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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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; ?" x; i0 ?. A2 P; [% O说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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5 H' v$ d2 n* }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。 : s# Y" S4 L: |9 l1 Q0 `8 h
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。 6 v4 L2 H* n8 t/ I5 f9 h
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。
) l9 [& z l$ ]( V& J8 `8 x4 ?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。 , _/ G! r4 y9 {6 s
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。 J( c* _' w2 b1 o' `! f
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 T+ J$ Z. N/ ~$ _+ A, C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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4 N4 M. B; Q! a% ISpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
, f0 D$ V; t( L" \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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This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. }5 v) k; }. R. m% a9 C
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The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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- i3 c% j/ B7 i: @! P4 ]* FThis, 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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! L x( y E' O$ u6 JBrain scans ( c. t% `# D- ?6 x" \5 Q5 z
; {5 R' O' s5 y! a9 q: o* hDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. * l7 _8 Z# j7 J) u) Q" i* I
6 U* ^/ U7 }. O, ?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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, W! G+ h/ b* e: q) v6 H: @+ ZThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words.
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, v# F! F3 {- b3 i. ZThey expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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- L9 P3 s: V& `" }) oHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. 0 a* s- W* c! l5 l3 j, Z$ R
4 H3 {; G+ i! E6 J) X"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. % ?; H: o4 p- A& J: A* L! H: w% G
) m( [! a# r5 ^4 t- w! y"It overturned some long-held theories."
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/ z" o; o V- j, X& t- j+ xMandarin is a notoriously difficult language to learn. Unlike English, speakers use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words. 6 }% @* e1 L% \
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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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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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" f x; n% ]8 s9 Y"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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8 o! k$ @# W% V$ @8 e+ B$ v( K" b+ J& v"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." * t3 Y7 s; T2 i0 ^3 l5 R
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Learning languages
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. 3 z- f# y1 c B L4 Y' j' E$ i
1 r0 S' F; {$ G; e. VIt could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. U- G" R$ f" X5 K7 C. j! R
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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. 5 a/ N! y8 l( g( J8 h7 x
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"This is something we can improve on." % t! b- a0 ]- e
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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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. K, q- R3 V9 s" I- A"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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" n6 e6 R7 v: [! k"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. # V" b" M" h R- ]) b) _
# ?0 ?' ?9 v* ?"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said.
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"This field is really opening up but it is very early days."
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2 W7 G& r3 _0 s6 M# WThe findings will be included in the summer science exhibition at the Royal Society in London, which runs from 1 to 3 July. * J8 ]" M: ^* |+ ~% f! K
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Story from BBC NEWS:
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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