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转贴BBC News
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. K& i) V$ m/ B说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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# n4 _: j% b' I说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 & a4 R S; m }
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( e1 U# {' d; K$ Y+ F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& S U; Q) s3 P7 K4 W6 m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 v1 ]4 g; a$ 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。 A# j" l9 s' C, [ 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。
" g$ ?( _ _% q. c+ @/ p: d1 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。
# |* I) K8 T- K% r' J! A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。 % Q; q6 w% p9 w$ M# 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。
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% x# u: D; }9 X& ^" d. E% t2 y# ?Chinese 'takes more brainpower' 8 m$ w; H. c) h- |
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
v. c# R# H) r& aResearchers 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. / Y4 S4 y& ?, a0 d( ~
" r% D, y0 m8 K8 E CThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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: v O4 Y' }" r4 n4 q1 vThis, 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 ! w, \6 K, C( B0 A. ?6 W' Q; {- q1 \
2 D8 z' l4 y$ Y& ^Dr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. 6 _7 e" T0 P, z: C: n$ I% D* h2 }! l
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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. 2 U: a5 C5 m/ a- h
) y1 q9 g; c% L9 x8 }They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. ; Z- m& L. w( J3 G+ X% r
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However, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. , [7 U% T: a5 [+ x% ^% g
9 c% z5 V) G; J) e z"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. # ]1 ]8 I) p2 e0 T
1 m7 k" n ]- m8 {" R' m"It overturned some long-held theories."
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3 D1 N& Z' c+ N9 l, H( j. NMandarin 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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% D1 e/ p+ ]( {2 F, L ]5 o$ uFor 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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The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones.
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- k, a2 y0 }7 L4 u( T" g"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. 8 J) V" l3 G7 F U
9 t* X3 j* s8 u( G"It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech. ) v6 B& H# E# f3 f5 | @7 k' [8 H
( ~0 b2 x" o0 h0 I) N1 k"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." % m, g" v0 e9 {0 u, Q w
8 j( ?7 f5 x% C4 l/ NLearning languages 4 Y, |2 N4 P0 J- a% l O$ ^( {
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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. 1 G: h# S: h. a: ^4 i6 f8 F5 r
) b/ L0 c, t/ T% \3 g' s0 E% LShe suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills. $ L# s: s% @ x" \) u/ d
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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."
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1 o8 J2 g. X0 z% E; kDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study.
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+ k$ R }% A/ b"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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1 u) ~( A d4 N" f3 J$ c8 C& d- h"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. * K8 d+ Z5 v; I5 E9 r
" f+ D3 T/ m7 \& Q"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." . l( ^6 c( ?+ ?3 w
- m( O# x+ l4 z0 \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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Story from BBC NEWS:
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5 m3 x3 b# L. }. R[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-1-23 at 10:43 PM ] |
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