Language & the Brain

Question 1

Neural Structural Anatomy in deafness

Answer 1

Secondary auditory cortex & associated visual cortex is used to process visual information
Do not die but rather use to input other modalities

Question 2

Types of HI

Answer 2

Conductive: outer/middle ear  inner ear
Glue ear
Sensorineural: damage to cochlea or auditory nerve

Question 3

Levels of HI

Answer 3

Mild = 24-40dB
Moderate = 41-70 dB
Severe = 71-95 dB
Profound = 95+

=> Anything about 50dB don’t hear speech

Question 4

Sign Language consists of:

Answer 4

Discourse
Semantics
Syntax
Morphology
Phonology

=> Same linguistic level as speech

Question 5

Sign language neurology:

Comparing Reading in Hearing non-signers vs. Deaf Signers

Answer 5

Hearing:
Left lateralisation

Deaf:
Right side involvement
More involvement of temporal lobe & iFG

Question 6

Sign language neurology:
Audiovisual-speech in deaf native signers vs. hearing non-signers
MacSweeney et al., Brain, 2002

Answer 6

BSL in deaf signers
vs. spoken English in hearing non‐signers
>inferior prefrontal regions bilaterally (including Broca’s area)
>superior temporal regions bilaterally (including Wernicke’s area).
>Similar lateralisation

Hearing:
->greater activation in the primary and secondary auditory cortices

• > Left‐ temporal auditory regions may be privileged for processing heard speech
• Absence of auditory input this region can be recruited for visual processing

BSL in deaf signers
->enhanced activation in the posterior occipito‐temporal regions (V5)
Occipitotemporal region = reflecting the greater movement component of BSL.

Question 7

Core LH language network

Answer 7

> Inferior prefrontal regions bilaterally (including Broca’s area)

> Superior temporal regions bilaterally (including Wernicke’s area).

->Regardless of modality

Question 8

RH and Language

Answer 8

> Support narrative level discourse
–>Prosody, affect, facial expression, and discourse structure.

> Deaf:

• ->RH activation in the inferior frontal gyrus and
• ->superior temporal sulcus was greater for sentences containing narrative devices

Question 9

Parietal Lobe & sign

Answer 9

Special role for spatial processing

> L. Inferior Parietal Lobule = phonological production errors

> L. Sup. PL activation = memory for signs rather than words

> L. IPL & SPL = greater activation for sign than speech production

• Greater activation in SPL for spatial BSL sentences
• Greater activation in SPL for sign rather than speech

Question 10

Reading & Lip-reading

Answer 10

Lip reading plays a role in reading development (?)
->Mediated by phonological awareness (?)

They get a phonological representation of the spoken word

Question 11

Information about phonology in deafness comes from:

Answer 11

Articulation
Orthography (writing)
Residual auditory input

Question 12

Reading & Neurology

Answer 12

Same regions for deaf BSL users & hearing
>Left lateralised front-parietal network

Therefore – phonological network is irregardless of modality (speech or BSL) therefore Supramodal

Activation was influenced by:

• Language – BSL/English
• Hearing status
• Age of BSL acquisition
• Non-native signers activated L. iFG more than native

Question 13

RCT: Lipreading training & Reading development

Answer 13

Computer program – x10m per day, 4 days per week

Speech reading: gains at T3 follow-up
Phonological awareness: gains at T2 and larger gains at T3
Phonological representations: Gains at T3

–> More time needed for downstreaming?