Regional Cerebral Blood Flow

1
Regional Cerebral Blood Flow

• Anne Marie
• Katharina
• Daniel
• Mary

2
Overview

• Subjects
• Goals and Study
• Methods
• Results

3
Subjects for the Test
Common factors
Deaf parents Right-handed No neuro disease
4
Goals and Study

• similarities between signed and spoken language
• both seem to activate much the same regions in
  the brain
• more occipital activation in sign language
• sign language seems to involve the right
  hemisphere
• study compare sign language lateralization and
  localization between hearing and deaf children of
  deaf parents

5
Methods

• high resolution rCBF
• Swedish novel was translated into Swedish sign
  language
• presented by a deaf man signing
• instruction focus on story
• retell story
• Activation was compared during sign language and
  rest

6
Results

• both groups show a high bifrontal activation
  during rest
• deaf group exhibited more activation in the
  parieto-occipital lobe
• (highly significant)
• hearing signers used more temporal areas
• it seems that deafness and not the early learning
  of sign language that leads to enhanced right
  hemisphere activation
• enhanced right hemisphere parieto-occipital
  activation in this group is an effect
• lack of auditory stimulation and of
• early learning of a visual-spatial language