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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分9 y' T! w% B; ?! Q
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说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 ' o8 q1 z' K0 Y5 ~) B2 _
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J! z8 h4 S5 r: w' K6 i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。
* B: `8 T" d8 S* q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。
1 `9 u* A0 q; h. z2 v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。 ' j4 p( Q$ e; O) h1 o% |
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。 ! _, S& K9 O( {* I
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。 ( `: \7 m$ ]6 J; x4 r; ^5 y
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 U' W2 ]9 K2 v' t6 g* @
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。, q8 ?& F) f. ^+ s+ ?
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/ h2 `6 w- w) {) \* h) W4 hChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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+ t' \. o/ d7 o% Q; aSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
: O, G4 ]) g7 q. q+ zResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. 2 K! q8 z V# }$ D4 z Q Q( G
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This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain.
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( W9 o/ \1 Z- x( D$ lThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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! U7 p0 ^0 p$ x4 TThis, 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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2 Y( |8 o3 e( r1 } Z4 z3 B6 o, sBrain 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.
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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 P5 Z0 E; l6 M4 R" w6 b$ ~
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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.
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$ A2 a* u" N* fHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. $ c; T( V* q1 L# G/ N. D
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"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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"It overturned some long-held theories." ) L1 T6 `$ Z) d/ B6 ^7 T: f
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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. ( I5 n( l* `$ K3 c- n; G
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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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- O0 Y% N, j t8 m, S5 h9 O! R% tThe researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain.
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4 ^( k. D8 j# J1 J0 ^7 gThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. " j; \" ~ l, G6 F5 m* O v; K
( X) v, t5 w B% i2 q2 d. Z"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.
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) E/ `' X/ f$ t; l# ["Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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7 v7 o0 L6 S \0 ?) VLearning languages ' y8 Z8 R. Q0 y, ^ ~. k
8 g9 [. ?# w; x( y7 bDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language.
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- ?5 X+ y `6 e$ u& U% _8 iIt could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. + w. U: w, \' E: {% O% U3 U
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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. 2 @% V$ i( b0 ^% ?
8 x2 {. A J5 B2 w+ B- q% A! B( z. m"This is something we can improve on." - G8 i' f$ A- B$ E/ G8 Y8 y" q/ j4 t
6 c% n) r# |6 | p+ i' hDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study.
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"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. 6 e2 O1 `5 G' P. z2 [+ @, e( F
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said.
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3 { [# C( S7 W l/ @"This field is really opening up but it is very early days."
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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.
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3 F! u6 m' \ ^" O: x: @Story from BBC NEWS: u9 b7 ^$ H: y& O$ j+ K
D) v- h1 {! n) q @( X4 {$ c+ D[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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