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: c/ q4 l7 E/ Y" ?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
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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。
) Q4 F( B" [. \) Y, T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 t# q8 u2 r- w8 Z6 y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。 7 Y& `7 @' T$ `" o9 b! m! _
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。
" [( q S1 @3 q1 J/ i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 Z; G* N; f, x- U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。 / m) ~8 D6 f, }
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。, m9 m. A/ O+ } Q4 Y( n; i6 x8 j
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Chinese 'takes more brainpower' 1 B% { U2 s6 E6 u/ Q5 Q0 ~" D
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests. 4 E5 V7 m5 D9 P1 y7 t! C8 ^* S o2 J
Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. $ n X- F$ u9 V% P% ?
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This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. $ j+ {+ g; D$ E4 W
" l$ @8 o) t/ `The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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This, 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. ; r6 P! E/ t6 d+ v
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Brain scans # E: W- J7 v/ u O0 h6 f7 Y' v3 M/ d
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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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They found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English. 3 T b. S% y+ Y
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The researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words.
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1 {% l; n% N% \! s) J& L# S* M% t4 k) EThey expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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. S4 e H. k7 gHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin.
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3 G# f4 Y9 [, B6 p0 O6 T: A"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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! y$ O0 a- E5 y"It overturned some long-held theories."
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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.
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For instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. / _, c7 o$ k* R/ ?
3 g9 p; B$ }. h/ TThe researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain.
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' n# i% z. M% i8 L* m$ SThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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1 g& N! C* \, o. r"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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"It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech. - V7 e& L5 S/ w/ c, H
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." , J, ?6 r: |7 V$ Q
% Z) |' R! N' O: M7 h: v# f5 [Learning languages
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. ! @% o1 O0 }: f
0 m5 n. V6 e2 y3 O( ~+ I' DIt could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke.
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" k5 N# E5 J( a& aShe 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. * w$ f8 X d) \
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"This is something we can improve on." 6 Q. Y4 q6 t$ j/ \; a
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Dr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. $ Z+ }* [( G/ r& w: u# k
9 |$ m+ ~0 ? H; a! d"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. & t* a6 Z1 H% u% t$ Z* q3 n
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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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"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."
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The findings will be included in the summer science exhibition at the Royal Society in London, which runs from 1 to 3 July.
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Story from BBC NEWS:( e. \8 s& U- _5 K/ J
! g; w' E! m8 r2 V! m0 Y2 [- }7 ? b[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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