?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Perception+of+Real-World+Without+a+Language&rft.creator=Buoiano%2C+Dr.+Giancarlo&rft.creator=Betti%2C+Dr.+Mario&rft.creator=Bongioanni%2C+Dr.+Paolo&rft.subject=Neurolinguistics&rft.description=Perception+of+Real-World+Without+a+Language%0A%0AGian+Carlo+Buoiano+C%C2%A7%2C+Mario+Betti+*+and+Paolo+Bongioanni+%C2%A7%0A%0A+%C2%A7Neuroscience+Dpt.%2C+University+of+Pisa%3B+*CESER+Center+of+Mental+Health+(Lucca)%2C+Italy%0A%0AC+Corresponding+author%3A%0A%0AGiancarlo+Buoiano%0AVia+del+Morello+8+Bargecchia%0AI-55040+++Corsanico+(LU)%0AItaly%0Ae-mail%3A+giancarlo%40neurolinguistics.0catch.com+%0A%0AAbstract%0A%0AThe+aim+of+this+study+is+to+show+how+real-world+knowledge+works+without+language.%0ALelio+is+a+76-year-old+man+who+has+been+profoundly+deaf+since+birth+like+his+mother+and+brothers.+In+the+clinical+history%2C+Lelio%E2%80%99s+father+was+reported+as+affected+by+an+unspecified+%E2%80%9Ccerebropathy%E2%80%9D.+Lelio%E2%80%99s+two+brothers+had+a+relatively+normal+life.+Lelio+is+illiterate+like+his+mother+and+brothers%3A+therefore+Lelio+grew+up+in+a+rather+atypical+relational+context%2C+developing+a+pathological+affection+for+his+mother+and+communicating+through+non-linguistically+structured+gestures.+When+his+mother+died+Lelio+was+31+and+had+some+bursts+of+violence.+In+1956+he+was+admitted+in+a+psychiatric+hospital+with+the+diagnosis+of+%E2%80%9Cphrenastenia+due+to+cerebropathy%2C+microcephalia%2C+deafness+and+mutism+and+probable+epileptic+crises%E2%80%9D.+During+the+35-year+hospitalization%2C+there+were+no+attempts+to+teach+him+%E2%80%9Cto+read+the+lips%E2%80%9D+or+use+a+structured+sign+language+and%2C+consequently%2C+read+and+write.+Since+1997+he+has+been+living+with+his+adoptive+family.+For+these+reasons%2C+Lelio+is+a+subject+totally+deprived+of+language.+Apparently%2C+he+is+unable+to+indicate+a+temporal+sequence%2C+but+can+understand+simple+gestures+for+%E2%80%9Cbefore%E2%80%9D+and+%E2%80%9Cafter%E2%80%9D.+Simple+gestures+of+this+kind+are+related+to+his+needs+and+might+constitute+a+primitive+form+of+deictic+communication+not+inserted+in+a+linguistic+network+of+relations%3A+they+could+be+a+clue+for+the+existence+of+an+elementary+form+of+temporal+communication.+Lelio+can+only+produce+signs+linked+to+his+immediate+needs.+%0AWe+administered+him+a+Comprehensive+Test+of+Non-verbal+Intelligence+(CTONI)1+and+a+color+categorization+test.+%0ALelio+performed+in+two+of+three+subtests+closely+to+pre-school+and+pre-linguistic+children+who+have+not+yet+fully+developed+their+frontal+lobes.+We+found+that+categorical%2C+contextual+and+abstract+reasoning+are+highly+impaired+in+the+total+absence+of+a+structured+language.+However%2C+a+crucial+point+to+clear+up+is+whether+his+cognitive+impairments+are+mainly+due+to+a+reduced+brain+function+or+primarily+to+the+total+lack+of+language.+One+hypothesis+is+that+his+deafness+and+reduced+brain+function+have+blocked+the+development+of+any+form+of+language%2C+thus+severely+worsening+his+cognitive+abilities.%0ASince+the+present+study+has+been+carried+out+on+a+single+case%2C+it+waits+for+further+evidence.%0AFor+these+reasons%2C+Lelio+is+a+subject+totally+deprived+of+language%2C+at+least+in+the+conventional+sense.+At+the+moment+he+attends+a+group+of+Theatre+Therapy.+In+this+group+he+uses+some+very+simple+gestures+to+communicate+with+the+others.++We+have+video-recorded+Lelio+and+analysed+these+signs.+They++are+highly+iconic+and+deictic%3A+i.e.%2C+he+has+a+sign+for+%E2%80%9Ccat%E2%80%9D+(two+raised+fingers+on+the+ears)+a+sign+for+%E2%80%9Cumbrella%E2%80%9D+(the+gesture+to+open+an+umbrella)%2C+a+sign+for+%E2%80%9Ctoilette%E2%80%9D+(a+raised+finger).+He+doesn%E2%80%99t+seem+capable+of+indicating+a+temporal+sequence%2C+but+he+seems+to+understand+simple+gestures+for+%E2%80%9Cbefore%E2%80%9D+and+%E2%80%9Cafter%E2%80%9D.+He+does+not+produce+any+sign+that+is+not+linked+to+his+immediate+needs.+The+cognitive+evolution+of+the+subject+leaves+open+an+interpretation+according+to+which+the+passage+from+the+imagistic+way+of+thinking+to+the+alphanumeric+way+of+reasoning+is+missing.+This+lack+can+be+seen+as+the+basis+that+reveal+an+archaic+and+primitive+thinking%2C+where+the+objects+are+always+seen+in+their+concrete+and+functional+perspective+and+Lelio%E2%80%99s+way+of+thinking+could+precisely+be+of+this+kind.%0A&rft.publisher=European+Journal+of+Neurology&rft.date=2002&rft.type=Conference+Poster&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F2439%2F1%2FLelio%2527s_case_29082002.pdf&rft.identifier=++Buoiano%2C+Dr.+Giancarlo+and+Betti%2C+Dr.+Mario+and+Bongioanni%2C+Dr.+Paolo++(2002)+Perception+of+Real-World+Without+a+Language.++%5BConference+Poster%5D++++(In+Press)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F2439%2F