AI Article Synopsis

  • Language gives insight into people's thoughts and feelings, and delays in accessing language can affect how Theory of Mind (ToM) develops in individuals.
  • A study using fMRI and behavioral tasks examined ToM development in both child and adult fluent signers of American Sign Language, including deaf children who had delayed exposure to ASL.
  • Results showed that neural responses to ToM in children with delayed ASL exposure were more similar to those of younger children with similar linguistic experiences than to age-matched peers fluent in ASL, suggesting that early language experiences may enhance ToM development through brain region specialization.

Article Abstract

Language provides a rich source of information about other people's thoughts and feelings. Consequently, delayed access to language may influence conceptual development in Theory of Mind (ToM). We use functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral tasks to study ToM development in child (n = 33, 4-12 years old) and adult (n = 36) fluent signers of American Sign Language (ASL), and characterize neural ToM responses during ASL and movie-viewing tasks. Participants include deaf children whose first exposure to ASL was delayed up to 7 years (n = 12). Neural responses to ToM stories (specifically, selectivity of the right temporo-parietal junction) in these children resembles responses previously observed in young children, who have similar linguistic experience, rather than those in age-matched native-signing children, who have similar biological maturation. Early linguistic experience may facilitate ToM development, via the development of a selective brain region for ToM.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7319957PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17004-yDOI Listing

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