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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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2 j& o0 @/ h) m- Y- G2 _/ S4 P' n说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 $ G0 m3 |$ T5 V, e* H* s9 B0 n
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$ O4 `: J8 W7 O3 n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。
& Z+ j% y7 k) U& S/ j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。
5 d: h" a$ l: H( n% t3 j$ X5 r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。 % l) a; ]+ W7 f
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。 $ R8 G/ f9 O( B9 o; x g
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。 2 H" X" K( K6 ?5 |: 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。 8 `$ ? Z- c8 J0 A# G; u/ [6 s
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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" F& `# A! R/ s- u0 {1 J$ x1 s# \Chinese 'takes more brainpower'
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
4 K& y5 D' ?/ S2 z% }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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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.
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: E! |$ K$ o- c- ^: B" @# ~$ aBrain scans
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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. 6 F- t! _9 t1 E$ ~# n. ~
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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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The 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. * b d" f l9 s9 \, i
- n$ Y+ y# q2 ]However, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. - z& N! v, C; y5 i
u" L/ k# O/ V"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. ! s% d0 O/ \5 k' O+ \ m' X
- k4 L( S! `! ~% w& T"It overturned some long-held theories."
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0 I6 t( H, {5 P; X2 ?" `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.
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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. % X9 l% T# j$ F8 Q; G: t
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The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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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. 5 u& i) A$ X+ q; I, x+ `7 R
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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." # N, X* ?: K& ]$ `, {
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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. 5 Z+ V) q4 b6 F- R% Q: A/ s
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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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She suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills.
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% H8 ^5 ~" ]1 q' E6 R8 r$ L4 [6 I! M"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. ; r" ~/ B' g' g
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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.
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6 n$ o; J) @; X A"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. ' m9 t( P1 g' F/ K; G5 K6 x" y
0 l( W+ I& P0 l% K4 b9 r"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. : s) P! U3 P, i% J" C, r
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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." 7 A4 i# U0 J7 ^
1 i5 y) l3 v/ K2 c2 S+ v: c. aThe findings will be included in the summer science exhibition at the Royal Society in London, which runs from 1 to 3 July. * r% Z: r5 X, b2 i
, A# e! l5 R0 P& M$ Y3 [4 I- WStory from BBC NEWS:
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' Y4 k/ s: z' B8 J4 v$ B( S/ s" k[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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