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8 u7 O% }/ g6 H+ B9 I说汉语者使用大脑更多部分. r' m! W2 Z J! r% G
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说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 / k- z( Z, @+ v( G9 o: \8 g8 G1 X
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7 e% z$ h( {5 o% g7 V8 w9 l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。
# ]/ d, q7 k0 ]: T" _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。
1 R* p& }* t9 k$ n/ X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。 $ X3 l& K# P! _0 [5 D9 s
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。
; K5 K4 U0 ~7 D/ F! w5 o1 J/ 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。
6 ]' D( [) Z* G9 V2 U& L4 V0 F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。
6 v; g* ^* Y" u7 f( F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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Chinese 'takes more brainpower'
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! L# {: n- r4 y. t3 d4 PSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests. 5 L& S: \. m! Q
Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. - P: r5 o9 p+ m% K( |4 k3 L( J
( t# u a6 y( x# P$ NThis compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. % H) g* n6 J# D2 y
3 Y9 {+ ]/ z+ h& {' UThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages. ( `. E1 _0 E6 B4 N$ `
7 ^; f* F; }2 N- YThis, 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. ' D. w: I! }' E4 p9 x" b; I
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Brain scans + S4 X7 H6 y( q w
5 W8 e$ Y8 L+ nDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. . M4 s3 J8 H9 ]2 v8 {
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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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The researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words.
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3 U- V# |, I+ a7 c6 YThey expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. , C6 g# j5 s* r& H5 d* o' e6 x: P
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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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# g' `( e2 _) a' E. z4 l"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. 5 H5 U/ N% d( S \; ~0 z5 T3 O
0 v) ~( o) _4 q# c' {5 k0 q"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.
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9 o7 L: S8 O. Z! c' s0 [For 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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* ^, i. g y2 l8 hThe 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. # K- k7 h# N' ^; H
( E& i; N! H1 X"It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech. " c% v2 k% e- s+ M( R& [
; `: z2 f( i& C& W0 P. \0 m"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." 7 v) a& d k" x# T, v1 j
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Learning languages
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. 6 d) B$ D, k1 r+ S0 [& s+ v
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It could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. ' s5 S# k& @7 s2 y7 A+ X
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She suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills. # E# R! E2 E0 z/ p4 U
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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. 1 Z, x* }8 j/ M4 A: W
6 m* t7 X+ S, f- l# y. X, M"This is something we can improve on." 7 ]) g3 B4 v2 P
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Dr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. 5 l6 c4 n5 C: ]' g* y# z
, p5 D0 h- Z5 n! [$ a"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. ' o' ~* u3 w* z! F8 j" L
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"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language.
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. , L* [. T3 N' P
5 l3 K% s3 H% b. c4 a) J"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. 9 I, J; W8 |0 T& i. R
; D7 o" x @3 Z9 I5 B3 {& EStory from BBC NEWS:! Z6 x- q9 |7 d# }2 `1 w% K2 `) ?
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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