In Deaf People, The Language They Learned As Kids Affected Brain Structure

Guinevere Eden, D.Phil., director for the Center for the Study of Learning at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) and her colleagues report on a new structural brain imaging study that shows, in addition to deafness, early language experience – English versus ASL – impacts brain structure. Half of the adult hearing and half of the deaf participants in the study had learned ASL as children from their deaf parents, while the other half had grown up using English with their hearing parents.

Link: http://www.science20.com/news_articles/in_deaf_people_the_language_they_learned_as_kids_affected_brain_structure-134265

Sign Language Making Big Impact

Zoe Jagla was a frustrated little girl, throwing temper tantrums as she tried and failed to communicate what she wanted. Her parents searched for a sign language teacher for their severe to profoundly deaf two-year-old, but couldn’t find one until Becky Reeder and Beth Chilman came along and dedicated two to three days a week to teach her American Sign Language.

Link: http://thesouthern.com/news/local/sign-language-making-big-impact/article_0f8331d7-90f2-5c33-a68b-41dd4382d6dc.html

Gene therapy to address progressive hearing loss

Using DNA as a drug — commonly called gene therapy — in laboratory mice may protect the inner ear nerve cells of humans suffering from certain types of progressive hearing loss, researchers have discovered. While the research is in its early stages, it has the potential to lead to a cure for some varieties of deafness.

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140324111918.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fmind_brain%2Fhearing_loss+%28Hearing+Loss+News+--+ScienceDaily%29