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4 ~1 } T, u. B a! x0 G说汉语者使用大脑更多部分" ~/ Z( `" k, _
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& h. T% {( e( z/ M9 }9 K说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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" H+ @" A$ G2 n1 i* H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。
0 W& t* ~" j/ N! r1 |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。 , @+ ?# J2 w( V) [8 U
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。
; |6 g; j6 Q5 z5 B" i5 R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。
- K- ^# ?3 L1 o! R" D. j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。
4 p, V7 I2 q) ~9 f1 F3 Z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。 5 Z4 s; z R/ }0 ~; E
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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Chinese 'takes more brainpower'
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7 N5 {, r, K% [3 F% t) [7 t- LSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
0 ?# ]1 C7 Z, T0 CResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language.
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: [( g, M8 P; _2 W) c' V$ n1 MThis compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain.
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. p. [- |6 i$ x* e8 C6 q7 uThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages. : e. t# D% G* H) V: |$ O, b
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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. 3 _0 A' H& h" n! ^
2 }1 Y3 Q+ {; ^6 A) J$ w; ?' X nBrain scans
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e. q" W8 D. _1 D% eDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers.
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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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The researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words.
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/ i$ G7 f1 W Q0 @3 H0 t1 p! V) gThey expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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: g, [- ]3 I% |0 H. ]( s* ZHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin.
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: q/ H/ p& I- P+ ^: ]" i2 Z/ A"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." u/ G. X6 }6 i' K+ ^! s
1 @' }2 U* D9 o9 Y! V1 o$ xMandarin 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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5 U# m# E7 r# s: vFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. + o% {/ ~$ A1 y0 A+ ?. i
; m3 c+ t9 e9 c& }4 p2 G; _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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! y4 @4 m/ N9 K2 u1 M+ qThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. 7 [- r7 n/ X( z- Y
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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. / U' r; `& s1 L2 B& ]5 O
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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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( D9 M8 h9 m$ b* D"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." 1 t1 E A- d2 n! m8 c: P( O
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Learning languages - { ~: I' A' G* I; ]+ N
: W+ [8 y8 E' A8 k# r! o* |: uDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. I- E8 ]* R' N `* V0 Y' C' f" f$ M
2 ]# @* W' V! ~ p) @8 ~It 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.
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3 e7 v8 j' b9 V" q- F/ R" Z"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. 7 t, E3 F" z- L9 G! e1 C+ j; ]
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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. ; t0 r, m" N( _" z( c- |; ]
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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. * O" v- D4 y$ h
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"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. ; [; h* U0 U" q6 V
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. 3 k+ J/ t# U5 h) Y# D
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"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." + k3 ?/ ~: n! S
; r. G; M/ A8 N6 ~0 KThe 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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3 ~5 |2 ?. h' W& |1 F7 `Story from BBC NEWS:
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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