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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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' Q4 C7 C4 W7 o `% M: T+ \说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 . `; ~6 m) W4 w
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! ^+ X5 G' z g3 O G. ~: C$ [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。 3 G4 o6 L( ^) j
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。 6 \. @, _. x+ I, d9 j! E
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。 " i( y+ r: C, z7 M
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。
. f8 c8 X# Y! ?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。
) r* Q1 W% I1 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。
5 X- h' C6 z |$ {: M: G7 c# v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。6 L3 s# g/ X/ V0 x# x6 ^
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Chinese 'takes more brainpower'
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$ d1 x! j6 a6 |* c8 F7 JSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
) K7 s8 B' ~ @+ xResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. - ^6 Q' h9 k$ r2 `8 |: U1 B
4 a ] P* c$ QThis compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. ! {& K3 p0 i3 C a) b/ d5 m
2 l) Q. y% w9 N0 `The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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8 V/ ^0 W$ c" d% ZThis, 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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2 u/ L7 S( G; y1 E7 ?" |0 jBrain scans + r- n5 N7 z n, F- [7 h
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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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4 Q( Y0 d- w, X- IThey found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English. ! ~9 l& d8 E B5 K
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$ z. \7 h4 J' [/ [" m' k, FThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words.
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9 Q% b) Q* Y* r3 ]1 z# GThey expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. 2 h, x3 ~ P2 o, S ~; \* q! Z+ g
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However, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. : B# R0 f0 ~. m) ~" w9 M: [" J
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"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott.
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7 K0 x3 B" D) t: k4 Q" w$ u"It overturned some long-held theories." 3 j- i0 d7 }4 F$ I
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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. ) n9 I8 R3 j* k ^/ R5 n) [
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For instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. 7 t1 c$ t L6 V9 e8 S
# K& o2 Y' S+ k" e/ }The researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain. ( Y3 H4 A& }" c( d/ V6 ^
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The right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. # Q7 G$ p5 H, M& B, I* V
' C, s D) P2 J"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.
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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Learning languages
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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. 3 ?3 g) j/ S4 E8 j9 Z
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She suggested it could also lead to new drugs to help people who have lost their language skills. 2 W* O% B8 R9 I2 |9 B7 K r4 J
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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. " G6 L4 S( V# ~" p
/ _/ h) f, s8 T3 Y! D0 }+ \* q9 Y% F"This is something we can improve on."
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0 s0 o) L0 b. S2 B; A8 RDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. 5 I' W3 n$ ], i3 V
' w' [/ a: v& {' |: Y"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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. C% \9 r* j0 V* K2 }' i" ~1 E"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. 5 p# V. q( p! z" U
/ p' A& b& Z. ~$ g9 k- [' C& F6 K"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said.
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: J+ y u3 ^1 _1 O0 ?0 k"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." ) X) M; G. X. O" p9 i t2 z" q% P! G
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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. 5 \: N9 M' D2 k9 {4 \: K6 i
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Story from BBC NEWS:
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& j4 {$ |- s8 _& b# c5 j[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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