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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 . u9 e" D' |- \1 t
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+ I5 t$ ^1 w3 w+ @8 Y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。
( m. l! V2 D* S5 t$ {3 j# s* 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。 ! ^0 Q( M. A# _; |' Q, ?, ^: ?2 o
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。
4 t# A2 c, U+ ?1 p K) c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。
; h2 M" C: i) a% f) C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。 4 S% F+ V$ T; T& C" ^* h2 K
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。
! r5 ]1 t W4 B4 x6 }, F6 d( C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。7 ?* ]* H+ v* ^9 ? k) x# N
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5 r+ a( { p6 X# gChinese 'takes more brainpower' # o/ z" A( ]8 o$ U8 ?: p
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
7 r, I, k) p9 t$ u7 @Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. ( U5 n! M4 q9 P1 e# p* U
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This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. 9 T' z- z5 T3 w+ e5 W6 O
1 p& ~/ |; }+ `4 G7 g3 G" PThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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! v* y# ?: ]; S5 O- q- nThis, 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. 8 w5 s; v+ P4 E( J
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Brain scans 3 B. A% w1 n9 V0 B b3 b
t1 M2 Q# ?4 @& a# cDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. ' P+ Z% D/ j ~7 _9 l! Q. I
7 _+ R/ ]- _" c' {They found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English. 5 o2 K; o3 D9 _+ v
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The researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. 5 Y5 x' L8 i+ ]+ Z# n
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. + P$ j. t# w8 Z" L
0 F0 x6 j l7 m7 X& d" l, n" b# j+ j# Y+ EHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. 3 _9 v$ ]" b: r, h) d
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"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. * n3 d2 b) K- R: A
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"It overturned some long-held theories."
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* v2 {$ D0 h/ C, w u3 \2 h+ YMandarin 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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5 V2 K! i2 l9 ^1 X/ NFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. ' T. f3 N6 {) M9 @
) u& |$ J. w: f: l* N; _" B1 G* p/ dThe researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain.
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' l: f, o; d( y R& ?. S2 O3 uThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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2 s( m( y$ z6 Y" Z4 W; b"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 r8 _, _) l0 }, Z# v" C6 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. 2 e' \* u5 K5 o" ^. `+ k
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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9 C3 D$ w& f) j) i% JLearning languages
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8 P. D7 p8 e3 s) e" \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. " H# Q e; X+ l: c2 q3 c! N* a
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She suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills. : O9 A' A8 X4 d# e' J: e* `& w0 ~
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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. . `3 l5 R5 J6 ?2 H
' p K% v1 M5 s2 s, Z"This is something we can improve on."
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9 |) }/ f% \5 r& ]Dr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. ( }2 W# K6 l4 n0 D( A9 y1 K$ |( F2 ~
5 v7 o& Y1 i% q, W"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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. J5 ?: O* I! N2 P! ~3 K" |"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. & x' g) j* g! L3 _+ b# j
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. ( b& A; Y( u9 b
( d/ o5 p# b; p0 s& I# w"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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4 T. o" x5 _9 f1 g[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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