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7 \4 \# ]5 y7 z# \% |说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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- H' K5 B8 g' Z说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 7 f) q |5 b5 \
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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。
) B& i' g+ S& z6 R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。 # ^) r8 B# P; A. J" w1 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。 ' V& n* h2 K, x9 o$ 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。
) p) n3 O7 y/ g( W6 _# v( {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。
. L7 |% k5 K, q5 t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 X3 \6 G- o/ Z
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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3 ]+ |$ N9 @! Q R9 e5 R9 g9 K8 sChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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" \7 j; f: M1 I( c2 Y% w. aSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
! \" t6 l* V7 L7 I, X, F6 D: `( qResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language.
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" t- l* C7 z1 g" t9 U: |This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. ; w0 ]1 v+ B5 X, ^8 a+ ~% M
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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.
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Brain scans 9 L# a! T4 O4 U7 Q ~. s
& l& d' H- \/ c) Q! uDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers.
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2 R/ a B, Y, m& B& ?- |7 [, j9 a+ h( |They found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English. K8 W' ?* p( A3 e! J
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2 R. ^4 p2 T2 j! N) gThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. * @+ g( ^ `: ]
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. 4 i: w# Q1 ~. v& i* v& M0 z+ O
+ I: _/ ^: S5 b3 K) E( qHowever, 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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0 o* ], ~9 ~6 H! f"It overturned some long-held theories." ' ]8 I( z3 L/ T. v4 r4 n
) Z! h, ~% y' Q$ e9 E& j! ]# @4 {Mandarin 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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For instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said.
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/ {& U0 Y1 T# F( T, B2 w7 AThe 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. - I1 o7 _' W0 c5 P, f' m0 U
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"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. ; }0 q: u+ n/ t" G4 s
& G% G @8 b2 `"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." 0 W9 T' ] U7 }) p, O: M9 E _
4 i- z# w$ Q+ V* |5 |+ [' yLearning languages
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, k; O' P& B4 x! CDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language.
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1 b8 I! H4 f7 m% j" YIt could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. " T0 j7 u! z" X. P
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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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5 L; K5 q% P) h2 O* q1 p"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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. f, o/ B' Z5 p7 w ]* _"This is something we can improve on." * d }( z1 U* B. u1 E5 Q% _2 o
4 r2 V9 ]9 ^8 f, j4 B1 SDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study.
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# J3 c. @4 A. N. \7 R1 ^"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. 2 ^' a+ i: U/ }4 _& D
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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.
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7 w) _2 |. K. c6 u& ]. q"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." 5 J: ^3 X$ n. b4 p( F( ], B0 }
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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. ) K$ h4 {! Y* a" ~1 ~
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Story from BBC NEWS:
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! U* d& ^: b+ H[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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