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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
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4 p" _! {1 V6 I2 L* @3 G9 \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。 , |! G$ z7 ?: I* h
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。
% l" T a! C- w0 C) }$ }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。 1 k1 }/ Y) `% Q& q2 t7 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。
9 \# H4 J8 \1 H& W; C& R1 s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。
/ s2 M9 T0 k" K0 ?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。
A+ m- d) V: s0 p) l$ y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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+ H4 W6 Z4 R; @% R% [+ bChinese 'takes more brainpower' # N+ `: n4 N5 Z v
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests. 7 B* q2 Z* m3 @6 W3 O
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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2 E% I; V$ K3 j- v" j# zThis compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. 0 R/ j! U, v' Y; W
, U$ W& Q# h3 h" ^The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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# l* _- U7 n+ r5 A" A EThis, 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
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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. % {! H% M$ g% K# L* R1 f" f! A9 d {# ^
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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. ( u# @5 z7 b7 _( E b8 k! Q
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( T+ Q. K. \- v! Z4 pThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. ; W- q9 Z/ }" B5 h8 @3 R/ D# N
$ G9 f+ N, z A3 Z S1 ^, T7 NThey expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. 5 a! N& W6 o+ Q
' j N" L X' i1 l# R$ k% XHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. q; v/ E" q3 J" q$ }
! y8 X) K9 X* R# D, r; U6 \"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. * E" C% e3 s7 X1 ^
# g4 B* |! a; O \) }6 z! R"It overturned some long-held theories." / U* U' ~. N% D9 m' {4 l2 |3 ~
% J v1 l0 m" L. QMandarin is a notoriously difficult language to learn. Unlike English, speakers use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words. - b- E( w- ?% L
- @3 ]; |( y3 u% zFor 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.
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4 t8 [. o9 Q6 Y& P) E; x& I1 PThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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& U; C6 u+ c3 }2 Z7 }"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 O8 V8 ?( ]& z' Z% P3 M4 v
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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 6 a) U: I- R, Q6 _- u K
2 x/ Y, L5 R0 z1 d2 u9 R# ~Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language.
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9 S) v5 `% I' R+ ^It could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke.
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Q% X- x: Q& ^' ?3 [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. , D# G% c6 O2 ^3 J
# C. a0 B' T% ]( n0 Z"This is something we can improve on."
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- M' ?4 Q: A% T; n7 G2 hDr 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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z5 R5 t) B- @7 g9 k/ B0 T"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. " o8 ~2 N7 k3 y. `& O6 L& t
2 ?( Z! m" |( N1 m. D4 X"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. ) U& G% {0 v( u+ B% O# M' \
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"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." ( W* i. C6 {- g2 L0 R, }( S
8 A0 ^9 N: i# N. aThe 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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