scholarly journals New Perspectives on the Neurobiology of Sign Languages

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Emmorey
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Research Production ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
The Neural Networks

The first 40 years of research on the neurobiology of sign languages (1960–2000) established that the same key left hemisphere brain regions support both signed and spoken languages, based primarily on evidence from signers with brain injury and at the end of the 20th century, based on evidence from emerging functional neuroimaging technologies (positron emission tomography and fMRI). Building on this earlier work, this review focuses on what we have learned about the neurobiology of sign languages in the last 15–20 years, what controversies remain unresolved, and directions for future research. Production and comprehension processes are addressed separately in order to capture whether and how output and input differences between sign and speech impact the neural substrates supporting language. In addition, the review includes aspects of language that are unique to sign languages, such as pervasive lexical iconicity, fingerspelling, linguistic facial expressions, and depictive classifier constructions. Summary sketches of the neural networks supporting sign language production and comprehension are provided with the hope that these will inspire future research as we begin to develop a more complete neurobiological model of sign language processing.

scholarly journals Continuous 3D Multi-Channel Sign Language Production via Progressive Transformers and Mixture Density Networks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Saunders ◽  
Necati Cihan Camgoz ◽  
Richard Bowden
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Network Architecture ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Data Augmentation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Mixture Density ◽  
Back Translation ◽  
Augmentation Techniques ◽  
Evaluation Mechanism

AbstractSign languages are multi-channel visual languages, where signers use a continuous 3D space to communicate. Sign language production (SLP), the automatic translation from spoken to sign languages, must embody both the continuous articulation and full morphology of sign to be truly understandable by the Deaf community. Previous deep learning-based SLP works have produced only a concatenation of isolated signs focusing primarily on the manual features, leading to a robotic and non-expressive production. In this work, we propose a novel Progressive Transformer architecture, the first SLP model to translate from spoken language sentences to continuous 3D multi-channel sign pose sequences in an end-to-end manner. Our transformer network architecture introduces a counter decoding that enables variable length continuous sequence generation by tracking the production progress over time and predicting the end of sequence. We present extensive data augmentation techniques to reduce prediction drift, alongside an adversarial training regime and a mixture density network (MDN) formulation to produce realistic and expressive sign pose sequences. We propose a back translation evaluation mechanism for SLP, presenting benchmark quantitative results on the challenging PHOENIX14T dataset and setting baselines for future research. We further provide a user evaluation of our SLP model, to understand the Deaf reception of our sign pose productions.

scholarly journals Functional connectivity in task-negative network of the Deaf: effects of sign language experience

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evie Malaia ◽  
Thomas M Talavage ◽  
Ronnie B Wilbur
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Parietal Lobe ◽  
Sensory Deprivation ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Visual Signal ◽  
Deaf Signers

Prior studies investigating cortical processing in Deaf signers suggest that life-long experience with sign language and/or auditory deprivation may alter the brain’s anatomical structure and the function of brain regions typically recruited for auditory processing (Emmorey et al., 2010; Pénicaud, et al., 2012 inter alia). We report the first investigation of the task-negative network in Deaf signers and its functional connectivity – the temporal correlations among spatially remote neurophysiological events. We show that Deaf signers manifest increased functional connectivity between posterior cingulate/precuneus and left medial temporal gyrus (MTG), but also inferior parietal lobe and medial temporal gyrus in the right hemisphere- areas that have been found to show functional recruitment specifically during sign language processing. These findings suggest that the organization of the brain at the level of inter-network connectivity is likely affected by experience with processing visual language, although sensory deprivation could be another source of the difference. We hypothesize that connectivity alterations in the task negative network reflect predictive/automatized processing of the visual signal.

Changes in synaptic density in the subacute phase after ischemic stroke: A 11C-UCB-J PET/MR study

2021 ◽  
pp. 0271678X2110477
Author(s):  
Laura Michiels ◽  
Nathalie Mertens ◽  
Liselot Thijs ◽  
Ahmed Radwan ◽  
Stefan Sunaert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Standardized Uptake Value ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Asymmetry Index ◽  
Cerebellar Hemisphere ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Synaptic Density ◽  
Positron Emission

Functional alterations after ischemic stroke have been described with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and perfusion Positron Emission Tomography (PET), but no data on in vivo synaptic changes exist. Recently, imaging of synaptic density became available by targeting synaptic vesicle protein 2 A, a protein ubiquitously expressed in all presynaptic nerve terminals. We hypothesized that in subacute ischemic stroke loss of synaptic density can be evaluated with 11C-UCB-J PET in the ischemic tissue and that alterations in synaptic density can be present in brain regions beyond the ischemic core. We recruited ischemic stroke patients to undergo 11C-UCB-J PET/MR imaging 21 ± 8 days after stroke onset to investigate regional 11C-UCB-J SUVR (standardized uptake value ratio). There was a decrease (but residual signal) of 11C-UCB-J SUVR within the lesion of 16 stroke patients compared to 40 healthy controls (ratiolesion/controls = 0.67 ± 0.28, p = 0.00023). Moreover, 11C-UCB-J SUVR was lower in the non-lesioned tissue of the affected hemisphere compared to the unaffected hemisphere (ΔSUVR = −0.17, p = 0.0035). The contralesional cerebellar hemisphere showed a lower 11C-UCB-J SUVR compared to the ipsilesional cerebellar hemisphere (ΔSUVR = −0.14, p = 0.0048). In 8 out of 16 patients, the asymmetry index suggested crossed cerebellar diaschisis. Future research is required to longitudinally study these changes in synaptic density and their association with outcome.

scholarly journals Phonological Proximity in Costa Rican Sign Language

Electronics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1302
Author(s):  
Luis Naranjo-Zeledón ◽  
Mario Chacón-Rivas ◽  
Jesús Peral ◽  
Antonio Ferrández
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Similarity Measures ◽  
Automatic Recognition ◽  
Costa Rican ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Interested Party ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Recognition Systems ◽  
Teaching Area

The study of phonological proximity makes it possible to establish a basis for future decision-making in the treatment of sign languages. Knowing how close a set of signs are allows the interested party to decide more easily its study by clustering, as well as the teaching of the language to third parties based on similarities. In addition, it lays the foundation for strengthening disambiguation modules in automatic recognition systems. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind for Costa Rican Sign Language (LESCO, for its Spanish acronym), and forms the basis for one of the modules of the already operational system of sign and speech editing called the International Platform for Sign Language Edition (PIELS). A database of 2665 signs, grouped into eight contexts, is used, and a comparison of similarity measures is made, using standard statistical formulas to measure their degree of correlation. This corpus will be especially useful in machine learning approaches. In this work, we have proposed an analysis of different similarity measures between signs in order to find out the phonological proximity between them. After analyzing the results obtained, we can conclude that LESCO is a sign language with high levels of phonological proximity, particularly in the orientation and location components, but they are noticeably lower in the form component. We have also concluded as an outstanding contribution of our research that automatic recognition systems can take as a basis for their first prototypes the contexts or sign domains that map to clusters with lower levels of similarity. As mentioned, the results obtained have multiple applications such as in the teaching area or the Natural Language Processing area for automatic recognition tasks.

scholarly journals Functional neuroimaging of psychiatric disorders: exploring hidden behaviour

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. FLETCHER
Keyword(s):  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Healthy Person ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Unrealistic Expectation ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Function Mapping

From the outset, people have had high expectations of functional neuroimaging. Many will have been disappointed. After roughly a decade of widespread use, even an enthusiastic advocate must be diffident about the impact of the two most frequently used techniques – positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) – upon clinical psychiatry. Perhaps this disappointment arises from an unrealistic expectation of what these techniques are able to tell us about the workings of the normal and the disordered brain. Anyone who hoped for intricate and unambiguous region-to-function mapping was always going to be disappointed. This expectation presupposes, among other things, a thorough understanding of the cognitive functions that are to be mapped onto the brain regions. This understanding, however, while developing, is still rudimentary. Mapping disorder along comparable lines is even more complex since it demands two levels of understanding. The first is of the healthy region-to-function mapping, the second of the disordered region-to-function mapping, which immediately demands a consideration of the nature of the function in the disordered state. After all, someone with schizophrenia, when confronted with a psychological task, might tackle it in a very different way, in terms of the cognitive strategies used, from a healthy person confronted with the same task. The observation that brain activity differs across the two individuals would only be interpretable insofar as one thoroughly understood the processes that each individual invoked in response to the task demands.

Functional Neuroimaging Studies in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Overview and Synthesis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian P. Brennan ◽  
Scott L. Rauch
Keyword(s):  
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Resting State Fmri ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Cortical Circuit

Studies using functional neuroimaging have played a critical role in the current understanding of the neurobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Early studies using positron emission tomography (PET) identified a core cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical circuit that is dysfunctional in OCD. Subsequent studies using behavioral paradigms in conjunction with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have provided additional information about the neural substrates underlying specific psychological processes relevant to OCD. More recently, studies utilizing resting state fMRI have identified abnormal functional connectivity within intrinsic brain networks including the default mode and frontoparietal networks in OCD patients. Although these studies, as a whole, clearly substantiate the model of cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical circuit dysfunction in OCD and support the continued investigation of neuromodulatory treatments targeting these brain regions, there is also growing evidence that brain regions outside this core circuit, particularly frontoparietal regions involved in cognitive control processes, may also play a significant role in the pathophysiology of OCD.

Aspecten in de Gebarentaalontwikkeling van Dove Kinderen van Dove en Horende Ouders

1995 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 61-69
Author(s):  
Carola Rooijmans
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Deaf Child ◽  
Observational Research ◽  
Deaf Children ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Hearing Parents ◽  
Deaf Parents ◽  
School For The Deaf ◽  
Mean Length Of Utterance

Research has shown parallels in the development of linguistic aspects found in sign languages and spoken languages when acquired as a first language (Newport & Meier, 1985). Deaf children of deaf parents (DCDP) are exposed to sign language early and are able to acquire it effortlessly. However, only about 10% of deaf children have deaf parents. More commonly the deaf child is born into a hearing family. These hearing parents usually use a communication system in which spoken words are supported simultaneously with signs. Such a sign system differs considerably from a sign language as it is not a natural language. Deaf children of hearing parents (DCHP) come into contact with sign language when they go to a school for the deaf. Research indicates that DCHP do acquire sign language structures, but this acquisition is delayed (Knoors, 1992). In this study a description of the development of morpho-syntactic and lexical aspects of the Sign Language of the Netherlands is given. The sign language production of three DCDP is analysed every six months from 1;0 to 3;6. Furthermore, the sign language production of three DCHP at the age of 3;6 is compared with that of the DCDP at the same age. The study includes both general measures such as Mean Length of Utterance and Type/Token Ratio and aspects specific to sign languages such as the use of POINTS in two sign combinations. Recommendations will be made with respect to the improvement of observational research on language acquision of DCDP and DCHP.

Use of Videos in Teaching and Learning

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Amanda Elizabeth Smith ◽  
Dai O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Computer Literate ◽  
The Impact ◽  
British Sign

This chapter outlines the experiences of the authors when using video technologies in creating resources for teaching British Sign Language (BSL). The authors outline their own experiences of creating resources for teaching and how the increasing availability of video technology and video hosting websites has impacted on their teaching practice. The chapter outlines some practical stages in creating online video resources for the teaching of sign language, and also how to ensure that less computer literate students can engage with this new technology. The authors conclude with some suggestions about future research directions to measure the impact and effectiveness of such resources and technologies and call other teachers of sign languages to explore the potential of these approaches for themselves.

Functional Abnormalities in the Neural Circuitry of Reading in Men with Nonsyndromic Clefts of the Lip or Palate

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 683-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Goldsberry ◽  
Dan O'Leary ◽  
Rich Hichwa ◽  
Peg Nopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Oral Reading ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Occipital Lobe ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Increased Blood Flow

Objective: The current study was designed to evaluate the neurobiology of reading in a group of men with nonsyndromic clefts of the lip or palate (NSCLP) compared with healthy controls by positron emission tomography. Design: Subjects included eight men with NSCLP compared with six healthy control men. By using radioactively labeled water (O15), regional brain blood flow was obtained during the performance of three simple reading tasks: reading unrelated words, reading unrelated sentences, and reading a story. Results: During each of the reading conditions, NSCLP subjects compared with healthy controls showed increased blood flow in areas previously reported to be involved in language processing and reading (inferior frontal lobe, cerebellum, and occipital lobe). The increased blood flow suggests a possible neural inefficiency. In contrast, when analyzing the brain regions involved in more complex language functioning (reading stories compared with reading only words), control subjects showed an increase in blood flow in a distributed neural circuit, whereas the NSCLP subjects showed a decrease in flow in these regions. Additionally, the NSCLP subjects had activation of several regions not activated in the healthy controls, suggesting a compensatory circuit used for this more complex reading task. Conclusions: These results indicate that subjects with NSCLP show abnormalities in the function of the distributed neural circuitry used for oral reading.

Imaging of stress-related disorders

2020 ◽  
pp. 850-859
Author(s):  
Navneet Kaur ◽  
Cecilia Hinojosa ◽  
Julia Russell ◽  
Michael B. VanElzakker ◽  
Lisa M. Shin
Keyword(s):  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Stress Disorders ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Conditioning Model ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
Made In

Great advances have been made in understanding the neurocircuitry of stress disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and, to a lesser extent, acute stress disorder (ASD). Studies using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and fMRI, respectively) and positron emission tomography (PET) have revealed brain abnormalities consistent with a fear conditioning model. These abnormalities include hyperactivation in brain regions that are associated with the learning and expression of fear, as well as hypoactivation in structures that are associated with safety learning and fear inhibition. Although much progress has been made in our understanding of the neurocircuitry of PTSD, many questions remain unanswered. Future research will be needed to clarify the factors that affect neurocircuitry abnormalities, the origin of such abnormalities, and the role of neuroimaging in assessing and predicting treatment response.

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