Viewing the Production of Language in Bilingual Deaf Subjects through Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Sign languages are natural languages that have the same properties of oral languages. This study aimed to identify the cortical areas activated in bilingual deaf subjects who communicate through Brazilian Sign Language and Portuguese Language. Tasks involved the production of language. Thirteen functional magnetic resonances imaging (fMRI) exams were performed. An Echo Planar Imaging (EPI) sequence was used to obtain the BOLD (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent), associated with a whole brain high resolution imaging for co-register. The statistical maps were obtained using the General Linear Model with Brain Voyager(TM) software. The task of producing Brazilian Sign Language provided more significant activations than did the task of producing Portuguese Language, suggesting that bilingual deaf subjects present a higher language proficiency in sign language. Adapted from the source document