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' C- c. ~, [# J( s( f, ]+ n说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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/ `8 o; ^4 C: u8 P, Q' q说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 - W* |4 e2 I. _: C$ @) l6 Z
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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。 & B2 }" C# t9 f. m: V- ]5 A( Z3 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。 6 n+ J' B% W% {9 |6 p0 {
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。 0 G7 Q( i$ v* I# j- E0 U
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。 ( `' C2 v9 I- I+ X J
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。 $ B& A$ u8 b b3 M; t; q4 ]" `
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。
- y: a1 K6 [, G7 K9 J% l5 k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.
+ ?: j0 \. r7 b! s* K: O' FResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language.
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. \* [9 L, }5 n, T# z7 @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. 0 ~* v$ b3 s7 ^
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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
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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. & X: X0 U/ c% |. b. P7 w _+ ?6 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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$ N# Z* ~; r3 o, v9 x5 T4 U4 {% j8 iThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. : K# O* {$ d& r" [) p1 r
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. 7 N/ ]7 P! e- [1 t, U5 }1 f
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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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"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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' U4 g: t8 u& O- a# h7 h) M"It overturned some long-held theories." \* ^% d$ I" c- p8 j7 q/ F6 c
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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. @6 K' V, B9 ]- X Q* d
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For instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. % I$ F% H6 l2 q# k% r/ z
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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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2 m* t9 ?* m3 `* i: kThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. ; l3 K$ X7 s k6 U& a' N
5 P$ X) p9 L6 _ l"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. ' t/ A) M3 U, Q/ |; v
5 C; \* N, q" B) H! W"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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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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& f3 U% y/ G; L; N2 @Learning languages
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. 8 f0 c1 H9 G( C
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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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5 h+ K/ N" n: E" r$ f/ oShe 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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( \* u$ y1 s" _6 y/ N"This is something we can improve on."
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! I* N- J2 k( o/ MDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. 4 H; P+ z% B2 b* }3 ~& O
+ m R) F1 n8 \( e+ f"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. 3 z$ [) C: {- M, d$ I
+ g& K8 n1 a0 e1 a" t3 @"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.
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"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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Story from BBC NEWS:0 U8 W6 J& }1 E, G
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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