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转贴BBC News2 F/ v' j* h5 R* y1 w
9 \ [2 ~, N" J+ [$ C' F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 : q' f. a s! D. s- I
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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。
$ j) I2 s$ Z3 {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。
# `' N8 r; W; l# `& U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。 . B8 ^+ B) Z8 [! t i
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。
/ ^% {$ L' W' W. I S( C3 I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。
5 s! W5 ~, @5 ]" ^" b, y1 u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。
& r: J- a, @3 Q! L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。- ^' ]* e9 G7 `+ C; C l# H
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$ W t9 y r5 V8 p. fChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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4 V, j3 w! Q' v7 b9 K# Z- nSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests. 4 d) L& O: l( W9 ]/ H5 f! H
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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This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. 6 o4 D& _2 ?7 O$ b$ i+ y
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The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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' |9 h$ x V' cThis, 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. + j5 J5 {; N" v
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Brain scans 7 D; U5 d+ J' q
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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.
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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. K! L' J% K" ^' h5 n2 Z* |. s; }
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! H( p, ^! H6 [% k4 fThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words.
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) M# D. `; W0 Y) p/ p+ ^2 a4 ?They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. 4 k; |1 R% l+ f
' }! D1 }2 t; eHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. w8 a, K' k: w6 p' q, ], E
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"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. : e; S8 y+ E2 E9 M6 d8 [
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"It overturned some long-held theories." 3 Z7 i2 D! j! l' ~3 O
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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. . D9 N# f7 ^1 u. ~: ]! {, ]
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For instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. - ^5 c/ T. |; e, H# |; ~
5 |: B4 ?# K+ m) b% @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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, }* ^+ j9 f- _8 a+ P% [' ZThe 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. / \& }2 ]" P* U) i
8 Y9 l. z$ @ R. O/ Z! ]"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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0 t, A' p5 ~3 D% O- y& c$ O"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." 1 V+ o* j0 l+ N+ w, H' [& g
: V( l; m- ~; o1 E3 r* ZLearning languages
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( b* y( d1 W$ `0 N+ n; G( D# WDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. ) X! t% I6 z. ~( ]# b3 G
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It 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. 4 S/ F4 y6 N5 Y
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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.
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"This is something we can improve on." % i. |0 y8 o/ n; N% ]2 R! \! S
+ x8 ~# v' Y1 I) z, T* N5 MDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. , e$ s. N( u2 ^2 V1 c- W" ~, k4 _
! |8 U! y" A$ \- [; }"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. + R/ g4 v& m9 y- a' t) ^
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"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. 2 V( @( H+ ?- _4 K6 m: ?- n3 N
. `. O3 ?( a- S: h7 G' r5 V"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. - e/ F! x3 |+ n3 C, r% v$ [, O
8 s% h9 a, s9 w J9 q* @"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. ! N9 F5 [6 N" |2 F# A4 c# g
6 z9 O: S9 z6 \7 @$ n @Story from BBC NEWS:
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-1-23 at 10:43 PM ] |
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