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. B! Z# }6 m$ k! h8 i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 ( c0 C$ N) V' S* c
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: |8 D, z0 w2 d6 o0 d1 ~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( l% r# t9 d/ 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。 : @' D, ~9 p. T
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。
k1 a, R6 _0 N: x8 k- H: 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。
) q/ [+ \# p+ T/ [ R( c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。
( W5 B. i! C; Z$ {( c6 ~6 L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。 ( D/ C$ u- H+ M
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。
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7 i N& j, ?, v! N( O# P( NChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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9 r1 w" R2 y& _7 NSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests. 0 U; T3 e8 r9 q& M" P, N+ r
Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. / b% w3 e/ f7 @! J( e
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This 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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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. : Z0 v0 e' N6 N/ C$ U
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Brain scans . E) W) t5 F+ B8 m$ L- [
5 D9 z; G3 J* N% p/ xDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. / z T) ]6 @: A) N( {6 \
; s$ m, [. V. sThey found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English.
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( `( Q* x" K5 m8 sThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. 6 C ^1 v$ ~* n4 [
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. # \! E$ A. `7 P- ]4 F) `
! C, x! G1 }/ D9 CHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. 2 C5 x: p0 f, N
( g% Z! B' {9 y l, k7 C; d"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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"It overturned some long-held theories."
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' l/ H: h# Q9 S! O1 x1 OMandarin 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.
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The researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain. : b# N& b* ^/ {0 ~+ }, f8 e6 B. r
4 c1 c: w8 o) e3 MThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. 0 C7 q% j! c5 S) P; H+ k
+ C( ~ j& \4 f, }2 f1 \"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. ( c; f$ p# c/ k. `/ `8 {6 |
; G, B$ n5 G. {6 X) u6 G"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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; b9 r3 N( g0 S"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." 8 m9 |5 [7 a7 @4 z! S
& J; k/ v% j( q) WLearning languages
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, T# q, U) z3 j/ f; w, tDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. / `# E" d c$ z/ Q! X; z1 g
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It could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke.
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3 R& s) a/ _* a) b: b' a, y+ m; ]She suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills. / E( a" r6 X0 F4 F2 O: p# E* j
1 D) D5 J2 @7 ["There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said.
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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. 3 k# u& r& P, F2 E* @
9 E7 H/ S9 g0 l"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. ' W9 l+ ?5 u- a: L1 f( O9 N
; c) f4 F7 s D6 w1 }"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. + W7 m" j' o' _8 h) B. u; T
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said.
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* B- j0 _/ N# P) V2 Y( p"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." ; H0 G n0 Q; Y! k9 R( `7 y; d
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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. + v, T. y) c& D
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Story from BBC NEWS:
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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