In Deaf People, The Language They Learned As Kids Affected Brain Structure
Tuesday, April 15, 2014 - 18:20
in Psychology & Sociology
People who are deaf and those with hearing differ in brain anatomy, no surprise in that. But studies of individuals who are deaf and use American Sign Language (ASL) from birth aren't telling the whole science story. 95 percent of the deaf population in America is born to hearing parents and use English or another spoken language as their first language, usually through lip-reading. Since both language and audition are housed in nearby locations in the brain, understanding which differences are attributed to hearing and which to language is critical in understanding the mechanisms by which experience shapes the brain. read more