The strongest evidence for the linguistic theory of cerebral asymmetry comes from the study of
A) deaf people who use American Sign Language and subsequently suffer unilateral brain damage.
B) split-brain deaf people.
C) deaf monkeys with unilateral brain damage.
D) split-brain people with right-hemisphere damage.
E) deaf people with bilateral brain damage.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The strongest evidence for the linguistic theory of cerebral asymmetry comes from the study of deaf people who use American Sign Language and subsequently suffer unilateral brain damage. This is because ASL has a complex grammar and syntax, and the same areas of the brain that are activated during spoken language processing are also activated during sign language processing. Therefore, if language processing were truly lateralized to the left hemisphere, we would expect to see aphasia (language impairment) in deaf ASL users with left-hemisphere damage, just as we see in hearing people with left-hemisphere damage who have aphasia. Studies have confirmed this pattern in deaf ASL users with left-hemisphere damage, providing strong evidence for the linguistic theory of cerebral asymmetry.

The Strongest Evidence for the Linguistic Theory of Cerebral Asymmetry