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* k2 S! I i2 Y- p1 M说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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4 K4 ^, Q/ z! p. V8 [说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边
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, U' Z+ v6 r. ?% p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。 8 R/ o( r+ w% _: P9 I0 x/ [/ V: f
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。
$ j' L3 E1 ~# C2 |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。 9 w$ |) L! v1 f) b2 C0 w% F
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。 0 H, \1 y5 H% t8 L
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。
( ~' I, z4 |" 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。 7 M0 J) z% v7 I# S0 `% z! 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。# j; ^* j. c+ Q
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Chinese 'takes more brainpower' R2 G/ s$ s. A5 K6 n& q& M7 N
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Speaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
7 j/ N6 T: ]3 o0 J0 C6 Q+ Y5 SResearchers in Britain have found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both sides of their brain to understand the language. ; v' F) T* M: L3 J0 ~
M5 P) u2 l' X( f! xThis compares to English-language speakers who only need to use one side of their brain.
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" U Q1 ~9 r& W( K( wThe researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages.
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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. 3 l& S9 `1 z1 n% R7 L H% Y" j
?3 F; Y* k" \; G$ W3 ABrain scans ; Y4 m( y* w5 b
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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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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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7 o6 N+ ~+ U2 g) J- x" Y% sThey expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers. # f( ^* l6 }3 Q' @' m& b. z9 O) |
6 F5 x& Q% L* i. RHowever, they found that both their left and right temporal lobes become active when they hear Mandarin.
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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."
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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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8 y7 j4 n1 X0 T3 S' B( {The researchers believe that this need to interpret intonation is why Mandarin speakers need to use both sides of their brain. % ~* M1 Z$ D# @% K9 S- F- q% j
3 G% p5 o! Z# g6 g5 ]' f, S$ cThe 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. 1 @1 g( T* Z. x7 \- ]6 T+ k3 L
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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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- \$ ~" b8 b& z d nDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language.
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+ j# h2 U" s7 t8 J+ W3 t: k/ LIt could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke. # j( w, {% D) p( z
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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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5 R: R2 y0 y( G"There is evidence from other studies that certain drugs affect learning in the brain regions that support hearing and speech," she said. ) ]" `) Y* e9 k ]/ k
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"This is something we can improve on." . x2 }6 {& v$ y+ ~' j
5 n5 J, _1 r6 R0 J) D! m( jDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study.
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( Y5 [, w; N3 F6 P6 X"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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" O5 r8 ]+ ^& \6 L2 R W"Looking at languages that are very different from each other helps us to understand how the brain processes language. 8 G9 Q# S6 {: ^0 B* L: c
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"It can also help us to understand language rehabilitation," he said.
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" D" N( U" j) e" h: w! n5 X"This field is really opening up but it is very early days."
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9 y6 @4 H) Q8 n& ]3 _2 oThe findings will be included in the summer science exhibition at the Royal Society in London, which runs from 1 to 3 July. ; o. g+ S4 N5 A6 j$ `$ j
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Story from BBC NEWS:
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[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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