Sign Language: visualizing the reception of language through functional magnetic resonance imaging

Sign languages are natural languages that have the same properties of oral languages. Several studies have demonstrated activation of the classical language areas during sign languages processing. This study aimed to identify the cortical areas activated in deaf subjects who communicate via Brazilian Sign Language in a receptive language task. Twelve functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were performed using a 1.5T equipment (Siemens, Magneton Vision, Erlangen, Germany). Echo Planar Imaging (EPI) sequence was used to obtain BOLD (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent), associated with a whole brain high resolution imaging for co-registering. The statistical maps were obtained using General Linear Model with Brain Voyager TM software. For deafs, the sign perception task produced activations in the frontal, temporal and parietal cortex regions. These data suggest that sign languages are processed bilaterally in classical language regions in the same way as spoken languages are. Adapted from the source document