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/ z* d% d5 ]) ?说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 % S! s/ E2 K8 f: L1 b
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% ~( z. P! q- C& w4 v' M( ~; ]: q. K0 d' B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。 # r; X. _, v0 U( I3 b6 E
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。 $ x8 W9 E; S& A" H. H0 |
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。 ; Z4 Q; ~, X, g: t! P+ J+ l& j
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。 % @) W8 Q% D. n/ w
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。
% ~7 H4 F4 }+ u( P X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。 ' D9 `0 N4 W' w
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。1 N5 O1 d$ R, ?
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3 K9 |5 k" g6 V3 _* U l& xChinese 'takes more brainpower' : g5 s1 U6 q' i4 p" T0 S
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests. 0 r. G! b. F% Y% r1 B
Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. 8 N+ m/ J( n" @# J
. R5 d- M) d$ q3 r: D9 oThis compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. 8 t- n- p) v2 K7 }% c( f
9 n3 @5 ~* y2 p( t* HThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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' O+ P/ |1 O2 z2 FThis, 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. " I; g# N4 ]0 Z" u1 h: k
! h0 o: O6 s1 z! g' G. {Brain scans
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+ N, {' D5 Y' C3 n. r0 ]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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They found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English.
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' f4 q% u2 I nThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words.
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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: M# H: i# \' B1 j2 ]However, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin.
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"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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Z4 w; r4 @; i) t% h6 W, q6 Z) I"It overturned some long-held theories." # H% y* V/ ]- _0 ~& ?2 R% P
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Mandarin is a notoriously difficult language to learn. Unlike English, speakers use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words. ; ~' L2 g, E. @0 m
$ z7 [% A9 q8 `. ~. vFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. 6 Y& p1 L% ^3 h9 u7 [, ~
7 _) T5 ~/ _+ c" s9 \The researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain.
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* s" Q% P* Q z xThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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+ i2 E1 {+ k7 C4 m"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.
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) v: X; E% [" r"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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1 `# \$ T6 w2 ?( E"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." 3 I- B v$ ^# h8 i
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Learning languages 8 N: C1 s _! M( N. j3 j
3 P% Y/ k/ ?6 @( f' N1 h; FDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. , }# S4 A h/ T% |- e) I
4 W% y) \. Z! Y3 }: s% n- TIt could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. # S0 l: ]1 X7 c1 e4 M
- K9 b: j! n( K2 S0 _. i7 g' W3 zShe suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills. 2 B# y2 R+ E; `' U
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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. 6 [! P8 {, B/ ` e( u; A
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"This is something we can improve on."
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Dr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. / {- |: o* g) Q/ e; |! x
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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. , C4 [5 R1 b% ^
4 |! i4 l' `- |7 q: `9 H"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language.
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. 6 X9 ]4 H2 X0 H( ^; G) ^4 G
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"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." ' N/ V( E6 x0 i9 } _ S, \
! x# l9 p. N0 P! [: OThe findings will be included in the summer science exhibition at the Royal Society in London, which runs from 1 to 3 July. ; G) O1 V! B& _1 Q
; y) m; L/ M q* M: |/ F- mStory from BBC NEWS:
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3 J5 A0 `, |: }- T! }& R& c[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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