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Enhanced biological motion perception in deaf native signers
Lorna C Quandt1, Emily Kubicek1, Athena Willis1
1Ph.D in Educational Neuroscience Program, Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Ave NE, Washington, D.C. 20002, USA.
Neuropsychologia
|August 23, 2021
Summary
Deaf sign language users perceive biological motion with less effort and show earlier neural responses compared to hearing non-signers. This suggests experience-dependent neuroplasticity in motion perception for native signers.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Linguistics
Background:
- Biological motion perception is crucial for social interaction.
- Deaf individuals, particularly native sign language users, may exhibit unique perceptual processing due to experience-dependent neuroplasticity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how deaf signed language users perceive biological motion.
- To compare the behavioral and neural responses of deaf signers and hearing non-signers to biological motion stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted: an online behavioral rating survey and an electroencephalography (EEG) study.
- Participants viewed point-light displays (PLDs) of biological motions and scrambled controls.
- EEG data analyzed time-frequency responses in theta, alpha, and beta rhythms.
Main Results:
- Deaf raters reported significantly less effort in identifying biological motion PLDs.
- Deaf signers demonstrated earlier and more consistent neural differentiation between biological and scrambled PLDs in theta, mu, and beta rhythms compared to hearing non-signers.
Conclusions:
- Native American Sign Language (ASL) users exhibit experience-dependent neuroplasticity in biological human motion perception.
- This plasticity may enhance the efficiency of processing visual motion cues essential for communication and social interaction.
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