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, b: ]4 S# X. e' ~0 [说汉语者使用大脑更多部分; O! N/ ], n% w% X- O& v8 i
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# Q: x2 m# Y2 L: s7 v- n! _说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 4 U3 w' Q7 E8 b) O+ o& |1 \
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9 ^- ]1 n% k& M6 z5 j3 I! Q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。 ' t7 C5 h( Q: Q# A) 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。 4 D i! L) c. {! @- F7 Y7 _4 F& Z% i! ?
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 ]/ ?; }6 r% w$ j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。
( J; _' l1 ]5 R; 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。
- K- w4 w5 E5 M5 [9 _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。
2 `! g! o, |8 b6 U; T6 ]3 U% o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。! `& {7 a7 X) [" s% y& N% h% |
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# D9 E' `$ o0 U* Z5 [8 cChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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6 C- r2 J: |2 BSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
+ \4 o, j# a' `' N6 bResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. / P- Z, g/ W1 p! N; {% u# c
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This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain.
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* W' ^0 g8 i2 D! BThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages. & j/ j: x2 w) o. z% q. D4 k
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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. ' M% @$ h* v U
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Brain scans ! s# P2 }! ? N1 K$ P. o
. l+ I9 h b1 n7 Q* B4 Z6 j- QDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. ! I! N; X6 l* D1 X
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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. 2 | X( |( g9 r# I
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The researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. * _! Q, `8 u4 A0 s* H, ]. |# ~
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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However, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. 3 B# J) Y5 Z* r$ I
/ J/ O5 ?3 O1 C6 \- s"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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6 y1 {8 Y! j# T' t* \* d* Z6 W( e& g"It overturned some long-held theories." " a1 v& s: E; f- P/ V) H9 Z8 V9 V( R9 ]
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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. 7 p8 t+ U( O( T7 U, H0 z5 u
; N' Y W+ N9 V3 S! i/ ]5 \4 {For instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. ! {/ v- ^# f4 n. q7 N
, r B5 j3 ], I' G7 p6 |: k. rThe researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain.
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! f* f' {5 Y9 @The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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! m- F; I3 ]: z" O, `"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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- k) F5 O4 h2 _$ w/ A9 W"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." ) h2 h! _+ z- I1 R# }) v
/ ?3 v1 g P3 |- j" S6 sLearning 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. 0 C' _" a5 @: I7 b, k% }
5 _3 {1 h! j( p: {/ a! {She suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills. ( k7 C; j% \- A# A
7 M8 b) H+ m) A"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. , y4 z* \7 l. U$ z
" M% y% L8 u$ t4 X. {"This is something we can improve on." - W/ y$ O! s. T% J- c. h/ k$ Z) D. D
9 l$ t) P6 Q5 `$ L) u/ rDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study.
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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. 8 a' E$ R4 k$ u! F
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. 3 J1 t6 [ c- m$ Y V( K3 I
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"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." " L* J7 P* p* n" |0 }
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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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Story from BBC NEWS:
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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