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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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2 m$ H4 r7 D$ h9 d! o说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 - ^, P1 t' I, y3 i9 A
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- Z9 R1 o" R2 f6 O* j* r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。
, T& c. `1 {6 f: Y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。 / n6 c1 V; E2 [: K% x, ~6 |
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。 / } ]; o0 p" }
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。
u9 e# q! H- w$ n- y3 N& o3 A9 L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。 - h% `/ N; _' J2 N
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。 7 y" w9 T5 K. g0 ]3 F8 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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Chinese 'takes more brainpower'
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6 [- W" p$ c; CSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests. 6 m3 m/ ?% j% ]- |- y$ d
Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. 6 {* Z' |, ]* X+ E' N
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This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain.
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( l. ~" B0 n. jThe 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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Brain scans 3 ?- s5 n9 x3 I, m4 @( O g5 ?
3 w1 V4 y, Y, }7 HDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. + o1 k7 R- b! W+ p8 }1 b
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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. : } M! _; P! Q& R& H( V' N
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. ; O6 c8 i( p3 e: M+ T8 W
, X( R2 S/ ?8 H# e9 uHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin.
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8 I9 ^& @4 o: v; b9 I2 p"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. ' B( @$ h, Z7 H, Q" \3 A
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"It overturned some long-held theories." ) j8 I. @2 P4 s* R9 N7 m
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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. ) X1 D) o% f T1 R% N5 x0 P
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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. # y3 M. m" ^% G5 q3 p0 j
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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 g2 H7 N4 k) {; D* Y; _5 y
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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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( t, J% w3 C+ D9 }( z"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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/ x: o3 N- k J' }/ m6 U# _Learning languages
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. 2 V) x- p* J9 t. t
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It could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. 4 V- t {. [- A
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She suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills. 0 R X# j7 y, ? ?- D' u
" ]! y, L! O, n4 J/ W* D"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. % |1 N: g% e) G' Z- m
/ d7 @ y- }( d6 D, b! G8 E. Y"This is something we can improve on."
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# p) v4 s6 E4 m9 j% p- pDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. 8 {) l" ~. w2 r
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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. , i; j: i3 i2 {: S* d; }
6 S% y( R5 k* U"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. ' C$ N6 [7 g0 a: |4 O8 w @
: P+ W7 h% g9 u3 ^9 O5 o; p) Q8 |"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. / n+ r1 j; Y3 `' E- m2 [
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"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." ) }4 G- [8 g' _4 c0 q- u
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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. ; s9 Z6 O5 p& i7 ^' l3 |
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Story from BBC NEWS:
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& c Z, p" M8 b( X' F ]* H[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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