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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分3 `8 t. l5 r5 C0 g0 O! N
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+ M+ I8 L, j+ n" w. y说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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1 p$ y: T! W- @9 }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。 - ^ A1 S: Z1 O' R9 z
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。
* U: }% ^- Y1 y/ Q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。 3 _7 o2 F1 Z; `
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。 " g o7 ]: v1 L7 R2 J
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。 `. q" Z3 M1 R% D0 u7 F/ _
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。
# i+ N( ?9 L& _9 l H3 U0 T2 k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.
! O0 Q4 ^3 d4 W# ^8 a& ?) I ?Researchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. : L8 v, q/ W9 ~* H. s9 N) [# v# d- Z
! u% ?8 e9 Y7 n% w0 f7 ~& |This compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain. ( }/ U1 m3 [" k& e9 X" j: k
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The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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( }9 z; |5 \" ?4 d$ ]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. 5 t" J7 d4 ]9 C, {2 B" U
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Brain scans ( D x& K: o- S3 o; q1 ?: M7 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. ; J5 ~6 t8 X- A5 o
3 q6 ?3 K" {* d# H" D0 w) OThey found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English. ; [3 M# y+ {( ?1 F
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. N+ e' L$ o1 [* H! c& jThe 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. J6 V# D9 v# G7 c( \; A
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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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6 m& v* x5 k5 j0 t8 P7 W# ["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."
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% X4 ~7 b$ |5 w) h& CMandarin 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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' L. o2 Z: |# `2 OFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. , r3 n: @6 U3 ?7 J; c
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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. 8 C& f; N) W0 X. O1 {
" G5 i- ~) o$ e$ F( L"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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! w1 Q" k% l6 m"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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8 I$ {/ f( c# k( _"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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7 t) O& X3 ], l% y' Q9 _2 a5 v5 wLearning languages ) c* r7 v- D* b! d
2 ?) c8 B& r; SDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. * Z A1 j" N) y' ^5 G9 a; e2 A
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It 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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9 E& j% g' j! y+ [% ?9 v"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. " c/ G/ Y& Y" T5 t E& Y
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"This is something we can improve on."
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Dr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study.
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"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online. 5 f) h% R( Z; a' j: R v
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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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, W4 A: U/ [& Q8 h"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said. - F# `* S% [* E$ I' s# a
( V% w7 a( k* q; k, m"This field is really opening up but it is very early days." 4 j8 L% y {9 j/ }; \) d2 X
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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. $ }& H* {4 A }* w4 c t
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Story from BBC NEWS:
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* A1 f5 a h( s[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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