How playing an instrument benefits your brain - Anita Collins

翻译人员: Shanshan (Alice) Lin 校对人员: lin quan

Did you know that every time musicians pick up their instruments,

你知道吗？ 每当音乐家们举起他们的乐器，

there are fireworks going off all over their brain?

他们的脑海便炸起了一朵朵烟花？

On the outside, they may look calm and focused,

他们表面看来， 也许镇定且聚精会神地，

reading the music and making the precise and practiced movements required.

读着乐谱并按要求 进行着精准熟练的演奏。

But inside their brains, there's a party going on.

但是在他们大脑内部， 有一场狂欢正在上演。

How do we know this?

我们是如何知道这一切的呢？

Well, in the last few decades,

嗯，在过去的几十年里，

neuroscientists have made enormous breakthroughs

通过核磁共振成像 和正子放射断层扫描仪等

in understanding how our brains work by monitoring them in real time

对大脑的实时监测， 神经科学家对我们的大脑如何运作

with instruments like fMRI and PET scanners.

已经有了巨大的突破。

When people are hooked up to these machines,

当人们连着这些仪器，

tasks, such as reading or doing math problems,

开始活动， 例如阅读或是完成数学习题，

each have corresponding areas of the brain where activity can be observed.

大脑中每一个被激活的相应区域， 都能被观测到。

But when researchers got the participants to listen to music,

但是当研究人员让实验者听音乐时，

they saw fireworks.

他们看到了烟花。

Multiple areas of their brains were lighting up at once,

大脑的多个区域被同时唤起，

as they processed the sound,

当大脑处理声音的时候，

took it apart to understand elements like melody and rhythm,

会把它拆分开来去理解音乐元素 像旋律和节奏，

and then put it all back together into unified musical experience.

然后再把他们放回到一起 合成统一的音乐体验

And our brains do all this work in the split second

我们的大脑完成这项工作，

between when we first hear the music and when our foot starts to tap along.

仅在我们刚听到音乐 和脚开始跟着打拍子的瞬息之间。

But when scientists turned from observing the brains

但是当科学家开始将 观测对象

of music listeners to those of musicians,

从音乐听众转移到音乐家的大脑时，

the little backyard fireworks became a jubilee.

这场后院的小烟火变成了嘉年华。

It turns out that while listening to music engages the brain

事实证明听音乐的时候

in some pretty interesting activities,

大脑进行了一场非常有趣的活动，

playing music is the brain's equivalent of a full-body workout.

演奏音乐的大脑活动 相当于进行了一次全身运动。

The neuroscientists saw multiple areas of the brain light up,

神经科学家观察到大脑多个区域被激发，

simultaneously processing different information

以复杂并相互关联且快速惊人的次序

in intricate, interrelated, and astonishingly fast sequences.

同步处理不同的信息。

But what is it about making music that sets the brain alight?

但音乐能激发大脑功能的原因是什么呢？

The research is still fairly new,

相关研究才刚刚起步，

but neuroscientists have a pretty good idea.

但神经科学家已经有了相当好的想法。

Playing a musical instrument

演奏一件乐器

engages practically every area of the brain at once,

能几乎同时把大脑所有区域都唤醒，

especially the visual, auditory, and motor cortices.

尤其是视觉，听觉和运动皮层。

As with any other workout, disciplined, structured practice in playing music

与其他运动相比，规律的， 结构性的演奏练习

strengthens those brain functions, allowing us to apply that strength

加强了这些大脑机能， 让我们能将这些优势

to other activities.

运用到其他活动中。

The most obvious difference between listening to music and playing it

欣赏音乐和演奏音乐最明显的区别在于

is that the latter requires fine motor skills,

后者需要较好的动作技能，

which are controlled in both hemispheres of the brain.

需要同时运用到大脑左右半球

It also combines the linguistic and mathematical precision,

它同时结合了语言和数学精度

in which the left hemisphere is more involved,

这些多由大脑左半球参与，

with the novel and creative content that the right excels in.

而新奇有创意的内容则由右脑参与。

For these reasons, playing music has been found

鉴于这些原因， 演奏音乐

to increase the volume and activity in the brain's corpus callosum,

对于提高脑胼胝体其容量及活跃度，

the bridge between the two hemispheres,

胼胝体是连接两个大脑半球的桥梁，

allowing messages to get across the brain faster and through more diverse routes.

能使信息在大脑内 通过多样的路径更快的传输，

This may allow musicians to solve problems

这可能使音乐家在学术和社交环境中

more effectively and creatively, in both academic and social settings.

更有效和独具创意的解决问题。

Because making music also involves crafting and understanding

由于创造音乐也涵盖制作和理解

its emotional content and message,

其中的情感化的内容和信息，

musicians often have higher levels of executive function,

所以音乐家们通常 具有高级别的执行能力，

a category of interlinked tasks

一类相互关联的任务，

that includes planning, strategizing, and attention to detail

涵盖了计划，策略，注意细节，

and requires simultaneous analysis of both cognitive and emotional aspects.

以及需要针对认知和情感进行同步分析

This ability also has an impact on how our memory systems work.

这种能力也影响着记忆系统的工作。

And, indeed, musicians exhibit enhanced memory functions,

并且，事实上， 音乐家展现了更加高超的记忆能力，

creating, storing, and retrieving memories more quickly and efficiently.

他们具备更快更有效的 创造，储存，恢复记忆功能。

Studies have found that musicians appear to use their highly connected brains

研究发现音乐家们 能运用他们高度连结的大脑

to give each memory multiple tags,

来给每段记忆赋予多个标签，

such as a conceptual tag, an emotional tag,

比如概念标签，情绪标签，

an audio tag, and a contextual tag,

声音标签，和语境标签

like a good Internet search engine.

就像一个强大的互联网搜索引擎一样。

How do we know that all these benefits are unique to music,

那我们如何得知这些好处 是音乐特有的呢？

as opposed to, say, sports or painting?

它与运动或绘画有何区别呢？

Or could it be that people who go into music

或者说喜欢音乐的人

were already smarter to begin with?

本身即是非常聪明的人？

Neuroscientists have explored these issues, but so far,

神经科学家已经研究过这些问题， 但是目前，

they have found that the artistic and aesthetic aspects

他们发现从艺术和美学方面看

of learning to play a musical instrument

学习演奏乐器

are different from any other activity studied, including other arts.

是和其他已研究的活动有着不同， 包括其他的艺术。

And several randomized studies of participants,

并且在若干随机研究的参与者中

who showed the same levels

在一开始

of cognitive function and neural processing at the start,

有着同样认知和神经处理水平的人

found that those who were exposed to a period of music learning

那些经过一段时间音乐学习

showed enhancement in multiple brain areas, compared to the others.

与其他人相比， 大脑内多个区域得到提升

This recent research about the mental benefits of playing music

这项音乐演奏对于大脑有益的最新研究，

has advanced our understanding of mental function,

让我们进一步了解了大脑的功能，

revealing the inner rhythms and complex interplay

揭示了那些内在节奏和复杂的旋律

that make up the amazing orchestra of our brain.

在我们的大脑中所上演的美妙乐章。