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Are human gestures in the present time a mere vestige of a former sign language? Probably not

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2003

Pierre Feyereisen*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Louvain, PSP/CODE, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgiumwww.code.ucl.ac.be

Abstract:

Right-hand preference for conversational gestures does not imply close connections between the neural systems controlling manual and vocal communication. Use of speech and gestures may dissociate in some cases of focal brain damages. Furthermore, there are limits in the ability to combine spoken words and concurrent hand movements. These findings suggest that discourse production depends on multiple components which probably have different evolutionary origins.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

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