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/ _5 R2 ~& @# u U6 N) G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 : u3 Z$ m# [2 d
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' g+ h P( A7 A/ 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。
4 o9 f9 t6 Y7 I R; V* @# f: i* X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。
) L/ q7 |! |5 V9 u* l& y3 M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。
8 ~2 D5 E) N* c o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。 1 k, i2 u1 J1 u! e. w/ O
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。
. m5 u0 P- M" P: X8 x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 x( C! E* d0 E9 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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Chinese 'takes more brainpower'
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
. `" k: U' A `5 n% ~6 j) w; uResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. + J. t9 l0 W& ]8 L, o) f3 m
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This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. 4 C* {! w- @' h0 Q, p5 l" h
( N8 s9 P) {; ?0 D$ h9 v/ C1 BThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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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. , M- I+ I9 g1 C# Y! N8 \( X
4 U" Q& @ t( h; g# G& cBrain scans
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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. 1 ]8 Q. g" G# q+ D5 S* j! f9 f
' e% Y9 `; N+ R% R \8 r, bThey 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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* Q. z5 L, v- tThey 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.
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"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. 7 S- G; Q& e% W
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"It overturned some long-held theories." . o1 v" f0 _/ C; L% Y! Y& ~
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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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/ ?4 b( A4 t& EFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. : d; R% j0 s }$ ?( N
7 w1 J2 k( o4 P6 L/ w! J [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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, ?8 O, @ `1 w. ?3 V5 {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. 9 X7 q& B* q! e) n
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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. , k; a* D, h5 r
% J6 f+ W u9 t) k9 A, M6 ?& o"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." / ]- c9 X; j3 O# x' W
, j) p3 A0 R# y2 F8 p* @; rLearning languages
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. 4 |. B9 Y" f5 j7 x9 J! p
8 O" ?( }: }. l* n9 Z) |. e2 T. b- \0 WIt could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. ; S9 d6 m3 G9 ~& e* L I! R. x
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She suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills. & ^2 R) d' j* t% s; `: 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. 5 N1 O2 w) @4 O; P. v4 ?( a
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"This is something we can improve on." $ w$ E& k y) @& V+ M9 s
7 f3 v# H* s; V" }1 KDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. # ^3 Q7 a- v! x0 J. U
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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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3 c7 K' S- _+ C"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. 1 a: f' t) { I( e" I2 V$ j4 s
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. % N7 c# e; V7 l5 i+ k
7 n' q" Q8 b% o"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. + Q Y: g7 e( K6 N
; l5 E3 y) \8 m' ^' QStory from BBC NEWS:4 c% W' c# d& {8 B" ?! O$ c
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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