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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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* u% ] ]: D1 V说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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# g- f5 Y; i( H& g4 s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。 2 ? \! L# ~, K) X0 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。
/ }/ @3 z, P! Y' ^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。
9 G! D2 `4 f- _+ }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。 . }6 t/ j5 J/ E0 E9 }
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。 8 V* l: l8 J. p N; J
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。
4 u) S) z' l: i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' & j7 d# m, ?% J- [
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
$ T+ z4 a8 q- K# e. l# wResearchers 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. 2 Z0 {% H0 [: y9 }
0 [. \" N. f- u3 ?; FThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages. 5 u- d, e" k+ Q9 n
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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.
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% `, {2 Q; ]( m u, JBrain scans ) c8 q+ \' o1 e. i( b, U# 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. 3 N$ J- k- v: C, q2 U' |+ u w- y: V
. w% a: y: n+ P" [ U9 [They found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English. : e: ]* W2 @ G# K I; v3 {
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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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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.
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, D$ s" }7 a8 L"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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. E w6 S4 B( |5 l; l"It overturned some long-held theories." # d {' a' ~! i( t; [8 [, {% i4 U+ E
; {! [! k/ O- NMandarin is a notoriously difficult language to learn. Unlike English, speakers use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words. : I6 \; o3 X( o+ \ @+ O
, U3 n4 @( R) ?$ ~% K' N; @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. 1 S/ W H! D8 C2 g" A
+ c& X( W% D, h% lThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. ; R* P7 @: u- r% l' B
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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. 5 c4 W/ q# s5 G; f- G
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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. _: N( F; m7 r- F( E/ S+ Y
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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Learning languages
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+ S% W6 g6 N) v r+ `4 @- q# fDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language.
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+ A: X' y% K- s& V) ^- }5 t) P" XIt could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. / [5 W, t3 k; E6 V( T- R- J
+ V3 h8 o8 i! RShe 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. ; o8 m( c! ^5 }/ ^% Y. L
8 m/ y9 s) S" X/ X"This is something we can improve on."
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' E1 N( Q+ ]( V( K& y- MDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. $ q$ }. K" b6 y5 M/ m
! t5 r, f) i1 \5 K) z8 V& }# Q"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. % L+ e, {4 x% ] J0 b
4 T9 ~& E% K& |8 I/ ^3 P"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said.
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' Y+ R* A0 M- a- Y7 I& [/ K"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. ( C2 z* e8 _7 r( B0 P
1 T0 c9 i) e4 o" PStory from BBC NEWS: c( R+ l4 o7 l- U/ ~% V! @' z% `
2 v' k2 O4 t+ ]$ X/ C# J[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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