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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
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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。
' R1 H5 v5 l% s$ I1 P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。
9 ?7 W. N& L- |& M, D* e! v. [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。
; h/ _8 m( t3 A$ N4 u9 Y" |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。 9 w; v2 p+ \" W. L: F/ d6 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。 8 u2 t; S2 r6 H( 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。 ; N) E' I g+ t+ o! i
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' & A' n- ^1 d- s
* r& o' x3 Z7 G. p# u) KSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
# e; O: v5 ?/ X* Y2 H7 IResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. 7 [6 j% B- a" C5 n$ `
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This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. * v- S' E0 R& L6 H% {9 X& y$ T3 [
) Q3 j" v. G" }! l) y3 F0 d- LThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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8 t/ U( i T/ H+ ~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.
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1 g2 _. M; g% F" Q3 _: c7 _ wBrain scans
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3 q$ a% }' Y2 E0 ~% X7 l' J" ?Dr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. ! d' ?1 w" A2 R% x
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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. ; y- b* U3 K( Y0 P! W, b f
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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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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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1 `' u$ S+ a7 Q e$ o$ WHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. 0 n5 B+ R1 F* i& Z
[. `% _) [7 M! n8 d8 t"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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0 o4 n @) F# I3 v7 V3 `0 j"It overturned some long-held theories." 4 s) o/ ^0 v! ~, d' I; ]9 v- 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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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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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.
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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. 4 W1 z7 ~$ ^. _! h/ t
% I5 U' ?3 T$ t9 ^"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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$ i" _+ \% a. m( T( b/ SLearning languages 6 y/ G- q6 Q, S+ Q- h8 J
! j$ E) T4 f, ]' w* N& tDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. ( \' ~8 ^" g1 S6 i) H; d3 @
. r! n0 y. `( j. c, n$ AIt 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. e8 M, u6 v0 c1 N5 T! W1 K
y1 d! x" {- d# [9 {"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. * O) e# f7 h# v, c0 {4 i+ {" S6 L1 e
8 y* T# f% i- o3 P- Z"This is something we can improve on." G8 o3 k* _! B
# p) }: p/ k v6 e' _; ADr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. L9 I: j5 ?% U9 _1 O1 n/ n
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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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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.
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% E2 S* D& P& K. p' m& L' d0 \) {"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." 6 y9 |' R; t$ W) r- v
4 x/ t* d& J* K* A; XThe 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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. s. j' N# s: k' ]% I R4 yStory from BBC NEWS:
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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