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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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# |! y2 R2 Z5 z* _( U说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 6 y+ q2 J1 a* H x) n
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1 n7 y/ t4 L4 U9 f( ?8 W1 R) C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。
' e8 Y* j7 U1 z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。
- O- ^2 E3 m& u6 V$ w6 {, 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。
- j+ Z! y( x8 c3 k; `6 {( ~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。
4 a6 q1 y8 s+ ?2 r% D& q1 [& 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。 ) H, H: H& d, ^, f. g& Q; ~# m
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。
/ K6 w3 X8 g: e: Q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。" l7 @9 P8 Q6 h2 N) ?5 [
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3 x5 e/ A5 U$ e0 C9 zChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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$ a" r$ C1 l/ @Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests. ; J! y1 s/ D. M \
Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language.
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8 T) i) G/ s7 G2 b# `This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain.
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. P# U3 Z0 _+ w& V+ p+ T+ ]The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages. + N8 z! {8 b; y9 A8 ^! I
& Y f5 [7 i3 I# r) c }* `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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% {: C+ u* O8 F3 d; ]8 jBrain scans
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t Q2 D& s0 y. ?, XDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers.
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, R5 U" \- K+ c* Q2 @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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+ o9 u7 ?3 d1 k9 w% H nThe 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. . a' ?! {! |9 O& h9 z- ?, K
+ J, V" G1 D O( S% C1 eHowever, 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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! @" R+ C$ u* B$ p- _3 G: }"It overturned some long-held theories." 5 Q: ?2 o. B+ Z/ I! k Z8 M
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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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For instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said.
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6 e. s4 ?; @/ `# h* H+ s2 wThe researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain. 9 W( O. u" h4 g1 o+ h: |
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The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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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. . H* g& N% U" `: S8 ^; y
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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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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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* o- c c, D& N4 |/ ^ y# wLearning languages
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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. 4 M1 o6 B3 ], `, R: v
+ e) H# x7 h6 ~' F2 \6 t kShe suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills.
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7 D: M, G2 T1 w& }"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. # z2 W: X1 a f C Q4 D# ]0 W
; P6 F6 d! J3 Q/ g& s"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.
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3 @ h* H, Q* f& Y0 f" T"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. ' n: {) Y# n2 c# ?4 a
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"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. + b- T* p/ n1 o, w8 [8 F
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said.
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7 B* p9 O7 S. b% v, V! Y+ W"This field is really opening up but it is very early days."
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( L D7 [/ Z/ k0 X. r" J# `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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9 G; g+ d _9 {/ BStory from BBC NEWS:
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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