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. q6 ~ r& I2 `' d( I2 ]# R0 ^说汉语者使用大脑更多部分4 e7 h4 K9 p5 V/ T# a2 a1 u
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8 ~/ Q$ o2 T& o& u* I, k6 G说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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7 [- D$ Q! \6 f2 y: C7 v( ^6 k4 r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。
, r8 Z" J( e! `- C6 M; \7 O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。
; n8 }( T. H. j/ p; r g5 v( q" m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。 7 Z6 V, j; Z# w6 V- P0 j8 B
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。 3 R+ B4 I$ p9 h# F" 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。 " c! i) h3 u, U
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) x5 v1 F7 `# _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。; t& r# ]7 J7 G9 d' p
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Chinese 'takes more brainpower'
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
3 I! Y3 Q2 f7 }2 [1 O9 [% r, m+ _ pResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. " ^3 r" {9 ?- G3 ~: f3 J1 P
! g+ i2 V' Y/ B4 D* JThis 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. . Y/ ?! t/ v% M( S( j+ N3 y
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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. ; [5 u7 g. P% W! L Z8 f X' d
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Brain scans
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Dr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers.
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& C6 a1 {; r! |5 P' {! g' I' tThey found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English. ( s( y# M0 s8 F. b
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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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' J3 Q# H. ^% p9 _9 M8 wThey 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. 7 i+ R7 T2 n& ^$ V; x' v
6 P7 F* ^( z+ E" _"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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# t- a* u( u! L& C"It overturned some long-held theories." 2 }0 m2 }' S- J# t. o
7 S- @2 P9 _: M' ~. o" O3 u! V5 s% _Mandarin is a notoriously difficult language to learn. Unlike English, speakers use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words. ) ?7 B) s; q m1 h8 z" }
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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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& ?+ G2 }, K6 @* b: [" m3 j' ^The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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3 \1 a! T) O% K& N- v"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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"It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech. 8 e5 K* l* `+ J/ J( ]/ \
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." 1 B) G+ g% C: D. a1 f6 U1 ~
" t% H, k& h+ E. w. J4 ZLearning languages 8 ^* B/ D0 M! p* U; |4 O
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. 8 [/ p% \0 K5 c" n0 } p
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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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"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said.
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"This is something we can improve on." f! J6 c" e) v# ~/ K
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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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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. % O" j x0 h- c& W% D, h# }* }* H
& l0 X/ ]8 k' }5 z+ [" v" U+ {# D: P"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. / v" `3 i; z# l; V4 E4 X
4 T2 b1 L2 u! ^"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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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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( @' K; U/ A7 m) r0 k7 U[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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