Study: Some Languages Require More Brain Power - Languages as Brain Therapy??

[Guest guest]

Hello Misty and everyone else I don't know yet....,

 

I found a really neat tool last year that simulated what right &

left brain thinkers thinking congruently have known all along:

the secret is in how much atention we pay to the signal and

how successful we are at filtering out debris.

 

Go here and see:

Brain Tuning sites & Products

http://www.centerpointe.com/links.cfm?ad=27107

 

misty_trepke <misty_trepke wrote:

Hi everyone,

 

I have often thought that people who are ambidextrous, practice

yoga/martial arts (or complex tasks equally requiring both sides of

the body), or speak many languages have " better wired " brains than

people who do not...

 

Maybe this could help prevent or rehabilitate those with brain

disorders involving the synapsis not finding their correct path???

 

Be Well,

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

Study: Some Languages Require More Brain Power

 

Monday, June 30, 2003

 

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Mandarin speakers use more areas of

their brains than people who speak English, scientists said on

Monday, in a finding that provides new insight into how the brain

processes language.

 

Unlike English speakers, who use one side of their brain to

understand the language, scientists at the Wellcome Trust research

charity in Britain discovered that both sides of the brain are used

to interpret variations in sounds in Mandarin.

 

" We were very surprised to discover that people who speak different

sorts of languages use their brains to decode speech in different

ways it overturned some long-held theories, " said Dr. Sophie Scott, a

psychologist at the charity.

 

Using brain scans on volunteers, Scott discovered that different

areas of the brain are used to interpret words and intonation.

 

The left temporal lobe of the brain is active when English speakers

hear the language but Mandarin speakers use the left and right lobe,

which is normally used to process melody in music and speech.

 

Intonation is important in Mandarin because it gives different

meanings to the same word. The word " ma " for example can mean mother,

scold, horse or hemp, depending on the tone.

 

" We think Mandarin speakers interpret intonation and melody in the

right temporal lobe to give the correct meaning to the spoken word, "

Scott said in a statement.

 

She believes the research could provide insights into what happens

when people are forced to re-learn speech comprehension following a

stroke.

 

" It seems that the structure of the language you learn as a child

affects how the structure of your brain develops to decode speech.

Native English speakers, for example, find it extraordinarily

difficult to learn Mandarin, " Scott said.

 

The findings will be presented at a science exhibit this week at the

Royal Society, Britain's academy of leading scientists, in London.

 

See Photo:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/06/30/brain.language.reut/index.html