你知道吗 每次音乐家拿起他们的乐器
Did you know that every timemusicians pick up their instruments,
他们的大脑就会异常活跃
there are fireworks going offall over their brain?
虽然他们的外表看起来是那么的平静和专注
On the outside,they may look calm and focused,
认真地看着乐谱并演绎精准的乐器
reading the music and making the preciseand practiced movements required.
但在他们的大脑里 正进行着一场派对
But inside their brains,there’s a party going on.
我们怎么知道这个的？
How do we know this?
在过去几十年里 神经科学家在研究我们的大脑是如何工作的课题中
Well, in the last few decades, neuroscientists have madeenormous breakthroughs
取得了巨大的突破
in understanding how our brains work
该研究利用功能性磁共振成像和正电子发射计算机断层扫描仪
by monitoring them in real time
来实时监控我们的大脑
with instruments likefMRI and PET scanners.
当人们在这些仪器的监控下
When people are hooked upto these machines,
去做一些任务 像阅读或是做数学题
tasks, such as readingor doing math problems,
每一个不同的任务 都会引起大脑相应的区域产生可检测的活动
each have corresponding areas of the brain where activity can be observed.
但当研究者给研究对象放音乐时
But when researchers gotthe participants to listen to music,
研究者看到了大脑区域的活跃
they saw fireworks.
大脑的很多区域都同时活跃起来
Multiple areas of their brainswere lighting up at once,
因为大脑处理音乐
as they processed the sound,
要先把音乐拆分 以理解它的旋律节拍
took it apart to understand elements like melody and rhythm,
然后大脑再把拆分的部分合成整体 感受完整的音乐体验
and then put it all back togetherinto unified musical experience.
从刚一听到音乐
And our brains do all this workin the split second
到我们的脚开始跟着打节拍
between when we first hear the music and
我们的大脑只用了不到一秒 就把整个处理过程完成了
when our foot starts to tap along.
但当科学家由研究听音乐的人的大脑
But when scientists turnedfrom observing the brains
到研究音乐家的大脑时
of music listeners to those of musicians,
大脑的活跃竟变成了强烈的波动
the little backyard fireworksbecame a jubilee.
研究表明 听音乐导致大脑
It turns out that while listeningto music engages the brain
处于有趣的活跃状态
in some pretty interesting activities,
但是演奏音乐会让整个大脑运动起来
playing music is the brain’s equivalent of a full-body workout.
神经科学家观测到许多大脑区域活跃起来
The neuroscientists sawmultiple areas of the brain light up,
它们以复杂的 相互关联的信息序列为形式
simultaneously processingdifferent information
以极快的速度 同时处理不同的信息
in intricate, interrelated,and astonishingly fast sequences.
但是演奏音乐可以让大脑活跃起来 这是怎么回事呢？
But what is it about making music that sets the brain alight?
这还是个很新的研究课题 但是神经科学家有一些好点子
The research is still fairly new, but neuroscientists have a pretty good idea.
演奏乐器几乎同时
Playing a musical instrument engages practically every area
让大脑的每个区域活跃起来
of the brain at once,
特别是视觉 听觉和运动皮层
especially the visual,auditory, and motor cortices.
就像其它的运动一样 演奏乐器中的这种有序的训练
As with any other workout, disciplined,structured practice in playing music
使我们的大脑功能增强 增强的大脑机能可以用于处理
strengthens those brain functions,allowing us to apply that strength
其它的活动
to other activities.
听音乐和演奏音乐之间最明显的不同是
The most obvious difference betweenlistening to music and playing it
后者需要更好的运动协调能力
is that the latter requiresfine motor skills,
这种能力是由大脑的两个半脑共同控制的
which are controlledin both hemispheres of the brain.
该过程用到了语言和数字的精准功能
It also combines the linguisticand mathematical precision,
而这个功能主要是由左脑掌管的
in which the left hemisphereis more involved,
同时也涉及到了右脑掌管的创造力的功能
with the novel and creativecontent that the right excels in.
因为这些原因 演奏音乐被认为
For these reasons,playing music has been found
能增强大脑中连接半脑的胼胝体的
to increase the volume and activityin the brain’s corpus callosum,
容量和活跃度
the bridge between the two hemispheres,
能使半脑之间的信息通过更多的渠道线路 更快地交流
allowing messages to get across the brain faster and through more diverse routes.
这就使音乐家
This may allow musicians to solve problems
不管是在学术上还是社交上 都能又快又能创造性地处理问题
more effectively and creatively,in both academic and social settings.
因为演奏音乐也涉及到演奏和理解音乐中的
Because making music also involvescrafting and understanding
情绪信息
its emotional content and message,
音乐家一般具有较高的执行力
musicians often have higher levelsof executive function,
有较高的能力去分类连接各个任务
a category of interlinked tasks
包括构想 提出策略和处理细节
that includes planning, strategizing,and attention to detail
也包括从理性和感性上同时做出分析
and requires simultaneous analysisof both cognitive and emotional aspects.
这种能力也影响到我们的记忆系统的工作方式
This ability also has an impact on how our memory systems work.
事实上 音乐家具有增强了的记忆能力
And, indeed, musicians exhibitenhanced memory functions,
创造 存储 取用记忆 更快更高效
creating, storing, and retrieving memoriesmore quickly and efficiently.
研究表明
Studies have found
音乐家用他们高度连接协作的大脑
that musicians appear to use their highly connected brains
给每个记忆贴上多种标签
to give each memory multiple tags,
比如 概念签 情绪签
such as a conceptual tag,an emotional tag,
声音签 衔接签
an audio tag, and a contextual tag,
就像个运作良好的因特网搜索引擎一样
like a good Internet search engine.
我们怎么知道
How do we know
所有的这些好处都是音乐带来的
that all these benefits are unique to music,
而不是 运动或是画画呢？
as opposed to, say, sports or painting?
或者可能是因为听音乐的人本身已经
Or could it bethat people who go into music
比常人更聪明啊？
were already smarter to begin with?
神经科学家已经探索这些领域了 但是到目前为止
Neuroscientists have exploredthese issues, but so far,
他们发现学习乐器演奏的人的
they have found that the artisticand aesthetic aspects
艺术和审美
of learning to play a musical instrument are different
与从事其它活动的人不同 这其中包括其它任何形式的艺术
from any other activity studied, including other arts.
这里有一些对参与者的随机研究
And several randomized studiesof participants,
在研究中 参与者从一开始就有相同水平的
who showed the same levels
认知功能和神经处理能力
of cognitive function and neural processing at the start,
该研究发现
found that those who were exposed
那些学了一段时间音乐的人
to a period of music learning
与其他人相比 他们大脑的许多区域都有功能上的加强
showed enhancement in multiplebrain areas, compared to the others.
最近关于演奏音乐能带来的神经方面的好处的研究
This recent research aboutthe mental benefits of playing music
已经推动我们去理解神经的功能
has advanced our understandingof mental function,
表明音乐内在的旋律和复杂的相互作用
revealing the inner rhythmsand complex interplay
使我们大脑里存在一个惊人的管弦乐队
that make up the amazingorchestra of our brain.