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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分5 v v: |8 V- t& p
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说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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2 A1 I) F- m$ m) l/ I P1 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。 + f( ^ G0 X, c4 J
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。
1 c1 z- \& t5 E' Y3 q% ?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 v' a6 ]( M( v* ]( T6 j+ 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 C& i+ D5 Y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。 # d$ h! x' U5 Y8 f8 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。 5 I/ T5 s5 [$ p# T9 p
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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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
7 [5 R2 v) Z; \* i: P& }Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. / B7 N1 F' i, d
2 \: [8 ^& @9 u! _/ h4 c/ d0 ~This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. 7 W( T+ c8 c$ @% z' \7 u
& ^: l- Z) x7 O) p% p$ m+ w; ^, r! YThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages. . Q* S% A8 L! S( s6 ]4 D
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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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Brain scans 4 W7 V& d8 A! }
& f, P. C7 H! IDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. 1 O( z0 t2 f+ W6 V }
( j4 n3 i7 J! p7 CThey found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English.
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& g! w. r' x! K2 JThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. + g: f$ Z7 `& w1 U
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. . H- S" n) |& t; M
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However, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. 0 i' @+ D( p* n# L- B4 ~
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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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"It overturned some long-held theories." + T- @( i- y5 M
; v* U5 o2 ^8 \9 N# c# dMandarin is a notoriously difficult language to learn. Unlike English, speakers use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words. 9 c: x# c4 g' T6 n' I) n
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For instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. / z8 n" o; j- Z* a% U8 N
) v; o0 M" S1 uThe researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain. + S f! R( f0 ^0 F' n3 |! ?
- |" B- Q0 Z! i. PThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. + z/ s5 |. t/ O1 {
! o# l5 Q6 s+ {6 Q; h& V" g" p8 M"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.
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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Learning languages : g6 ]4 Y9 W: C, l0 Y
) ]8 [7 E- N6 w$ EDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. % D' o: E$ q/ F) M" t2 T1 ~
' I0 m0 [6 u2 X( ZIt 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. Z/ n |$ D: l3 `
; b& @4 ?! z+ G2 m"This is something we can improve on."
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Dr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. ' @/ I) p* C- H, }% Y5 l4 Z9 R% m
# r) o/ E' x/ U! m& d+ N# i# W"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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" y5 {' z3 ?& \2 _6 W"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. 8 ~" d' A% F6 o. c: |- \
9 X5 s& i& \# P" {' G"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." . z9 p& J+ C3 G
' B5 r9 x' G/ w. ~0 J( ZThe 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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$ s" M) |+ R; @3 Z+ p8 y' MStory from BBC NEWS:
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% f/ N- Z# L1 Y, E9 b# w5 w[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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