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转贴BBC News" M# f/ s3 G: _/ L* _$ U* t; p
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说汉语者使用大脑更多部分
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说汉语普通话者讲话时同时使用大脑两边 ! r' R% ? u8 B$ G7 J2 B$ o
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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。
9 }2 n4 \1 ?6 P6 u9 O! {$ ^5 E0 P" Y5 p) s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。 ' d4 d& M9 d5 W& @# A, K
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。 1 a. ]* Z6 d9 h0 F& }8 G, ^
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。
Q1 h' l, I/ t x( R/ {9 @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。 / p% Y! Y, p$ h2 E8 f" D
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。
1 i. C% i Q3 t9 k. L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。3 d4 p, U2 U8 W# a: _
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0 o% o* I5 c2 K# E2 sChinese 'takes more brainpower' 1 h2 U. f6 I) u. h& C& a
8 x6 Y) e' e9 y4 M% u1 f2 q' CSpeaking Chinese may take more brainpower than speaking English, a study suggests.
0 F1 P' ]6 d# xResearchers 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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The researchers said the findings could boost understanding of how the brain processes languages. % `2 t2 U: [! O0 ]% \( J g
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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.
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9 s) P4 k+ u% ^7 J& q5 a5 T) PBrain scans
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. ^% ]& K0 {# P5 nDr Sophie Scott and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust carried out brain scans on a group of Mandarin and English speakers. * K, @+ e9 W5 |5 Z1 C) }& J
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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. 1 w4 g+ x5 d; {7 E% i$ S# h% v
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1 l6 _8 s) @" S* B3 z3 RThe 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. 2 Y3 c6 W% k; C5 T, U+ z2 l
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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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"People who speak different sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different ways," said Dr Scott. 2 s- O0 F- c* D) u K' m
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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. ( Q6 N* Y1 L& r J8 D
3 b( [ A5 g+ D; t- m9 F/ g" v( PFor instance, the word "ma" can mean mother, scold, horse or hemp depending on how it is said.
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, d( i: Z$ @& M% H' G: `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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! X; A) \1 c) H% NThe right temporal lobe is normally associated with being able to process music or tones. , W% c/ H4 |# R" C8 N
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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. $ q; D/ |! A+ p' v$ r
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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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' E6 a+ {5 B& E- K# b"Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily difficult to learn Mandarin."
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Learning languages
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/ V( N! T# w. o( o, f( fDr Scott said the findings could help scientists to understand how the brain learns language. * a: t6 O8 W/ O9 ^
; L! M0 k' }; eIt could be particularly useful in trying to understand how it re-learns language after a stroke.
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4 ^3 C& t3 J$ x* _5 f JShe 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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9 X6 w% n1 d4 r. D"This is something we can improve on." * d, v$ ~# [1 b5 }" _$ v
. n8 z5 M4 r& s/ bDr William Marslen-Wilson, of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University, welcomed the study.
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$ I* e5 W& j* e2 Q8 E4 v- ]"It is an interesting finding," he told BBC News Online.
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, `% l' ]+ g: b"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. : B0 K ~: o Y
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"This field is really opening up but it is very early days."
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4 o# @* ~* t5 ^The findings will be included in the summer science exhibition at the Royal Society in London, which runs from 1 to 3 July. - T* a& @) P% |: C/ Y
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Story from BBC NEWS:+ v$ V) ^4 S0 U
! B" P8 D) E0 N8 O7 ]- q[ Last edited by victorw on 2005-1-23 at 10:43 PM ] |
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