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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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, p Z' L1 V# j6 x$ c2 m说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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. m3 [7 |+ N8 o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) _8 s: O, ?0 r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。 ! a' c( O) s$ E$ C2 O- o% ?# x; 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。 / c! ^ D/ N0 E" a1 D" @
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。 4 t+ k; t5 A' v1 o/ i% S. X
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。
7 U1 v2 a2 p) l! t9 v7 d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/ |0 c- r6 W, W' n3 G. {" E
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 E! k8 R' L5 j2 ^9 z4 ]
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* y1 i, |+ Z# yChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
, y( L8 D9 s; b, T& ]) q fResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. ) ?1 c$ U8 B4 l9 r# p9 \* J6 [
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This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. 6 a6 S+ l: }/ H& ~ Y( n0 n8 j
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The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages. ' a4 r0 v7 _1 M$ M3 J3 D3 b
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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. 0 D3 ~( z. K& I& j, b( z2 ]# M
* O2 a; @) p4 J$ n- M' K5 }Brain scans , t3 @" R' }' p3 S; M W# V; z
: O7 v& X' p4 S5 z1 b% JDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers.
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2 S5 C2 A7 t3 T7 ~# rThey found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English.
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6 C1 P% ` Z: f7 \The researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. ) d( l( b8 {* L1 ^
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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However, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. # e q5 W* O. [( g* X; S* h. s# u
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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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Mandarin is a notoriously difficult language to learn. Unlike English, speakers use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words. 5 F5 n4 B3 F: b8 o" I: U6 }3 m( H) t
, `8 [4 T9 w- A" Q6 {( A; D7 X8 EFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. 9 d* h& v! w) ~2 [; T+ X
% b" J* j% s% W2 GThe researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain. 0 B8 |) V+ p t8 Q/ N! z3 g
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The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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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. 6 f. d) K! N8 N* O0 ?5 U, v! h
O; R! B# \ {0 o3 c9 d"It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech. ( T) s% A; I5 c9 h2 u1 g
) D; W5 G+ p0 L( X; u" W( Z"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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7 B( k0 k7 _# g" V4 y( t2 NLearning languages
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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. 3 o$ w; _7 E: `6 B
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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. 5 F/ S I8 D5 G3 l9 \- x* V$ Y
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"This is something we can improve on."
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- S: p6 y1 ]% S2 \& `! U1 _Dr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. }" ]* e% H; L' W, S G% o
; U: k( `) g% t7 \% d3 N( E"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. ) f& e8 ^9 P7 G, e; o
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. 2 g: n; ^9 C- w4 b
" x5 U% x A7 Y" I"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." % q( q' b- Z, f* r+ ^
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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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+ T0 [3 t9 B2 f$ K& D, oStory from BBC NEWS:1 V4 p& g' p! m3 p
9 ?9 G; D! C' x! ^9 y. F! g[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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