Deaf signers use phonology to do arithmetic

Andin, Josefine; Rönnberg, Jerker; Rudner, Mary

doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2014.03.015

Cited by 21 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…Despite these similarities, it is not clear to what extent the processing of the specific phonological parameters of sign languages, such as handshape, location, and movement, recruits functionally different neural networks. Investigation of the mechanisms of sign phonology have often focused separately on sign handshape (Andin, Rönnberg, & Rudner, 2014;Andin et al, 2013;Grosvald et al, 2012;Wilson & Emmorey, 1997) and sign location (Colin, Zuinen, Bayard, & Leybaert, 2013;MacSweeney, Waters, et al, 2008). Studies that have compared these two phonological parameters identified differences in comprehension and production psycholinguistically (e.g., Orfanidou, Adam, McQueen, & Morgan, 2009;Carreiras, Gutiérrez-Sigut, Baquero, & Corina, 2008;Dye & Shih, 2006;Emmorey, McCullough, & Brentari, 2003), developmentally (e.g., Morgan, Barrett-Jones, & Stoneham, 2007;Karnopp, 2002;Siedlecki & Bonvillian, 1993), and neuropsychologically (Corina, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Different Phonological Parameters of Sign Language Engages the Same Cortical Language Network but Distinctive Perceptual Ones

Cardin

Orfanidou

Kästner

et al. 2016

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

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Abstract■ The study of signed languages allows the dissociation of sensorimotor and cognitive neural components of the language signal. Here we investigated the neurocognitive processes underlying the monitoring of two phonological parameters of sign languages: handshape and location. Our goal was to determine if brain regions processing sensorimotor characteristics of different phonological parameters of sign languages were also involved in phonological processing, with their activity being modulated by the linguistic content of manual actions. We conducted an fMRI experiment using manual actions varying in phonological structure and semantics: (1) signs of a familiar sign language (British Sign Language), (2) signs of an unfamiliar sign language (Swedish Sign Language), and (3) invented nonsigns that violate the phonological rules of British Sign Language and Swedish Sign Language or consist of nonoccurring combinations of phonological parameters. Three groups of participants were tested: deaf native signers, deaf nonsigners, and hearing nonsigners. Results show that the linguistic processing of different phonological parameters of sign language is independent of the sensorimotor characteristics of the language signal. Handshape and location were processed by different perceptual and taskrelated brain networks but recruited the same language areas. The semantic content of the stimuli did not influence this process, but phonological structure did, with nonsigns being associated with longer RTs and stronger activations in an action observation network in all participants and in the supramarginal gyrus exclusively in deaf signers. These results suggest higher processing demands for stimuli that contravene the phonological rules of a signed language, independently of previous knowledge of signed languages. We suggest that the phonological characteristics of a language may arise as a consequence of more efficient neural processing for its perception and production. ■

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Different Phonological Parameters of Sign Language Engages the Same Cortical Language Network but Distinctive Perceptual Ones

Cardin

Orfanidou

Kästner

et al. 2016

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

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“…In particular, it has been suggested that fingerspelling may support the development of precise and rapid word identification (Stone et al, 2015). In Sweden, fingerspelling is commonly used (Roos, 2013) and some fingerspelled words are actually lexicalized in SSL (for further discussion, see Andin, Rönnberg, & Rudner, 2014). In the present work, connections between fingerspelling and reading skills were not addressed per se, but the characteristics of the Swedish manual alphabet and manual numeral systems were utilized to measure sign language PA.…”

Section: Sign Language Skills and Learning To Read Wordsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Cross-modal Phonological Awareness Test (C-phat)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This notion is supported by a growing amount of empirical work (e.g., Andin et al, 2014;Berent et al, 2014;Brentari, 2011;Corina, Hafer, et al, 2014;Gutiérrez, Müller, et al, 2012;Gutiérrez, Williams, et al, 2012;MacSweeney, Waters, et al, 2008;McQuarrie & Abbott, 2013). In a Swedish context, Andin et al, (2014) created a task in which the labels of stimuli could share handshapes in the Swedish manual alphabet or manual numeral systems or rimes in speech. Andin et al (2014) argued that this task relied on sign language PA. Others have utilized similar tasks to measure sign language PA in a North American (Corina, Hafer, et al, 2014;McQuarrie & Abbott, 2013) or British (MacSweeney, Waters, et al, 2008) context.…”

Section: Cross-modal Phonological Awareness Test (C-phat)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a Swedish context, Andin et al, (2014) created a task in which the labels of stimuli could share handshapes in the Swedish manual alphabet or manual numeral systems or rimes in speech. Andin et al (2014) argued that this task relied on sign language PA. Others have utilized similar tasks to measure sign language PA in a North American (Corina, Hafer, et al, 2014;McQuarrie & Abbott, 2013) or British (MacSweeney, Waters, et al, 2008) context. The C-PhAT is an extension of work by Andin et al (2014), and can be used to assess both sign language PA and spoken language PA.…”

Section: Cross-modal Phonological Awareness Test (C-phat)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Signs for Developing Reading : Sign Language and Reading Development in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

Holmer¹

2016

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Reading development is supported by strong language skills, not least in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. Regional Special Needs Schools (RSNS) in Sweden have a bilingual curriculum, that is, DHH pupils at these schools learn Swedish Sign Language and written and/or spoken Swedish. The work in the present thesis investigates reading development in DHH children who attend these schools and who are learning to read. The primary aim of the present work was to investigate whether the reading skills of DHH signing children can be improved via computerized sign language based literacy training aimed at strengthening the connections between sign language and written language. Another aim was to investigate concurrent and longitudinal associations between skills in reading, sign language, and cognition in this population. The results indicate that sign language skills support developing reading skills in RSNS pupils (Paper I and Paper IV). In particular, sign language based literacy training appears to support development of word reading (Paper IV). In addition, awareness of the sublexical structure of sign language seems to assist word reading (Paper I). Interestingly, the ability to imitate manual gestures was related to reading skills. More specifically, precision of imitation of unfamiliar signs was associated with development of word reading (Paper IV) and precision of imitation of familiar signs, i.e., vocabulary, seemed to be associated with developing reading comprehension (Paper IV). Results also suggest that working memory and Theory of Mind (ToM) are related to reading comprehension in RSNS pupils (Paper III). In addition to these findings relating to reading development, results also suggest that sign language experience enhance the establishment of representations of manual gestures (Paper II), and that progression in ToM seem to be typical, although delayed, in RSNS pupils who are learning to read (Paper III). Taken together, the associations revealed between sign language skills and reading development support the notion that sign language skills may provide a foundation for promotion of reading skills in DHH signing children. Thus, interventions that support development of sign-based representations and their manipulation and use in written language processing, may improve reading skills in this population. To account for the present findings, a model of written language processing is proposed. Working memory has a central role in integrating environmental stimuli and language-mediated representations, and thereby provides a platform for cross-modal language processing and multimodal language development. SammanfattningEn god språklig förmåga bidrar till god läsutveckling, inte minst hos döva och hörselskadade barn. Specialpedagogiska skolmyndighetens specialskolor för döva och hörselskadade (D/H) barn har en tvåspråkig läroplan som innebär att elever på dessa skolor lär sig både svenskt teckenspråk och skriven och/eller talad svenska. De fyra arbeten som ingår i avhandlingen undersöker l...

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Arithmetic in the adult deaf signing brain

Andin

Elwér

Mäki‐Torkko

2019

J of Neuroscience Research

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We have previously shown that deaf signers recruit partially different brain regions during simple arithmetic compared to a group of hearing non-signers, despite similar performance. Specifically, hearing individuals show more widespread activation in brain areas that have been related to the verbal system of numerical processing, i.e., the left angular and inferior frontal gyrus, whereas deaf individuals engaged brain areas that have been related to the quantity system of numerical processing, i.e., the right horizontal intraparietal sulcus. This indicates that compared to hearing non-signers, deaf signers can successfully make use of processes located in partially different brain areas during simple arithmetic. In this study, which is a conceptual replication and extension of the above-presented study, the main aim is to understand similarities and differences in neural correlates supporting arithmetic in deaf compared to hearing individuals. The primary objective is to investigate the role of the right horizontal intraparietal gyrus, the left inferior frontal gyrus, the hippocampus, and the left angular gyrus during simple and difficult arithmetic and how these regions are connected to each other. A second objective is to explore what other brain regions support arithmetic in deaf signers. Up to 34 adult deaf signers and the same amount of hearing non-signers will be enrolled in an functional magnetic resonance imaging study that will include simple and difficult subtraction and multiplication. Brain imaging data will be analyzed using whole-brain analysis, region of interest analysis and connectivity analysis. This is the first study to investigate neural underpinnings of arithmetic of different difficulties in deaf individuals. K E Y W O R D Sarithmetic, deafness, functional magnetic resonance imaging, RRID:SCR_009550, sign language

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Deaf signers use phonology to do arithmetic

Cited by 21 publications

References 38 publications

Monitoring Different Phonological Parameters of Sign Language Engages the Same Cortical Language Network but Distinctive Perceptual Ones

Monitoring Different Phonological Parameters of Sign Language Engages the Same Cortical Language Network but Distinctive Perceptual Ones

Signs for Developing Reading : Sign Language and Reading Development in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

Arithmetic in the adult deaf signing brain

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