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/ g- J \$ ^3 W+ z x8 w说汉语者使用大脑更多部分# N4 U* K% Y! y5 \6 e9 f% L8 u
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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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1 R' D* k& v1 B4 X, o0 {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。 * s9 q1 W: o# c: T; T% v: s4 T% o
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。 , R2 _: _9 J; N# ?3 o F6 d9 X# e
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。
& C! Q) q& x9 a5 s, D2 v/ r+ d! L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。
7 A) z7 ]3 w s; g- t* }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 G! [! @2 y K' K# q3 Y$ e7 W# u) v; @
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 `' N& `: H, X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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" b5 S1 U) \- [9 l& SChinese 'takes more brainpower' ( Z0 e; _9 p/ c e; H. n
' D" f% j+ h( a5 o) @' NSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
" f8 v: R- `6 B+ o: m9 `" NResearchers 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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! e6 n, p8 F9 F# N( a" m4 z s( q) }- {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. % o% ^( z) I* y N
7 z; N3 n5 H* J" X# YBrain scans ) I' b4 S$ ^# Z# F6 _; C
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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. ; u0 A2 I4 e& t! |2 i4 m
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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. 4 u: A" e) b9 |9 L; h7 L
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) J5 D2 U z# W& \. G; B$ GThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. 4 |- n3 U- i) B
3 p2 p% [4 M4 b& X- M1 `They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. 1 E- Z( p3 a7 w- A! A
/ F0 ?' U% Y% d( e4 l5 {However, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. ' l, C0 {) a6 }% M
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"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. 0 O8 d3 | h) W
/ z+ _( N6 o% B* c2 W3 p7 `( }6 ]"It overturned some long-held theories."
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% ]( c# z' X% k, P7 TMandarin 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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W" {2 v- Z) v/ r' GFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. 3 t# z. p( f+ i! Y8 J
) v9 y& R, L( d6 kThe researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain. 6 n8 g i: y( R
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The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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0 k, [) D: B" H"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. - A, S$ [3 a! F5 E1 a) N4 L) z( g6 ?
" i+ o Z6 I5 V8 Q"It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech. ) n! e- e. a9 E7 L/ I V
3 P/ I3 R. m; }! U+ W"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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% N Z" ^7 C5 l- |: WLearning languages ! V- [/ K3 Y5 g8 _+ h
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language.
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It could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. 1 I9 M6 r- Z" H$ x; R6 L: y
; k5 ?+ a3 W6 q! f6 c1 b8 O! s. J4 `She 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.
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8 M) I! V. R+ c0 H; a"This is something we can improve on." 9 U" \- _+ p0 }
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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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( W! D! _0 m$ ?7 x"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. " J7 i$ e9 g9 j+ Q
- ^( S, ~2 K4 t5 r9 b; G"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. 5 l3 @" m& n+ H& K# P$ Q/ Q5 K
- h% O- c; G, f% `$ |% \) k"This field is really opening up but it is very early days."
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4 y' [. H* t- rThe findings will be included in the summer science exhibition at the Royal Society in London, which runs from 1 to 3 July. + F, w3 w! q% i3 F( r5 ~
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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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