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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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4 z# p8 u3 X0 Y: R' T1 {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。
# U' X( F* y$ C9 ]/ 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。 * e8 U1 G! h t5 C& 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。
. e5 Z; h# p+ m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。
5 g& b1 f6 K$ [2 ]4 D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。 % T5 L7 Y8 C% w1 t0 y+ J1 B3 O
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。
4 K3 z2 r1 {/ ~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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0 A7 t& n1 r# i( |+ X( tChinese 'takes more brainpower' 0 E* ], t# n( t+ C
0 Y0 b& v0 {; _. k& ^" fSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests. 5 B4 {/ o. _/ y/ {) `
Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. / y- [4 ^; `. [$ `
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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.
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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. * V6 s& o$ n1 R- b7 r% d
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Brain scans 4 c+ J# a2 `. K' `* J1 x
- m& o5 R% T% ]5 e1 L" ~7 ~2 fDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers.
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. {# P4 E; m. wThey 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.
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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, t0 w4 l! o1 ` I4 o" I M( RHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. ; c1 a* M3 H1 W- ]- t' }4 l! p5 j& g
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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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( Q3 n |! f( c0 U" a+ ]"It overturned some long-held theories." 1 ~& p. n+ ? i) ^6 F, Z: K
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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.
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9 `- m3 B4 g' T. cFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. + e, M/ N5 V9 ^7 @) B6 [
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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. 1 ?$ m: {7 ], e% u9 H; z
( V; d. O- X% B) w- H" I/ W"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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3 r& _: a% J$ ~1 J6 O3 x+ z"It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech. / [5 P% u) r0 l; H b S
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." & F/ c1 X2 J: r0 C: R! f
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Learning languages + o& d% b, C2 G* z- J
! q. w& z' }+ G2 n0 P" t: YDr 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. 1 d/ U+ C0 I3 d. C' H5 S0 ^
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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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"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. & j; S1 |% a& V
" ~! x/ l8 W9 F: y6 z* A- I"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. , H2 G% F0 |1 u& J& c1 w
4 R4 D! A; J. w% t0 f"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. & j- @, R# z( H
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"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. 3 d; d% @, h6 Z0 u o" d
3 s" Z: t: p- K"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said.
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0 T1 j p' `! W0 q# d- |"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. ; p/ ^6 C8 e1 p& H
M$ \& p6 m. Q, {9 Q' ^Story from BBC NEWS:& g( a7 i* L" Y
! ^( V) u; I$ l, C) _+ a[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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