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" \. K- \4 S9 ?* Z* i说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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& Y! ?1 t8 U/ n说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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{- o" c y4 W/ d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。 7 h# Y3 a; z8 U0 F& i# D& v b
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。
0 X3 s( ^. D( A3 D; Y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。
" `' O0 b" q; P% i$ A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。
$ Z7 V# E; T7 j6 ]$ g" n! F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。
* @( X4 ^* l# A( n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。 & b7 e- ^8 ?8 X P, f1 P7 r$ P [. T- H
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。& d! c" H% }6 P( y# a. W4 o
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; H3 P; m r) x5 eChinese 'takes more brainpower'
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
: n# n1 V: u5 oResearchers 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. * W; J9 `" f6 ^5 U( B+ A n, I3 z4 k
! L6 I% T3 }( D' W4 v. RThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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- W1 f: A0 d+ C% MThis, 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
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. O# e( \! F. X6 e) f% x" oDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers.
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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.
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. 0 F+ ^1 r1 }+ c8 M' P/ j1 u" d: C
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However, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin. - a Z' [$ o) V q2 w5 W; m
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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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"It overturned some long-held theories." % o* T. s4 G, }2 a, P9 ?
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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. $ Q% q* {9 u6 K- O4 J
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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. 5 s! l3 N# [# f
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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. ! |+ @* s! C6 R4 t/ t
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"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin." 0 q2 K( |) A, P0 T: }4 {; o
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Learning languages ) S/ W0 _3 I$ u) C
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language.
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& E! H3 x: Y$ B8 P% Q1 gIt 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.
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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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' X: \; y3 t/ e3 _* {; A5 s"This is something we can improve on."
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" Z9 [( d0 n' s) E- |- s2 y9 w; {; X0 oDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study. ) X0 S# c. H' d* d0 P! S" o+ k7 s
0 ]4 J: W2 c/ ^0 e# Q5 W"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. y3 z- r& U6 G
( O# ^3 ]& `' m, q8 Z"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. # B" ]9 q$ @) P0 D4 j. s
' K' [! @& Q# T' o5 T"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. . Y( p, p: g1 g& l K/ l, k
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"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." 2 g$ k) _) |! |: X3 N& i
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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.
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Story from BBC NEWS:* s/ S5 a4 U B8 \2 M
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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