities in the United States and most of Canada, is analyzed based on distributional evidence for the distinction between the syllable nucleus and onsets and codas.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the internal structure of syllables in ASL, the language of deaf communities in the United States and most of Canada. The argument for ASL syllable structure is based primarily on distributional evidence for the distinction between the syllable nucleus and onsets and codas. The chapter explains the distribution of two phenomena—secondary movements and handshape changes—in strings of segments of the form, PMP, MP, PM, M, and P, where P is position and M is movement. Their distribution provides evidence for analyzing these five sign types as syllables. Each syllable has a nucleus. Those in PMP and PM have a P as onset, while those in PMP and MP have a P as coda. The way Ms and Ps are organized into syllables can be accounted for by positing a sign language analogue of the sonority hierarchy in which Ms are more sonorous than Ps. Sonority peaks are then syllable nuclei. This also provides evidence that sign language phonology has the analogue of vowels and consonants: Ms correspond to vowels and Ps to consonants. This follows from their relative sonority—from the fact that they play analogous roles in the organization of the phonological string into syllables.
171 citations
"Discourse Deficits Following Right ..." refers background in this paper
...At the phonological level,1 signs are composed of meaningless sub-lexical units (handshapes, palm orientations, locations, and movements) which are combined in rule-governed ways (Corina & Sandler, 1993; Perlmutter, 1992)....
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...At the phonological level,(1) signs are composed of meaningless sub-lexical units (handshapes, palm orientations, locations, and movements) which are combined in rule-governed ways (Corina & Sandler, 1993; Perlmutter, 1992)....
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TL;DR: The studies reviewed in this article show that the left cerebral hemisphere in man is specialized for signed as well as spoken languages, and thus may have an innate predisposition for language, independent of language modality.
166 citations