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6 u0 D0 n/ |0 q0 K9 _% z% @说汉语者使用大脑更多部分! \" w' @8 I/ _; p" o( o- F
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* L/ X# j2 q/ }# n9 o2 e8 p2 ~7 d说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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7 y6 z6 W) ^% E7 f6 m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。 ( F, s7 v d, G7 d5 F. p, @9 ~
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。
- B8 S9 o5 e6 S0 w( r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。 5 p8 z. P& D8 V7 r# 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。 N( X' a% k1 d
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。
0 v M3 v8 S6 r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。 ' J! e" g+ p% \" d8 m5 o0 Y
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。0 n9 e X; c- G1 C7 F7 b8 O
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Chinese 'takes more brainpower' . m) r/ q# g8 J6 c. Z- C
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
1 M8 L' b5 _% M& h; y$ S( wResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language.
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; L# g2 }6 |1 `' A3 ]This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain.
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8 I0 u% `% N% FThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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6 r' d, `* h ?5 G3 @) l7 }& QThis, 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 / h1 A/ A- v1 `+ L+ ]
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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. ! \7 q, i( t! K' s. [! g* E2 P
( X. b1 C0 P- N2 K7 Z& _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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) q, N0 s& B1 h: P1 wThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words.
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( S- P/ r( U( q) z) y" KThey expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. & C0 k/ v b6 [0 K; D; O3 [2 {; w
+ B# }7 @, f2 B f0 AHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin.
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2 W! i3 _. b- a2 a* F"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. 4 _" _* w/ m+ I4 F1 v0 f
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"It overturned some long-held theories."
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5 L" t- O# ]5 @! O: r* _Mandarin is a notoriously difficult language to learn. Unlike English, speakers use intonation to distinguish between completely different meanings of particular words. , ]; H5 I( U6 U
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For instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said.
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3 r4 |' k* Z! J9 E& ~9 iThe researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain.
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) }7 i6 z* d; R! C: S6 v) ?+ |The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. 7 A) n0 a4 V \
$ h- v1 U2 G( I0 q* P1 u"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.
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, Q4 h( v& ^8 I"It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech. - k8 G4 `6 y. t! t' m- q% x8 \
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." & h( S, n) _- U. J( P+ F$ o/ w
2 n) c0 G U( }# P: u( TLearning languages 0 O% C' J& c" z2 H
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. , W$ {3 }1 w7 A9 J
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It could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. - j5 U+ L; x9 a/ q2 W1 k) R y/ V4 @
) s5 d9 f, E4 t* G9 `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.
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"This is something we can improve on." # I7 u' [! ]5 b- _" C" h; M
7 e9 p. O1 _& e7 b9 b$ A' qDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. 4 a) L& c1 G# |) @3 ~
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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. j7 ]7 w6 ^8 C. p+ [# X" S
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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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3 H4 ?/ _- I+ f" v"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said.
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. c! v! d6 n- ^1 K& T. P2 n"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." 6 V' H9 @6 Q/ A3 G
6 `# o+ X7 Z% U- ?' vThe findings will be included in the summer science exhibition at the Royal Society in London, which runs from 1 to 3 July. + b. Q, ^; L. o' g6 \7 \
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Story from BBC NEWS:
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5 ]1 }6 q9 o8 N/ x- X" D" j/ N) q4 w[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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