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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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+ }, P3 t) A2 I; r说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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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。 3 R% U% T! J( s* T4 w+ V
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。
5 m H- g, W/ @" B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。 ( S% J" I- e5 r) F/ u/ V$ P
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。 / p: ]9 F8 m2 \6 u) k( _" 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。
* j/ T+ ^" [) W$ ?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。
# t! p* ^0 t8 Q! d) l% Z% A" S n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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1 ?9 X& \7 ~ r, l" r8 `9 l0 YChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
* g3 B4 }6 V6 B T# W* uResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language.
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n# @4 U7 t: b) \7 M" vThis compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain.
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- F) w- w+ z7 p5 c" |The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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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. 7 B& b" b& u) V9 P
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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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They found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English.
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1 B6 W' x2 P( I; E8 QThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. 0 r5 Z; s; K0 s9 f
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. C; p! g) Q! J/ P* b- }- I4 x2 c4 r
; W% t& h. i$ K" G9 T. x# ?However, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. ) t8 O I, ]! W" l3 L; T
5 Y Z; g5 Q5 F1 l"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."
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+ U" r$ v! A9 G9 b5 ]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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0 t4 s+ C5 A# ?1 M$ Y8 `7 z2 w( GFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. 0 @9 v5 x) `: C$ P& l" b% \: f
, `& n! I& n# K! UThe 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. $ i3 d2 @# Z6 @: b+ Y0 Y2 P/ J
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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. / H3 Z* |7 ?6 g0 g7 ?$ N
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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. 9 H, B. n ~1 w4 `1 U5 s3 z R4 @$ X
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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. z% v0 x0 i" B, {! _! C/ kLearning languages $ I) m8 G2 S/ {8 m5 Y
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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.
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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. - a( r9 l |+ W* ~: g
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"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.
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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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( M$ M. X/ B' C"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language.
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) X: R4 C. q1 P( J; N2 Z"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. 3 T! `$ p; ^5 i# u! h
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"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." # |3 u6 S+ q2 q8 J0 Z! T7 {
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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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* p6 O2 ?& e1 f; ?. B* R[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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