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7 k9 O( s- h/ T! V+ O5 p% E2 u说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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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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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。 7 q y3 D. Z& m! R8 z4 c
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。
4 r, [/ I9 e9 N) ^$ G9 ]- l9 p9 f: C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。 . ?& y5 S8 I% @
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" i/ b6 B3 ~2 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。
2 k! l5 W+ X6 t* D* D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。
, Q( K0 }! p% v6 h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。+ L- X4 a l1 ~" [ q, }3 u
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`( j) T0 U$ a; NChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests. * r Q/ _8 \4 j# a) V9 U- T
Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. % Z$ `9 f9 u* _& Y2 F. E
3 a% _# Q- K1 i3 l2 H& W& WThis compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain.
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5 f! N0 v: b `6 _- W( Y; ]The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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2 E3 E6 N. d: Y4 UThis, 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. & B( ~ p. b5 m7 }% s
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Brain scans
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1 Q8 L5 A0 n% O9 A$ W& bDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. 3 [) a6 P9 W4 F9 [
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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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; K" r* o1 N1 F8 f1 TThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. ( W% h6 e- t2 ?4 a* a! W" o; `$ R/ A
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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8 @: E+ d& {: p* T" g# x; Y9 kHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. $ q1 n( r, y" H0 |1 A- i0 X& T% }
& M, d0 o) K% k/ l$ S0 M8 r"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."
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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. 1 `& ~9 s7 l: F; q" a# r1 M
$ M. T9 {; R2 q- f: a; F, TFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. 6 W0 e9 ~4 \( V, S7 P ^+ j
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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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The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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3 N: {( w( q6 n- ] P7 [( ~8 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. 7 e j1 ^2 m* g) t& x6 {2 _- V5 f9 [
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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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+ C1 E! \2 H* K# J! K"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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Learning languages
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, T, ^/ y! S/ i0 b; l: K! E! wDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language.
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$ v7 }* R0 f" kIt 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. 5 f. `% t- ~) g2 U$ S( p
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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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"This is something we can improve on."
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Dr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. 0 P" I& ~6 @: _5 I1 K
4 x- @9 m4 p* X"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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; C' K7 G3 v( y/ t: k" d4 v"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. % |. [% S! j+ I; o! @1 s# c
8 ~% g; B& L+ `- w2 q"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. # V& X$ Y) n4 L# r0 p4 o7 M" }8 L
; C: c; n# Y2 ~: ~, M"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." 9 Y% m+ A) d. M: W d5 K. J
* w5 U2 S9 p# g% C5 M0 i0 ]' f* cThe findings will be included in the summer science exhibition at the Royal Society in London, which runs from 1 to 3 July. F1 R& q. x7 u% g2 Q
' B4 u) B4 M" U8 T; cStory from BBC NEWS:
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8 i" v" G9 U2 [& O! l[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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