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& i) g9 ~/ n D7 u$ A& z. P$ a* ]说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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, t, p5 _" }" L, E说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 $ P; j7 G% k" Q
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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。
; S B% \7 C& W' a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。 ( c; n) m+ ~; }8 d, Y& q$ 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。
9 V6 ?0 Q8 i' T. ?+ V, X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。 ( U3 p+ @" O+ r9 C U7 t+ a7 z
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。
* `" j3 a% A: f4 ~( I. y5 |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。 - ~9 V9 B5 a( e& ^! v. X
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。3 u D6 g0 U Y* ^: y/ q/ v- {
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Chinese 'takes more brainpower'
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
" x8 Y1 I; W. y) m+ [3 \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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: @/ u2 S7 N0 I/ L# l/ uThis compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. - r; a5 c; z8 d5 N3 S7 V
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The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages. 9 O) x: D& k( m1 b$ i1 v
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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 + L" L6 f; A) h' x7 b& e. ~
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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. + b0 s+ t& |6 T1 g6 j+ @
2 X; R5 t+ y" j4 D- j: |5 @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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The researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words.
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4 i* x7 Q1 J7 h) yThey expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. 1 ]3 ~4 D# z c$ D/ ]
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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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"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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+ b, s8 |- ?- a2 CMandarin is a notoriously difficult language to learn. Unlike English, speakers use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words. ) k/ S4 n6 H8 \; E W
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For instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. 7 |1 s' A( r2 Q6 H+ n- y3 u V
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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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The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. ; r0 v) f" g3 | |# R: n: X
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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.
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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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" R4 X* m- S7 Y. I& o) ]8 f2 VLearning languages : y+ r7 F* @! n. y5 W6 @
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. 5 |- l/ M+ C$ Q% O6 y$ t8 e
f6 O& m4 @" u% ?; F( n# MIt 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. . W" i, ?4 u% ~# x. G1 v
/ W; X$ j* y7 s- X; c9 z"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. 0 b- V9 Y! e! k6 s7 e8 j
. [+ _' y: s# m"This is something we can improve on." 4 P/ c6 ?' ]5 u. I- q9 K: i
0 z; C3 d4 G3 YDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. 8 N9 {9 ]. e; o$ N# y4 W9 R1 I
+ A& K7 C$ K- _9 n2 ~1 u"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. + a; A+ v y) s w9 X& J
! P) R5 \) d# z8 X% ?* i% d/ a"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language.
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. v1 d7 R( B4 |4 j) _"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."
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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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3 v$ n0 p0 V0 t: MStory from BBC NEWS:
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7 ^2 p: \$ }% q2 j+ D- u* k: L[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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