听障人群的工作记忆机制

听障人群听觉通道受损，使用手语交流，提供了独特的切入点来探讨工作记忆的结构和功能。研究表明，听障人群具备在功能上与正常人的语音环路平行的手语复述机制。通过发声训练，听障人群也可采用语音编码，即语音环路可被通达。听障人群具有与正常人相当的语言工作记忆资源，但是这种资源在具体使用时受视觉通道处理特性的限制。越来越多的研究支持互补理论，认为手语的使用增强了听障人群非语言的视空间处理能力。

Working Memory Mechanisms in the Deaf Population

Deaf individuals use sign language to communicate in daily life because of their hearing deficits, which provides us a special opportunity to explore the structure and function of the working memory system. Previous evidence suggests that the deaf population develops a sign-based rehearsal loop which is comparative in many respects to the phonological loop in the hearing population. Besides, the phonological loop can be accessed by the deaf population through oral training, suggesting that the deaf individuals can use speech-based coding to a certain extend. Hearing speakers and deaf sign language users have comparable working memory resources during language use. But the resources will be restricted by the visual modality. More and more evidence provided supports to the compensatory theory, i.e., the use of sign language improves spatial abilities of the deaf.