| 1. |
- Andin, Josefine, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Reorganization of large-scale brain networks in deaf signing adults: The role of auditory cortex in functional reorganization following deafness
- 2022
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Ingår i: Neuropsychologia. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0028-3932 .- 1873-3514. ; 166
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- If the brain is deprived of input from one or more senses during development, functional and structural reorganization of the deprived regions takes place. However, little is known about how sensory deprivation affects large-scale brain networks. In the present study, we use data-driven independent component analysis (ICA) to characterize large-scale brain networks in 15 deaf early signers and 24 hearing non-signers based on resting-state functional MRI data. We found differences between the groups in independent components representing the left lateralized control network, the default network, the ventral somatomotor network, and the attention network. In addition, we showed stronger functional connectivity for deaf compared to hearing individuals from the middle and superior temporal cortices to the cingulate cortex, insular cortex, cuneus and precuneus, supramarginal gyrus, supplementary motor area, and cerebellum crus 1, and stronger connectivity for hearing non-signers to hippocampus, middle and superior frontal gyri, pre- and postcentral gyri, and cerebellum crus 8. These results show that deafness induces large-scale network reorganization, with the middle/superior temporal cortex as a central node of plasticity. Cross-modal reorganization may be associated with behavioral adaptations to the environment, including superior ability in some visual functions such as visual working memory and visual attention, in deaf signers.
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| 2. |
- Andin, Josefine, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Similar digit-based working memory in deaf signers and hearing non-signers despite digit span differences
- 2013
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 4:942
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Similar working memory (WM) for lexical items has been demonstrated for signers and non-signers while short-term memory (STM) is regularly poorer in deaf than hearing individuals. In the present study, we investigated digit-based WM and STM in Swedish and British deaf signers and hearing non-signers. To maintain good experimental control we used printed stimuli throughout and held response mode constant across groups. We showed that deaf signers have similar digit-based WM performance, despite shorter digit spans, compared to well-matched hearing non-signers. We found no difference between signers and non-signers on STM span for letters chosen to minimize phonological similarity or in the effects of recall direction. This set of findings indicates that similar WM for signers and non-signers can be generalized from lexical items to digits and suggests that poorer STM in deaf signers compared to hearing non-signers may be due to differences in phonological similarity across the language modalities of sign and speech.
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| 3. |
- Andin, Josefine, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Working Memory for Signs with Poor Visual Resolution : fMRI Evidence of Reorganization of Auditory Cortex in Deaf Signers
- 2021
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Ingår i: Cerebral Cortex. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1047-3211 .- 1460-2199. ; 31:7, s. 3165-3176
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Stimulus degradation adds to working memory load during speech processing. We investigated whether this applies to sign processing and, if so, whether the mechanism implicates secondary auditory cortex. We conducted an fMRI experiment where 16 deaf early signers (DES) and 22 hearing non-signers performed a sign-based n-back task with three load levels and stimuli presented at high and low resolution. We found decreased behavioral performance with increasing load and decreasing visual resolution, but the neurobiological mechanisms involved differed between the two manipulations and did so for both groups. Importantly, while the load manipulation was, as predicted, accompanied by activation in the frontoparietal working memory network, the resolution manipulation resulted in temporal and occipital activation. Furthermore, we found evidence of cross-modal reorganization in the secondary auditory cortex: DES had stronger activation and stronger connectivity between this and several other regions. We conclude that load and stimulus resolution have different neural underpinnings in the visual–verbal domain, which has consequences for current working memory models, and that for DES the secondary auditory cortex is involved in the binding of representations when task demands are low.
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| 4. |
- Cardin, Velia, et al.
(författare)
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Neurobiological insights from the study of deafness and sign language
- 2019
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Ingår i: Understanding deafness, language, and cognitive development. - Amsterdam : John Benjamins Publishing Company. - 9789027204493 - 9789027261861 ; , s. 159-181
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study of deafness and sign language has provided a means of dissociating modality specificity from higher level abstract processes in the brain. Differentiating these is fundamental for establishing the relationship between sensorimotor representations and functional specialisation in the brain. Early deafness in humans provides a unique insight into this problem, because the reorganisation observed in the adult deaf brain is not only due to neural development in the absence of auditory inputs, but also due to the acquisition of visual communication strategies such as sign language and speechreading. Here we report research by scholars who have collaborated with Bencie Woll in understanding the neural reorganisation that occurs as a consequence of early deafness, and its relation to the use of different visual strategies for language. We concentrate on three main topics: functional specialisation of sensory cortices, language and working memory.
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| 5. |
- Heimann, Mikael, 1951-, et al.
(författare)
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Neonatal Imitation, Intersubjectivity, and Children With Atypical Development : Do Observations on Autism and Down Syndrome Change Our Understanding?
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-1078. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Almost all studies on neonatal imitation to date seem to have focused on typically developing children, and we thus lack information on the early imitative abilities of children who follow atypical developmental trajectories. From both practical and theoretical perspectives, these abilities might be relevant to study in children who develop a neuropsychiatric diagnosis later on or in infants who later show impaired ability to imitate. Theoretical in the sense that it will provide insight into the earliest signs of intersubjectivity—i.e., primary intersubjectivity—and how this knowledge might influence our understanding of children following atypical trajectories of development. Practical in the sense that it might lead to earlier detection of certain disabilities. In the present work, we screen the literature for empirical studies on neonatal imitation in children with an Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or Down syndrome (DS) as well as present an observation of neonatal imitation in an infant that later was diagnosed with autism and a re-interpretation of previously published data on the phenomenon in a small group of infants with DS. Our findings suggest that the empirical observations to date are too few to draw any definite conclusions but that the existing data suggests that neonatal imitation can be observed both in children with ASD and in children with DS. Thus, neonatal imitation might not represent a useful predictor of a developmental deficit. Based on current theoretical perspectives advocating that neonatal imitation is a marker of primary intersubjectivity, we propose tentatively that an ability to engage in purposeful exchanges with another human being exists in these populations from birth.
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| 6. |
- Holmer, Emil, et al.
(författare)
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Associations Between Sign Language Skills and Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Deaf Early Signers
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The processing of a language involves a neural language network including temporal, parietal, and frontal cortical regions. This applies to spoken as well as signed languages. Previous research suggests that spoken language proficiency is associated with resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between language regions and other regions of the brain. Given the similarities in neural activation for spoken and signed languages, rsFC-behavior associations should also exist for sign language tasks. In this study, we explored the associations between rsFC and two types of linguistic skills in sign language: phonological processing skill and accuracy in elicited sentence production. Fifteen adult, deaf early signers were enrolled in a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. In addition to fMRI data, behavioral tests of sign language phonological processing and sentence reproduction were administered. Using seed-to-voxel connectivity analysis, we investigated associations between behavioral proficiency and rsFC from language-relevant nodes: bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and posterior superior temporal gyrus (STG). Results showed that worse sentence processing skill was associated with stronger positive rsFC between the left IFG and left sensorimotor regions. Further, sign language phonological processing skill was associated with positive rsFC from right IFG to middle frontal gyrus/frontal pole although this association could possibly be explained by domain-general cognitive functions. Our findings suggest a possible connection between rsFC and developmental language outcomes in deaf individuals.
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| 7. |
- Holmer, Emil, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Computerized Sign Language-Based Literacy Trainingfor Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. - Oxford : Oxford University Press. - 1081-4159 .- 1465-7325. ; 22:4, s. 404-421
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Strengthening the connections between sign language and written language may improve reading skills in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) signing children. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether computerized sign language-based literacy training improves reading skills in DHH signing children who are learning to read. Further, longitudinal associations between sign language skills and developing reading skills were investigated. Participants were recruited from Swedish state special schools for DHH children, where pupils are taught in both sign language and spoken language. Reading skills were assessed at five occasions and the intervention was implemented in a cross-over design. Results indicated that reading skills improved over time and that development of word reading was predicted by the ability to imitate unfamiliar lexical signs, but there was only weak evidence that it was supported by the intervention. These results demonstrate for the first time a longitudinal link between sign-based abilities and word reading in DHH signing children who are learning to read. We suggest that the active construction of novel lexical forms may be a supramodal mechanism underlying word reading development.
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| 8. |
- Holmer, Emil, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Developmental ease of language understanding model and literacy acquisition : evidence from deaf and hard-of-hearing signing children
- 2020
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Ingår i: Literacy and deaf education. - Washington D.C : Gallaudet University Press. - 1944838678 - 9781944838676 ; , s. 153-173
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In our research on deaf signing children, most of the work is conducted in a swedish context, where we adopt a bio-psychological approach. From a medical point of view, it might be easier to determine the level of hearing loss following an established nomenclature: for example, mild, moderate, moderate severe, severe, and profound. Based on a medical definition of disabling hearing loss, estimated that almost 2% of all the children in the world, corresponding to more than 30 million individuals, are affected.
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| 9. |
- Holmer, Emil, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence of an association between sign language phonological awareness and word reading in deaf and hard-of-hearing children
- 2016
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Ingår i: Research in Developmental Disabilities. - : Elsevier. - 0891-4222 .- 1873-3379. ; 48, s. 145-159
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND AND AIMS:Children with good phonological awareness (PA) are often good word readers. Here, we asked whether Swedish deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children who are more aware of the phonology of Swedish Sign Language, a language with no orthography, are better at reading words in Swedish.METHODS AND PROCEDURES:We developed the Cross-modal Phonological Awareness Test (C-PhAT) that can be used to assess PA in both Swedish Sign Language (C-PhAT-SSL) and Swedish (C-PhAT-Swed), and investigated how C-PhAT performance was related to word reading as well as linguistic and cognitive skills. We validated C-PhAT-Swed and administered C-PhAT-Swed and C-PhAT-SSL to DHH children who attended Swedish deaf schools with a bilingual curriculum and were at an early stage of reading.OUTCOMES AND RESULTS:C-PhAT-SSL correlated significantly with word reading for DHH children. They performed poorly on C-PhAT-Swed and their scores did not correlate significantly either with C-PhAT-SSL or word reading, although they did correlate significantly with cognitive measures.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS:These results provide preliminary evidence that DHH children with good sign language PA are better at reading words and show that measures of spoken language PA in DHH children may be confounded by individual differences in cognitive skills.
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| 10. |
- Holmer, Emil, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Evidence of an Effect of Gaming Experience on Visuospatial Attention in Deaf but Not in Hearing Individuals
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - Lausanne : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Auditory cortex in congenitally deaf early sign language users reorganizes to support cognitive processing in the visual domain. However, evidence suggests that the potential benefits of this reorganization are largely unrealized. At the same time, there is growing evidence that experience of playing computer and console games improves visual cognition, in particular visuospatial attentional processes. In the present study, we investigated in a group of deaf early signers whether those who reported recently playing computer or console games (deaf gamers) had better visuospatial attentional control than those who reported not playing such games (deaf non-gamers), and whether any such effect was related to cognitive processing in the visual domain. Using a classic test of attentional control, the Eriksen Flanker task, we found that deaf gamers performed on a par with hearing controls, while the performance of deaf non-gamers was poorer. Among hearing controls there was no effect of gaming. This suggests that deaf gamers may have better visuospatial attentional control than deaf non-gamers, probably because they are less susceptible to parafoveal distractions. Future work should examine the robustness of this potential gaming benefit and whether it is associated with neural plasticity in early deaf signers, as well as whether gaming intervention can improve visuospatial cognition in deaf people.
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