弹奏乐器对大脑有什么积极影响?

Here's What Playing an Instrument Can Do for Your Brain

弹奏乐器对大脑有什么积极影响

Great news for all you musicians out there: Playing an instrument may boost reaction time, according to a new study. The added perk is something people of all ages can likely benefit from, say the study authors, but it may be especially important for older adults whose reaction times get slower with age.

有个好消息要告诉所有音乐家：最新研究表明，弹奏乐器能加快大脑反应。该研究作者表示，多大年龄的人都能从中受益，但对上年纪大脑反应变慢的老年人尤为有效。

Lead author Simon Landry, a Ph.D. candidate in biomedical science, says that playing an instrument requires the use of multiple senses, and that practicing regularly can fine-tune those senses over time.

该研究的主作者Simon Landry，是位生物医学在读博士。他说弹奏乐器会调动多种感官，经常弹奏则能让这些感官更加协调。

"Musicians have to feel the (for example) string on their finger, but they also need to accurately press on the strong for the right sound to be produced," he told RealSimple.com in an email. This long-term training "leads to a strengthening of sensory neural pathways," he added, especially when skills are built up over many years.

“音乐人弹奏时手指会触碰到琴弦，同时也要注意找到正确的音阶，”他通过邮件告诉RealSimple.com网站，“长期弹奏能加强感觉神经通路，假以时日，能让反应能力持续加强。”

Landry also notes that, because reaction times naturally decline with age, playing an instrument might help fight some cognitive signs of aging and help older adults stay alert.

Landry还指出，随着年龄增长，大脑反应能力会自然退化，弹奏乐器能延缓认知老化，让老年人保持灵敏的反应能力。

It's too early to assume broader brain benefits beyond what the study showed, he says—although previous research has suggested a link between reaction time and cognitive function. A 2015 study also found that musical therapy (in that case, singing) boosted memory in people with dementia.

他还补充说，虽然之前的研究发现反应时间和认知功能之间有联系，但目前针对弹奏乐器对大脑的帮助还不能做进一步推断。一项2015年的研究也发现音乐疗法（比如唱歌）能有效帮助老年痴呆症患者改善记忆能力。

Landry's results, published in the journal Brain and Cognition, provide good context for further research.

Landry发表在《脑与认知》期刊的研究结果，为之后的研究提供了很好的背景。

"If we can link playing music, or any form of multisensory training, for that matter, with preventing cognitive decline in elder musicians," he says, "then it would provide good evidence for the helpfulness of such a training in a larger population."

“如果我们能找到演奏音乐或任何形式的多感官训练与减缓老年音乐家认知能力退化之间的联系，就能利用这种训练造福更多的人。”他说。