Language provides a rich source of information about other people’s thoughts and feelings. Consequently, delayed access to language may influence conceptual development in Theory of Mind (ToM). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral tasks to study ToM development in child (n=33, 4-12 years old) and adult (n=36) fluent signers of American Sign Language (ASL), and provide the first characterization of neural ToM responses during an ASL task. Participants included deaf children whose first exposure to ASL was delayed up to 7 years (n=12). Neural responses to ToM stories (specifically, selectivity of the right temporo-parietal junction) in these children resembled responses previously observed in young children, who have the same amount of linguistic experience, rather than those in age-matched native-signing children, who have the same amount of biological maturation. These results suggest that early linguistic experience facilitates ToM development, via the development of a selective brain region for ToM.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.