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& C& m/ U0 ?% z/ u) j说汉语者使用大脑更多部分6 I" f! Q# {6 t1 d
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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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& b4 u7 Z- [3 s) J ^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。
4 t8 ^. _0 ?) {, m, i* l' @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。 & S }7 d- v' d! I$ j
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。 ! m% t/ N1 P* i. Y; u9 U) Z3 b% P# t6 y
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。
) g5 _2 z$ j; s) t& |- X) M6 a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。 3 J& [ n6 `; t" F8 j" p
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。 " F$ X, }, i3 O3 N. r8 F" ~2 {
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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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
% g* Y5 r$ w! F- H2 X6 ^Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. ) u: u) T, e p2 ?; R( p" u
" K4 I& x" }# }7 \+ J* }% {This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. " C7 m) F [5 h+ K8 W) k
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The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages. ' {7 r4 u; S+ A- Y
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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. , z; N! v) H! Y5 ]8 p* h
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Brain scans $ `+ j a2 P1 e
7 P5 H I3 D) O) W% ~% ~Dr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. X, m% V6 ?8 n# S& f0 g
7 q& F6 i- Q7 P- `5 b8 X! o; EThey found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English. 2 J. ^% H& _' [
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The researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. ; [" I4 E. D6 F% }6 ~! f
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. / D, N+ `( q( ?$ S8 t
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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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3 m1 j9 q! u" Y. I* \) j( N; e"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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; C" Z4 T5 _! V# R"It overturned some long-held theories." - Z( h/ [8 y, }& S& W
1 u5 {1 z! a$ B4 \& ?7 z, D) cMandarin is a notoriously difficult language to learn. Unlike English, speakers use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words. 1 N8 F, L. c7 W2 A/ v6 X
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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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1 N( }: @$ L( DThe 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. 9 A1 {. w; g& {
) Q1 W, ^7 \9 x* G2 q$ f- Q0 C"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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5 N: L# N. K+ J8 {: _! v% m 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. " ~/ y8 X2 l6 f, v. ?
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." ) V( d) l# U0 _) G' x
7 t; Q( M0 D! NLearning languages
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. - }+ m8 E6 V( r/ R+ n- ~
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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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"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. * }" i7 w, D: c, a
' E0 v# R& p$ T1 d8 r. W"This is something we can improve on." # V0 C/ k# D; y
5 ^4 ?5 ^" B2 U# |5 m4 s) ]2 EDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. ' p2 q) ?1 }4 _
) H& N v# U: k* C: B; C"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.
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. 6 Y( W/ D' _! C! P1 ?
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"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." 8 N4 `0 a8 X+ j9 |- M
! e Y* ^, ]+ m! ^; ^( q; P3 NThe findings will be included in the summer science exhibition at the Royal Society in London, which runs from 1 to 3 July. 7 ]8 X$ R' F2 A! N3 k! w3 n" Z7 [
7 g1 X5 j) w1 k2 oStory from BBC NEWS:+ l& T% V: l# I; e6 ]
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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