title: The deaf utilize phonological representations in visually presented verbal memory tasks.
abstract: The phonological abilities of congenitally deaf individuals are inferior to those of people who can hear. However, deaf individuals can acquire spoken languages by utilizing orthography and lip-reading. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show that deaf individuals utilize phonological representations via a mnemonic process. We compared the brain activation of deaf and hearing participants while they memorized serially visually presented Japanese kana letters (Kana), finger alphabets (Finger), and Arabic letters (Arabic). Hearing participants did not know which finger alphabets corresponded to which language sounds, whereas deaf participants did. All of the participants understood the correspondence between Kana and their language sounds. None of the participants knew the correspondence between Arabic and their language sounds, so this condition was used as a baseline. We found that the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) was activated by phonological representations in the deaf group when memorizing both Kana and Finger. Additionally, the brain areas associated with phonological representations for Finger in the deaf group were the same as the areas for Kana in the hearing group. Overall, despite the fact that they are superior in visual information processing, deaf individuals utilize phonological rather than visual representations in visually presented verbal memory.
authors.affiliation: Tamagawa University Brain Science Institute, 6-1-1 Tamagawa Gakuen, Machida City, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan.
authors.forename: Rieko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.affiliation: Tamagawa University Brain Science Institute, 6-1-1 Tamagawa Gakuen, Machida City, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan; Section of Liaison Psychiatry & Palliative Medicine, Graduate School of Tokyo Medical & Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8510, Japan.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.affiliation: Tamagawa University Brain Science Institute, 6-1-1 Tamagawa Gakuen, Machida City, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan.
authors.forename: Muneyoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Tamagawa University Brain Science Institute, 6-1-1 Tamagawa Gakuen, Machida City, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan.
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kanaka
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Industrial Technology, National University Corporation Tsukuba University of Technology, 4-12-7 Kasuga, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki 305-8521, Japan; Enomoto Clinic, 1-2-5 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-0021, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumihiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fukamauchi
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Industrial Technology, National University Corporation Tsukuba University of Technology, 4-12-7 Kasuga, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki 305-8521, Japan.
authors.forename: Miki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Namatame
authors.affiliation: Tamagawa University Brain Science Institute, 6-1-1 Tamagawa Gakuen, Machida City, Tokyo 194-8610, Japan. Electronic address: tetsuya@lab.tamagawa.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuda
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003638:Deafness / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities; D011932:Reading; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Deaf; Hearing; Phonological representation; Visual processing