第1503期:Do brain training games actually work?

If you don’t use it, you lose it. At least, that’s how the old aphorism goes. It refers to the idea that something which does not get utilised regularly quickly falls into a state of decline. For example, a hobby that you haven’t done for a few years, like playing the trumpet. You might find yourself a bit rusty the next time you pick one up – or maybe you’ve forgotten altogether!  Muscles are another example. They will waste away without use. In order to counteract this, people take regular exercise to keep their skills sharp.

如果你不使用它，你就会失去它。至少，这就是古老的格言。它指的是没有定期使用的东西很快就会陷入衰退状态的想法。比如一个你几年没做过的爱好，比如吹小号。下次你拿起一个时，你可能会发现自己有点生锈了——或者你可能完全忘记了！肌肉是另一个例子。他们将毫无用处地浪费掉。为了抵消这一点，人们经常锻炼以保持他们的技能敏锐。

Well, what about the brain? As we age, our brains can naturally begin to decline. In some cases this can lead to certain mental conditions such as dementia, which I’m sure you will agree, no one wants. However, all is not lost because these days it’s relatively easy to train your brain. Smartphones and apps have put programmes into our hands that can test, maintain and even augment our memories, mathematical skills, logic skills and a raft of other mental abilities. With a little practice every day, we can keep our brains nice and sharp, right?

那么，大脑呢？随着年龄的增长，我们的大脑自然会开始衰退。在某些情况下，这可能会导致某些精神状况，例如痴呆症，我相信您会同意，没有人愿意。然而，一切都没有丢失，因为现在训练你的大脑相对容易。智能手机和应用程序已将程序置于我们手中，这些程序可以测试、维持甚至增强我们的记忆力、数学技能、逻辑技能和大量其他心智能力。每天稍加练习，我们就可以让我们的大脑保持良好和敏锐，对吗？

Well, no, actually. According to a report from the Global Council on Brain Health, even though many people thought it was important to play online games, such as puzzles and mind games, which are designed to improve brain health, the evidence of the benefits was “weak to non-existent”. Playing a ‘brain game’ may lead to improvements in game performance, but this has yet to show a convincing result in people’s daily cognitive abilities. In other words, doing hundreds of sudoku puzzles might make you a sudoku wizard, but it doesn’t necessarily improve your ability to do your accounting.

嗯，不，实际上。根据全球大脑健康委员会的一份报告，尽管许多人认为玩旨在改善大脑健康的益智游戏和智力游戏等在线游戏很重要，但其益处的证据“微弱到无——存在”。玩“脑力游戏”可能会提高游戏性能，但这尚未显示出令人信服的人们日常认知能力的结果。换句话说，做数百个数独谜题可能会让你成为数独巫师，但这并不一定能提高你的会计能力。

It’s not all doom and gloom though. There are other ways to stimulate the old grey matter. It recommends seeking out new activities that challenge the way you think and are socially engaging, while leading to a healthy lifestyle. Among their suggestions are practising tai chi, taking photography classes, learning new technologies, gardening, art projects or volunteering.

但这并不全是厄运和悲观。还有其他方法可以刺激旧的灰质。它建议寻找新的活动来挑战您的思维方式和社交参与方式，同时带来健康的生活方式。他们的建议包括练习太极拳、参加摄影课、学习新技术、园艺、艺术项目或志愿服务。

There’s more good news, too. James Goodwin, chief scientist at Age UK has said that brain decline is not inevitable. As long as the activities are “new to you and require your concentrated attention”, they can provide benefits for brain health. So, make haste, get out there and try something new. Maybe it’s time to try that hobby you’ve always wanted to do. And as for me? I’m off to learn the piano.

还有更多好消息。英国时代的首席科学家詹姆斯古德温表示，大脑衰退并非不可避免。只要这些活动“对您来说是新的并且需要您集中注意力”，它们就可以为大脑健康带来好处。所以，快点，走出去，尝试一些新的东西。也许是时候尝试一下你一直想做的爱好了。至于我呢？我要去学钢琴了。

词汇表

aphorism 格言
utilise 利用，使用
a state of decline 退化、衰退的状态
rusty （因长期不去做而）生疏的
altogether 彻底地，全部地
waste away 逐渐衰退
counteract 对抗，抵消
keep sharp 保持（技术）熟练；保持（头脑）敏锐
augment 增强、加强
a raft of 许多，大量
non-existent 不存在的
cognitive 认知的
wizard 能手，“达人”
doom and gloom 前景悲观，一片黯淡
stimulate 促进（身体某部位的）功能
grey matter “灰质”，头脑
inevitable 不可避免的
make haste （旧式说法）快点