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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分" ?4 k( Q( D6 {/ S; Y9 \2 p
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# z0 {! J% G- U7 s6 ~说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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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。 & ~* ?# p+ b+ w2 Z/ T6 S0 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。 7 @+ g( r, Y }2 } 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。
; Z( |# Q* B, X2 D8 X+ 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。
1 k- T0 C# v8 u+ C, h9 A, y8 e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。
- F/ i; g! c0 M0 s# z# @/ }5 z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。 , j- e# [6 ^6 w7 ]% R/ m- @; t
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。/ D7 Y: B" @. {; q& \8 x; H: H
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Chinese 'takes more brainpower' + Z& E* n4 I3 S3 V6 _6 f; N# Q5 y
) Z9 ~* C7 | E4 v u" B/ rSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
5 w* J2 ?: J1 t4 o6 oResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language.
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5 I- R l M7 j4 ]; H wThis compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. 3 n6 y, b) L+ t% X# C( J" Z" T
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The 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. . J, n$ @+ I4 D# h
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Brain scans 7 T# n5 q5 G: S$ B% N. Q* c$ G' V
* ?, E+ q. f9 n1 gDr 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.
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The researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. . i$ ?' o# A# }% S
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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' F P* B T$ H; Y0 p8 FHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. : N4 x& r( w& G% \& _
1 K0 p1 s n/ K' j8 e( P2 r"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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( t7 [3 {7 i# _! ?"It overturned some long-held theories."
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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. ) h- |+ v" B6 R2 z
& R" g, G( {2 R3 k, f8 ZFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said.
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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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* j7 Z" [7 N! s# M) _$ `2 kThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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. E7 r" _* ~: ?, ]0 Z9 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. 6 j$ {! [1 [8 t3 O
4 o( ?% D6 E4 ?- _"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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2 |/ G3 B* s9 y! k) ?"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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& g- k$ f% N5 H- P/ o6 ELearning languages : z9 e0 `# P% @4 d0 |$ V8 x
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. - C% V5 S3 l0 p& d2 y) ?
j7 m) A. M y, CIt could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. & M1 s; l3 ?- y2 e; {; A
2 y- b# I: a0 L. t# @She suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills. 9 g* C3 G& b+ ^& y% T" }& V
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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. ( K8 R) o6 L4 s/ a# O9 z& a& o
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"This is something we can improve on." , g* s! {7 A$ s. s% J! B7 t( ^
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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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, i- u* \. F3 _$ G"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. 4 [; Y4 Q0 @( Z8 w/ R
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"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. % z2 q6 _" W( x4 l8 ]- B
$ O; \+ R- S. O/ c"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. 3 l1 w- l" ^0 n& G9 M
6 T8 u3 U v0 C0 u) ~1 \"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." & D# n, u7 V. ^5 o
1 t' S. C6 e/ MThe 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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. y7 O$ h& _( E/ {4 ZStory from BBC NEWS:
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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