LINA02H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Mcgurk Effect, Grammaticality, Speech Production
Document Summary
Yes it is a good case for critical period. Complications that we should also consider: abuse, question of mental retardation. Maybe she appeared to be retarded because she was abused. Tests of lateralization showed that genie"s language was lateralized to the right hemisphere. Even though the left hemisphere is normally predisposed for language. Her performance was similar to that found in split-brain and left hemispherectomy patients. Maybe she didn"t receive enough input during her childhood, so her left hemisphere was doing more work. Beyond the critical period, the human brain seems unable to acquire the grammatical aspects of language even with substantial linguistic training. Critical period hypothesis: a biologically determined window of opportunity between birth and puberty during which time the brain is prepared to develop language. Needs early and systematic exposure to language. Subjects: 30 profoundly deaf adults between the ages 35 ~ 70, who have been signing for 30 or more years.
