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% c* p* @0 _8 r- h* w说汉语者使用大脑更多部分& J9 y5 [; f. ]5 H9 [ j
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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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5 u1 F7 G( A) M X2 S, U3 B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。
- B" p+ O+ y7 m3 k1 T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。
5 z' s. h( m4 c9 r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。
" _2 r7 T1 A+ A2 k9 |0 v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。 * O; B* i6 P; \
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。
- ^: p7 `, _: D4 w' W; Z4 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。 + f# U. y) z2 x: Q( U
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' - J F7 g) s5 I8 L; @7 Y, p6 M
, c0 T* ?7 \4 dSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
; A2 |3 }, K" f6 C- QResearchers 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.
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! V. _+ O9 P0 V" c8 yThe 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. # A/ s7 _4 b: \/ R' [+ {2 p* @
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Brain scans
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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. / K: j) o; F5 N0 H: K6 |: Y1 A6 `
/ o# d! j/ N) A7 r- B$ rThey found that the left temporal lobe, which is located by the left temple, becomes active when English speakers hear English.
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& v& R4 ~) ~3 P- B1 g# MThe researchers believe that this area of the brain links speech sounds together to form individual words. * s3 T/ E% J6 J, j. n
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They expected similar findings when they carried out scans on Mandarin speakers.
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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 o" j3 _9 ~# g- o, N"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. " K& Y9 |* s( H! r' c5 t
4 U2 o% v0 h1 w( ^ T' Z"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. ' p7 A1 n- J9 d0 @. `$ p$ J2 M% j. [
$ {0 c' o* O. C- \ o1 mFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said. . r7 i! {- w& T; Z5 X
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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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8 i0 ?! m% u1 V% y" o"It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech. 6 C' ^+ {) R8 x3 h/ [5 H
& t: K; s2 B/ ?0 K( s( x I6 H"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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( U- E/ G8 I9 |7 v8 ZLearning languages 7 w' L3 \7 G/ B% Y- N" [0 J
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Dr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. 9 A7 @/ W3 |7 f; G/ L0 D5 M
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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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"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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"This is something we can improve on." 9 u. O1 ^2 f+ \; ]- B
9 c7 F' i( x+ B: o( jDr 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.
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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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f+ ?+ b; n$ l0 y"This field is really opening up but it is very early days."
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7 c! K, b/ @9 T, x& b! k. A& Q# D; PThe 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:
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3 d4 `% p8 A \7 W a$ O6 }, G7 f( X* K[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-2-24 at 06:22 PM ] |
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