彈奏樂器對大腦有什麼積極影響?

Here's What Playing an Instrument Can Do for Your Brain
彈奏樂器對大腦有什麼積極影響

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.
有個好消息要告訴所有音樂家：最新研究表明，彈奏樂器能加快大腦反應。該研究作者表示，多大年齡的人都能從中受益，但對上年紀大腦反應變慢的老年人尤爲有效。

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.
該研究的主作者Simon Landry，是位生物醫學在讀博士。他說彈奏樂器會調動多種感官，經常彈奏則能讓這些感官更加協調。

"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 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.
“音樂人彈奏時手指會觸碰到琴絃，同時也要注意找到正確的音階，”他通過郵件告訴網站，“長期彈奏能加強感覺神經通路，假以時日，能讓反應能力持續加強。”

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還指出，隨着年齡增長，大腦反應能力會自然退化，彈奏樂器能延緩認知老化，讓老年人保持靈敏的反應能力。

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.
他還補充說，雖然之前的研究發現反應時間和認知功能之間有聯繫，但目前針對彈奏樂器對大腦的幫助還不能做進一步推斷。一項2015年的研究也發現音樂療法（比如唱歌）能有效幫助老年癡呆症患者改善記憶能力。

Landry's results, published in the journal Brain and Cognition, provide good context for further research.
Landry發表在《腦與認知》期刊的研究結果，爲之後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."
“如果我們能找到演奏音樂或任何形式的多感官訓練與減緩老年音樂家認知能力退化之間的聯繫，就能利用這種訓練造福更多的人。”他說。