{
  "abstract": "The human brain has the capacity to automatically compute the grammatical relations of words in sentences, be they spoken or written. This species-specific ability for syntax lies at the core of our capacity for language and is primarily subserved by a left-hemispheric fronto- temporal network consisting of the posterior inferior frontal gyrus (pIFG), as well as the posterior middle temporal gyrus and superior temporal sulcus (pMTG/STS). To date, it remains unclear whether this core network for syntactic processing identified for spoken and written language in hearing people also holds for the processing of the grammatical structure of a natural sign language in deaf people. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, a sign language paradigm that systematically varied the presence of syntactic and lexical- semantic information, and meta-analytically defined functional regions-of-interests derived from a large dataset of syntactic processing in hearing non-signers, we demonstrate that deaf native signers of German Sign Language (DGS) also recruit left pIFG and pMTG/STS for computing grammatical relations in sign language—indicating the universality of the core language network. These findings suggest that the human brain evolved a dedicated neural network for processing the grammatical structure of natural languages independent of language modality, which flexibly interacts with different externalization systems depending on the modality of language use.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Patrick C. Trettenbrein"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nina-Kristin Meister"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ksenija Slivac"
    },
    {
      "name": "Thomas A. Finkbeiner"
    },
    {
      "name": "Markus Steinbach"
    },
    {
      "name": "Angela D. Friederici"
    },
    {
      "name": "Emiliano Zaccarella"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9zk50f0ea3py6.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.31234/osf.io/hnzgp_v2",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "9zk50f0ea3py6",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/hnzgp_v2/",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "bepress",
      "Cognitive Neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Linguistics"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Psycholinguistics and Neurolinguistics"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Social and Behavioral Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Systems Neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7215053211",
  "pdf_url": "https://osf.io/hnzgp/download",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9zk50f0ea3py6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:22:38Z",
      "native_id": "hnzgp",
      "source": "osf",
      "url": "https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/hnzgp_v2/"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "bepress:Cognitive Neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Modality-Independent Core Brain Network for Language as Proved by Sign Language",
  "title_text": "Modality-Independent Core Brain Network for Language as Proved by Sign Language",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:22:38Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9zk50f0ea3py6",
  "venue": "PsyArXiv",
  "versions": []
}