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Visual field plasticity in hearing users of sign language
Chloé Stoll1, Richard Palluel-Germain2, François-Xavier Gueriot3
1Univ. Grenoble-Alpes, LPNC, F-38040, Grenoble-CNRS, LPNC UMR 5105, F-38040 Grenoble, France; Laboratory for Investigative Neurophysiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, Jules Gonin Eye Hospital, University of Lausanne, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Vision Research
|August 31, 2018
Summary
Hearing sign language users exhibit enhanced visual field sensitivity in their lower visual field, crucial for perceiving gestures. This suggests sign language experience, not deafness, can modulate visual field perception.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
- Linguistics
Background:
- Deaf signers possess an enlarged visual field (VF), particularly in the lower region.
- This expansion may be linked to early deafness or extensive sign language use, as the lower VF is vital for sign perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of sign language experience, independent of deafness, on VF sensitivity in the lower visual field.
- To determine if non-deaf individuals using sign language show altered VF sensitivity.
Main Methods:
- Compared luminance sensitivity in the fovea and visual field periphery (3-27 degrees) between hearing French Sign Language users and hearing non-signers.
- Utilized the standard Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer for precise measurements.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in foveal or upper VF sensitivity were found between the groups.
- Hearing sign language users demonstrated significantly higher luminance sensitivity in the lower VF compared to non-signers, specifically between 3 and 15 degrees of eccentricity.
Conclusions:
- Sign language experience, even without deafness, can modulate VF sensitivity.
- This modulation appears specific to the lower visual field region critical for perceiving linguistic gestures in sign language.
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