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Can sign language make you better at hand processing?

The languages developed by deaf communities are unique for using visual signs produced by the hand. In the present study, we explored the cognitive effects of employing the hand as articulator. We focused on the arbitrariness of the form-meaning relationship—a fundamental feature of natural language...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Peressotti, Francesca, Scaltritti, Michele, Miozzo, Michele
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5874053/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29590204
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194771
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author Peressotti, Francesca
Scaltritti, Michele
Miozzo, Michele
author_facet Peressotti, Francesca
Scaltritti, Michele
Miozzo, Michele
author_sort Peressotti, Francesca
collection PubMed
description The languages developed by deaf communities are unique for using visual signs produced by the hand. In the present study, we explored the cognitive effects of employing the hand as articulator. We focused on the arbitrariness of the form-meaning relationship—a fundamental feature of natural languages—and asked whether sign languages change the processing of arbitrary non-linguistic stimulus-response (S-R) associations involving the hand. This was tested using the Simon effect, which specifically requires such type of associations. Differences between signers and speakers (non-signers) only appeared in the Simon task when hand stimuli were shown. Response-time analyses revealed that the distinctiveness of signers’ responses derived from an increased ability to process memory traces of arbitrary S-R pairs related to the hand. These results shed light on the interplay between language and cognition as well as on the effects of sign language acquisition.
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spelling pubmed-58740532018-04-06 Can sign language make you better at hand processing? Peressotti, Francesca Scaltritti, Michele Miozzo, Michele PLoS One Research Article The languages developed by deaf communities are unique for using visual signs produced by the hand. In the present study, we explored the cognitive effects of employing the hand as articulator. We focused on the arbitrariness of the form-meaning relationship—a fundamental feature of natural languages—and asked whether sign languages change the processing of arbitrary non-linguistic stimulus-response (S-R) associations involving the hand. This was tested using the Simon effect, which specifically requires such type of associations. Differences between signers and speakers (non-signers) only appeared in the Simon task when hand stimuli were shown. Response-time analyses revealed that the distinctiveness of signers’ responses derived from an increased ability to process memory traces of arbitrary S-R pairs related to the hand. These results shed light on the interplay between language and cognition as well as on the effects of sign language acquisition. Public Library of Science 2018-03-28 /pmc/articles/PMC5874053/ /pubmed/29590204 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194771 Text en © 2018 Peressotti et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Peressotti, Francesca
Scaltritti, Michele
Miozzo, Michele
Can sign language make you better at hand processing?
title Can sign language make you better at hand processing?
title_full Can sign language make you better at hand processing?
title_fullStr Can sign language make you better at hand processing?
title_full_unstemmed Can sign language make you better at hand processing?
title_short Can sign language make you better at hand processing?
title_sort can sign language make you better at hand processing?
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5874053/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29590204
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194771
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