All languages are created in the same brain areas
February 27th, 2010 - 12:48 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Feb 27 (ANI): Be it American Sign Language or English, language is created in the same areas of the brain, claim scientists.
Karen Emmorey, a professor of speech language at San Diego State University, suggests language is universal and doesn’t depend on whether people use their voices or their hands to talk.
Broca’s area, related to speech production, and Wernicke’s area, associated with comprehending speech, were supposed to be the two centers in the brain associated with verbal communication.
Earlier, it was assumed that these areas might be particular to speaking, because they are located spatially near areas that are connected to moving the vocal chords, and to the auditory cortex, which is used to hear sounds.
On this basis it was thought that deaf people who use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate should use other brain areas to create language, such as parts located near the visual cortex, used for seeing.
However, researchers found no difference in the brain when they tested 29 deaf native ASL signers and 64 hearing native English speakers.
They showed both groups pictures of objects, such as a cup or a parrot, and asked the subjects to either sign or speak the word, while a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanner measured changes in blood flow in the brain.
It was recorded that both groups, Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas were equally active.
“It’s the same whether the language is spoken or signed,” Live Science quoted Emmorey as saying.
She added: The brain doesn’t make a distinctionThe fact that many signs are iconic doesn’t change the neural underpinnings of language.
“It suggests the brain is organized for language, not for speech.”
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego, Calif. (ANI)
- Here's why we have those tip-of-the-tongue moments - Feb 27, 2010
- In the blind, brain parts used for vision can help understand languages - Mar 01, 2011
- Deaf quicker at catching body language - Jan 13, 2012
- Sign language speakers use hands and mouth separately - Aug 24, 2010
- Same brain regions translate words and gestures - Nov 10, 2009
- Speech centre embedded in much more complex brain than believed - Sep 22, 2010
- Gaga to learn sign language - Jun 06, 2011
- How the brain processes language - Oct 16, 2009
- Henry Higgins was born with ability to correct Fair Lady Eliza's accent - Mar 16, 2011
- Soon, deaf people to use sign language on cell phones to talk - Aug 17, 2010
- Why humans can talk and chimps can't - Aug 13, 2009
- Sign language users read words and see signs at the same time - Mar 23, 2011
- Now deaf people can talk on cellphones using sign language - Dec 06, 2009
- NASA astronaut sends first message in sign language from space station - Jul 24, 2010
- Cellphone holding shows your dominant side of brain - Feb 22, 2012
Tags: american association for the advancement of science, american sign language, areas of the brain, association for the advancement of science, auditory cortex, blood flow, brain areas, claim scientists, diego state university, emission tomography, live science, native english speakers, neural underpinnings, positron emission tomography scanner, san diego state university, speech language, speech production, verbal communication, visual cortex, vocal chords