title: The influence of language deprivation in early childhood on L2 processing: An ERP comparison of deaf native signers and deaf signers with a delayed language acquisition.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To examine which language function depends on early experience, the present study compared deaf native signers, deaf non-native signers and hearing German native speakers while processing German sentences. The participants watched simple written sentences while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. At the end of each sentence they were asked to judge whether the sentence was correct or not. Two types of violations were introduced in the middle of the sentence: a semantically implausible noun or a violation of subject-verb number agreement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed a similar ERP pattern after semantic violations (an N400 followed by a positivity) in all three groups. After syntactic violations, native German speakers and native signers of German sign language (DGS) with German as second language (L2) showed a left anterior negativity (LAN) followed by a P600, whereas no LAN but a negativity over the right hemisphere instead was found in deaf participants with a delayed onset of first language (L1) acquisition. The P600 of this group had a smaller amplitude and a different scalp distribution as compared to German native speakers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study suggest that language deprivation in early childhood alters the cerebral organization of syntactic language processing mechanisms for L2. Semantic language processing instead was unaffected.
authors.affiliation: Biologische Psychologie & Neuropsychologie, Universität Hamburg, Von-Melle-Park 11, Hamburg 20146, Germany. nils.skotara@uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Skotara
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Salden
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kügow
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hänel-Faulhaber
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Röder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003638:Deafness / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007804:Language Development; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D012660:Semantics; D012813:Sign Language; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult