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* z# N) W8 T, x! T说汉语者使用大脑更多部分( M) Z. `) g8 n$ V( Q1 b P
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$ m: f! {! \. w/ D说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 * B0 [, s3 y1 {6 y" ]; u
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1 |; }. Y7 L- o! v8 E: F7 P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。
8 J- q- x, ]5 i8 Y: 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。
9 o3 [0 b$ a p( ^ I5 q& R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。 7 ^0 |3 _- y+ P$ `1 Y
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。
9 G& ^3 o% N/ s8 a" ?/ \7 Q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。
! s; }$ M8 q# k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。 3 B2 Q# h& B% I* m
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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) p& t4 b* B' Y, X* i' x% a9 QChinese 'takes more brainpower' ) {2 ?) Y1 a' Y$ d
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
2 u$ D% H: d9 g$ dResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language.
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( M- b5 O: e" F; i9 z( |This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. . F8 F8 a& j2 ?5 K" Q8 F1 C
3 l3 d0 w: Y7 j9 D7 {' QThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages. " s" l8 s# n& w9 I( B x7 O2 T- Z
$ }7 r5 e3 s s* b" Y0 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.
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: H3 B- k- C8 W: m5 gBrain scans ; u. J- y2 ^8 q, Q3 N
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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. 6 k* g5 q+ m- c, \, N
) }6 b1 L8 z, z, ?( ]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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_% i+ n! ?2 d. }The researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words.
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. u0 \. U7 z% G' tThey expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. % E$ E. D* W; _! s' a: ?- S
. D8 y$ p/ H! S9 H8 k( A Q; BHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin.
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+ l+ k6 E9 f8 _4 [& B4 w- q"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. " @( p' L" E. `$ T8 ~$ d
, H( i/ {5 ]# T. F"It overturned some long-held theories." - |- u. O2 ]9 k3 v+ V
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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. * Q6 s- p" R. ]9 r
k& _9 g6 c& Y0 sFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. I% k `! {' Y! ~4 |# Z# 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. 2 F7 W- m. A) [- h4 s7 w
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The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. 4 }, G+ \, I# v }3 Z8 M. `
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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.
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% S0 a* n/ h# v% v# }! p"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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& Z1 n# x% d6 o9 c"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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* E8 }8 t2 |; [4 uLearning languages / Z1 m4 B# s, X
& t5 p# c. p2 @7 Q5 }Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language.
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It could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. 8 R. t( o2 N. @0 D" t2 @
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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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$ }1 s7 n, T; {& _* e- t2 S( ?"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. ; R# ?( n& J* x$ v" A" `( E
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"This is something we can improve on." 3 e, ]6 w: s6 d1 `' B/ m! I
" }' z9 _: z8 fDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. , P1 c! L) L' b" h; ^
$ Z$ z* x/ n' Q; M- ?& L C$ o4 Y* c& ?+ A"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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o( U( o/ X9 ~- S: o, H* Z8 A"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 T; \- l# ` m5 |"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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! q& h0 N I( F, b# ?Story from BBC NEWS:6 l" [( ?( m- H6 C, q5 [
( P- W! |6 H6 _* W3 }[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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