研究表明温和电击可提升智力

　　A zap of electricity to the brain could help stroke patients walk, talk or simply dress themselves without help, Oxford University research suggests.
　　一份牛津大学的研究猜测：“对大脑的一丝快速的电击，可以帮助中风患者走路、说话、或是在没有帮助下穿好简单的衣物。”

　　Brain scientists say that in just five years, we will have ‘thinking caps’ that can be worn at home and used to wake up white matter damaged by stroke. These caps could also be used to make healthy people brainier or produce better sportsmen. Even children learning to play the piano may benefit from them, the British Science Festival heard.

　　脑科学家们说，仅在5年内，将研发出一种可以在家里带着的“思考帽”，它也可以用来唤醒由于中风而损坏的脑白质，可以让健康的人们变得更聪明，还能帮助培养更优秀的运动员。从英国科学界上获悉，这甚至能帮到学钢琴的孩子们。

　　With than a quarter of a million Britons living with problems from muscle weakness and paralysis to loss of coordination caused by stroke and treatment mainly limited to physiotherapy, even small improvements could make a big difference to quality of life.

　　一百万个英国人中，就有四分之一的人患中风，忍受着由此引起的肌肉无力、瘫痪，丧失协调能力。现在对中风的治疗仅局限于物理疗法，所以即使治疗技术的一点点改进，也能让他们的生活产生很大改观。

　　Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg investigated whether transcranial direct current stimulation, or TDCS, can make one part of the brain work harder than other.

　　海蒂·约翰森·伯格教授教授研究了颅直流电刺激（TDCS）能否让一部分大脑比其他部分更努力工作。

　　Fifteen healthy volunteers were wired up the gadget. One electrode was placed just above the left ear, over the part of the brain that controls movement and a second was placed above the right eye. A tingling electric current was then passed through the brain and the volunteers played a computer game that involved learning a sequence of key presses, rather similar to learning a tune on the piano. When the current was passed from left to right, they learned the sequence more quickly.

　　15名健康志愿者带上接通电源的器具。一个电极放在左耳上，那是大脑控制运动的部分，另一电极则被放在右眼上。随后，一丝麻刺电流通过大脑，接着，志愿者们玩了一款涉及学习一连串的按键的电脑游戏，这与学习弹钢琴曲很相像。当电流从左通至右，他们学习的更快。

　　Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg said that within five to 10 years, home kits could be available. There is definitely a need for new treatments for stroke.

　　约翰森·伯格教授说，5到10年内即可得到这项技术的家庭装置。对中风的新疗法来说，这绝对必要。

　　It also likely to be snapped up by parents keen to see their children do well at school and by sports coaches who want to give their players an extra boost, leading to questions about whether it have an unfair advantage over those who rely on practice alone.

　　那些希望孩子取得更好成绩的家长，或想让运动员获得额外动力的教练也很可能抢购这些装置。这导致了一个问题：对那些刻苦练习的人来说，很不公平。

　　However, there are concerns that while the technique TDCS could also be abused to sap people’s brainpower.

　　然而，也有很多人关心TDCS的技术可能被滥用，损伤人的智力。