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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分$ S G4 Y8 [3 a2 h- I
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说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 ; r7 v) f, w: ]& M' u; \" L3 ^6 C' f5 _
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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。 - b8 o4 x& E8 i
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。
" g4 U. @* G% L5 _7 x) F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。 # ]+ v9 T- I+ b% C0 a
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。 1 k- c1 { S& ]8 p
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。 7 @/ T& u" l, ~3 v1 q. {
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。 ( F" }; q+ [/ P7 t2 n ^9 k
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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7 D' S4 `' L* E! }4 TChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests. ' R& q, C6 A& ^9 q! k" h
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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$ R8 E6 n* K k, r3 H5 }1 g+ ~This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. " t- ~8 k3 e( C0 [6 f
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The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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% B& c' e! d% |$ N9 N. [1 w1 {$ dThis, 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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" v N/ F% E) y9 s. G, LBrain scans 3 S1 _4 a2 g7 F6 m# {: g
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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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; C ]4 P. |+ L% x6 wThey found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English. 6 b+ ^9 u* @9 i5 m+ a- ~6 a5 l( I
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5 {1 t* }, k3 S& w; B9 i, u- vThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words.
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# N4 w3 s- I! s0 \, p; E4 {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. 4 [8 T1 g. j4 p i5 \
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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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; d% c1 r5 w5 r- n, t"It overturned some long-held theories."
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; e! C- K$ e8 C5 w* F ?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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4 e% f, v+ ~$ V2 w( e5 R- f0 mFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. * u$ P9 y# Y: B" P
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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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' e( U1 F0 ^$ X: u& q. @$ ]* C4 h: r"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. ' \2 A/ c1 {3 P( {' @
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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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: K: L( e; x" ^( H' `"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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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. ( M5 N* C$ J1 R, w: a+ B5 m. Q
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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. % V# x" N4 f+ B5 ~% A3 S- Y
( A( g$ O# A0 ?3 u& ]/ B"This is something we can improve on." ! R0 B2 ]: T' [/ S2 u
7 G! `$ k4 s2 q9 K; TDr 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.
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1 r k# h5 g1 @, k"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said.
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; h. j8 ~/ L6 L7 X"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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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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