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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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( m4 {, `( {7 `% K/ ~说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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英国的研究人员发现,说汉语普通话的人可能比说英语的人用更多大脑。研究表明,说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边。
( |3 O1 l2 c0 Q: I. c说英语者只使用大脑一边。研究人员说,这项研究能够促进了解大脑处理语言的过程。 8 R2 r( h. \* `9 C4 H
另外,这项研究还可以帮助研究人员找到更好的办法,帮助人们在中风或者脑部受到类似损害后重新学习,掌握语言技能。
+ t; y; J/ H5 g在这项研究中,操汉语普通话和操英语的两组人接受脑部扫描。研究人员发现,人们讲英语时,靠近左太阳穴的左颞叶开始活跃。 ; ]: d) [* b/ P) H
他们发现,大脑这个区域的功能是把发音联系起来,形成单个词汇。 4 M9 F c; B( q$ c
研究发现,人们说汉语时,左颞叶和右颞叶一起活跃。研究人员说,说不同语言时,人的大脑在以不同方式破译语言。这就推翻了长期以来的看法。
! o/ } m0 f _( i, d汉语普通话十分难学。不同于操英语者,说汉语者使用音调区分不同词的不同意思。比如"马"音,用不同音调发音,可以是马,妈等不同的意思。' ]2 Q, J* d2 \* B" Z
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Chinese 'takes more brainpower' + k4 U. @5 |/ m( F9 U# z8 r5 M4 N
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
5 @, m2 E) L- s* y6 I# _Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language.
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. R2 [( \' d2 ~8 Q% V0 p8 EThis compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain.
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The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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- _: X. v" x7 w$ h) H) ?" vThis, in turn, could one day help scientists to develop better ways of helping people to re-learn languages after a stroke or similar damage to the brain. $ C) @5 C, W: w; ~8 _: u
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Brain scans ' t: g0 Q9 P+ y" X5 K# C
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Dr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers.
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6 }/ i# j. i; q7 h7 iThey found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English.
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The researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. / P7 @ e$ `; H# t: ~
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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# \& J$ y# F. {5 nHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin.
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, {/ W0 i1 a- T q. Y) I# `* {"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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& T% S n: \, C; j5 C: R9 G$ M"It overturned some long-held theories." ! z. J9 v. v: R8 ^+ T
$ o1 e* J: b2 W8 t2 Q8 BMandarin is a notoriously difficult language to learn. Unlike English, speakers use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words.
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' J8 Q W2 R, R$ \2 |& ` g0 N; VFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. 8 ?" N6 Y7 }3 e: f, H( ~7 i l4 \
4 ]& e8 t1 \) N' i0 ]% RThe researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain.
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The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. 7 b4 b1 M. C7 Y7 b1 Y5 Z c: K
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"We think that Mandarin speakers interpret intonation and melody in the right temporal lobe to give the correct meaning to the spoken words," said Dr Scott. + L6 m' ]7 N# E9 b+ `% O; t+ M( \
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"It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech.
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." f3 \4 |! J: l5 I) t
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Learning languages
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. # v' C3 ~" X- N
2 ~. {- K; e' J6 ~" ~( {It could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. ' P0 m9 e6 s6 O* D( T3 P
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She suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills.
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"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. 4 [2 @0 }; v# B; @! X9 W) l
0 g6 ^1 ~' ~. Q- j"This is something we can improve on." 0 ]. N9 }4 L @0 {
# d$ |- a I0 Q" }' ~Dr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. 5 j4 n9 q$ t9 D6 C) o) `* [
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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language.
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4 n% j$ O0 g9 n% m0 ["It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said.
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"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." ! I) G) @# g- v5 } f
9 W7 X4 o! B$ Y0 @% xThe findings will be included in the summer science exhibition at the Royal Society in London, which runs from 1 to 3 July. 4 u$ ]& }& t, g9 t
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Story from BBC NEWS:
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7 F! Q7 F& C' D) y) G0 C[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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