Mapping the brain’s reading network in skilled deaf readers Do skilled deaf and hearing readers use the same brain networks for reading words, despite their different language experiences? To find out, we scanned the brains of college-level deaf and hearing readers while they read English words and made either a meaning decision (is the word concrete or abstract?) or a speech-based decision (does the word have 2 syllables?). Decisions about word meaning led to similar brain activity in the deaf and hearing readers (orange-yellow colors, Figure a). For example, both groups activated, a region in the left hemisphere of the brain, known as the Visual Word Form Area, which is known to be associated with reading printed words (Fig. b, circled red region). The similar patterns of brain activation in deaf and hearing readers suggests that when reading words for meaning, brain responses do not depend on the ability to pronounce words. When thinking about how words are pronounced, the neural activity was different for deaf and hearing readers. Deaf readers showed more activation compared to hearing readers in (c) the left precentral gyrus, and in (d) the parietal cortex of both hemispheres (shown by the orange-yellow colors). More activation in these regions suggests that deaf readers may focus more on the motor movements required to pronounce words than hearing readers (who may focus more on the sound of the words). In addition, these results indicate that deciding how words are pronounced (but not what they mean) requires more neural effort for deaf than for hearing readers. When comparing the two types of word decisions for deaf readers, we found one region that responded more when thinking about how words are pronounced (Fig e, orange color), and another that responded more when thinking about what they mean (Fig e, blue color). Hearing readers showed a similar response pattern, but the regions were more separate from each other in the deaf readers. This finding indicates that word meaning and pronunciation overlap more for hearing than deaf readers. For more information, see Emmorey, K., Weisberg, J., McCullough, S., & Petrich, J. A. F. (2013). Mapping the reading circuitry for skilled deaf readers: An fMRI study of semantic and phonological processing. Brain and Language, 126, 169-180. THANK YOU The studies in our lab address key quesons about reading and language processing in deaf and hearing people. We would like to take the opportunity to thank those who have generously given me to help us understand reading and the brain. For more informaon, see out website: www.emmoreylab.sdsu.edu
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Mapping the brain’s reading network in skilled deaf readers
Do skilled deaf and hearing readers use the same brain networks for reading words, despite their different language experiences? To find out, we scanned the brains of college-level deaf and hearing readers while they read English words and made either a meaning decision (is the word concrete or abstract?) or a speech-based decision (does the word have 2 syllables?). Decisions about word meaning led to similar brain activity in the deaf and hearing readers (orange-yellow colors, Figure a). For example, both groups activated, a region in the left hemisphere of the brain, known as the Visual
Word Form Area, which is known to be associated with reading printed words (Fig. b, circled red region). The similar patterns of brain activation in deaf and hearing readers suggests that when reading words for meaning, brain responses do not depend on the ability to pronounce words.
When thinking about how words are pronounced, the neural activity was different for deaf and hearing readers. Deaf readers showed more activation compared to hearing readers in (c) the left precentral gyrus, and in (d) the parietal cortex of both hemispheres (shown by the orange-yellow colors). More activation in these regions suggests that deaf readers may focus more on the motor movements required to pronounce words than hearing readers (who may focus more on the sound of the words). In addition, these results indicate that deciding how words are pronounced (but not what they mean) requires more neural effort for deaf than for hearing readers. When comparing the two types of word decisions for deaf readers, we found one region that responded more when thinking about how words are pronounced (Fig e, orange color), and another that responded more when thinking about what they mean (Fig e, blue color). Hearing readers showed a similar response pattern, but the regions were more separate from each other in the deaf readers. This finding indicates that word meaning and pronunciation overlap more for hearing than deaf readers.
For more information, see Emmorey, K., Weisberg, J., McCullough, S., & Petrich, J. A. F. (2013). Mapping the reading circuitry for skilled deaf readers: An fMRI study of semantic and phonological processing. Brain and Language, 126, 169-180.
THANK YOUThe studies in our lab address key questions about reading and language processing in deaf and hearing people. We would like to take the opportunity to thank those who have generously given time to help us understand reading and the brain.
For more information, see out website: www.emmoreylab.sdsu.edu
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