Plasticity of visual brain regions in signers

Plasticity of visual brain regions in signers - VisSign

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00030900

Enrollment

Registered

2023-01-19

Start date

2023-02-08

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2025-04-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

We investigate the visual system in healthy subjects with and without hearing impairments

Interventions

Group 1: 20 congenitally deaf subjects, who have aquiered a sign language as their first language Group 2: 20 subjects without hearing impairments, who can speak a sign language fluently Group 3: Cont

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: normal or corrected to normal vision

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: • A diagnosis of a psychiatric or neurological disease • MRI exclusion criteria

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The goal of the planned study is to investigates differences in higher visual brain regions in the ventral temporal cortex (VTC) and the lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC) in (i) deaf and (ii) hearing signers and in (iii) hearing controls without knowledge of sign language. Using a combination of different MRI measures, we will examine the size of the functionally defined face- and body-selective regions, the neural patterns while viewing pictures of faces and hands, the connectivity between hand- and face- specific regions and language regions and the relative activation of the brain regions in the left versus right hemisphere. All the above-described measurements will be compared between the three groups. Using an eye-tracker we will measure differences in gaze behavior between the groups while the participants are watching pictures of everyday situations. Furthermore, using the Cambridge Face Memory Test, recognition performance for faces will be compared between the groups. As control measurements we will use two questionnaires regarding handiness and acquisition and usage of sign language. The primary outcome of the study is achieved once we have collected the data of 20 participants per group (so 60 participants in total). We plan to have achieved this goal by the end of the year 2023.	—

Measure

Time frame

The goal of the planned study is to investigates differences in higher visual brain regions in the ventral temporal cortex (VTC) and the lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC) in (i) deaf and (ii) hearing signers and in (iii) hearing controls without knowledge of sign language. Using a combination of different MRI measures, we will examine the size of the functionally defined face- and body-selective regions, the neural patterns while viewing pictures of faces and hands, the connectivity between hand- and face- specific regions and language regions and the relative activation of the brain regions in the left versus right hemisphere. All the above-described measurements will be compared between the three groups. Using an eye-tracker we will measure differences in gaze behavior between the groups while the participants are watching pictures of everyday situations. Furthermore, using the Cambridge Face Memory Test, recognition performance for faces will be compared between the groups. As control measurements we will use two questionnaires regarding handiness and acquisition and usage of sign language. The primary outcome of the study is achieved once we have collected the data of 20 participants per group (so 60 participants in total). We plan to have achieved this goal by the end of the year 2023.

—

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactMarisa Nordt

Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie des Kindes- und Jugendalters

mnordt@ukaachen.de+49 241 80 80571

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026