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转贴BBC News C; z3 @ G/ @5 V
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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分5 H" Y& H0 K. F
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: b: V1 s! j& ^- `. q% W; E说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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. m5 I$ ~0 T5 p k: S1 @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。 & f( d# v) _; `+ E$ h" h
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。 * m% b. n" @8 G
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。
3 ~& t( X0 w8 l; ]$ L# c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。 * q1 E e' ^2 Y9 a/ s0 N, w. ^, r- x
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。
6 x3 j: {8 m% o5 I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。 ! t/ J7 \& Q0 _" n8 D" 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。
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& o2 T0 q9 t2 x9 q5 JChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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8 j) a: J" K' \; K' r' f# HSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
5 \' H- ^. S( _, {& C, zResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. C o- S' l9 H A) E
8 b6 F6 i0 S& @2 kThis 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. * o4 q, }; c6 ]$ A6 J
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Brain scans 7 J) R% R- a. W& ]% m8 T# Y' n
: D. m" k3 Y5 O4 B' E% hDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. A% t+ M' E; f' X% x
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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. * O8 T" v# E4 Z, g( Q3 b
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However, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin.
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+ J% G3 i, C, l" {7 p, f"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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7 z4 `# g( E8 t, |! h+ d"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.
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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.
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The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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/ w: ^6 B2 J4 R ^7 |"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. # l$ J) p8 C/ H+ N1 D) D
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." 2 _0 V7 O% q7 ]5 b% W
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Learning languages
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" p. \( t8 {6 x4 ZDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. % T% l5 {% b8 ^1 l& q
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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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' v2 |* i2 S. e0 w. L4 f WShe suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills. # J% F' j9 T1 N& x5 q
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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. W8 r5 `/ K8 H2 L( d
+ Y/ _# Y Y8 ] u6 g& ?) p6 y"This is something we can improve on." * _; o6 r3 W. l6 f8 a9 Q3 z; l$ O
: z* ?6 g& p, k3 {, ADr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. + `+ @! }7 [! b3 |; P
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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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: K, I% J3 M9 A* k"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. n3 I/ |. W* B# M
- S& T# D4 E" @% c0 I: J9 j- M"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. 2 h7 k- K& V4 b' B* l4 Z
3 Z' U' N+ b( {"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." 9 |1 d0 [2 q+ I8 t2 r) e8 @0 t
( X5 i8 r* T1 U. s! s9 M5 f5 ~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:
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-1-23 at 10:43 PM ] |
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