时间:2018-12-28 作者:英语课 分类:英语语言学习


英语课
Norman Swan: Amit Etkin is in the Department of Psychiatry 1 and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University in California
Amit referred to computer-based brain training. In fact this is all the rage at the moment with a big emphasis on staving off dementia. But probably the best studied brain training programs are aimed at what's called working memory in both children and adults. The question is though, do they work?
Megan Spencer-Smith and a colleague from Sweden have tried to find out by bringing together the evidence.
Megan Spencer-Smith: Working memory difficulties are often observed in behaviour. So teachers and parents and also adults who have problems with working memory might notice that they are forgetting things in their daily life, they are finding that when people are talking to them they can't keep track of that conversation if it's a complex conversation, that type of thing.
Norman Swan: So it's about attention.
Megan Spencer-Smith: That's right. So working memory problems can be observed in attention in daily life.
Norman Swan: And this is why there is an overlap 3 with attention deficit 4 hyperactivity disorder 5 because inattention is part of that problem.
Megan Spencer-Smith: That's right. And for children and adults with a diagnosis 6 of ADHD, they are commonly described as having deficits 7 in what is called visual spatial 8 working memory.
Norman Swan: And what's that?
Megan Spencer-Smith: It's this ability to hold visual information and visual spatial information in mind and work with it. There's also another type of working memory called verbal working memory, and that information is, for example, me talking to you, trying to remember a phone number that someone might tell you out loud, that's described as a verbal working memory.
Norman Swan: So you're talking about both?
Megan Spencer-Smith: That's right.
Norman Swan: And if you've got a visual spatial problem, how does that manifest itself?
Megan Spencer-Smith: For example, if they are in a lecture theatre and they are trying to use the information that is presented to them visually and they are trying to write notes, that sort of task can be quite complex if you have some low working memory or working memory problems.
Norman Swan: And what is working memory? Is this a bit like the RAM 2 in your computer?
Megan Spencer-Smith: That's a really good analogy. Working memory is this cognitive 10 ability to hold information in mind and then work with that information over a short period of time. For example, trying to solve mental arithmetic problems.
Norman Swan: It's stuff that's coming fresh into your brain from the environment, you are holding that in some sort of abstract space in your head, then retrieving 11 stuff from your brain which you require to solve the problem and it's all in a mixmaster there in your brain while you solve the problem, and some people just can't…there's a leakage 12, if you like, which doesn't allow you to hold it long enough to solve the problem or get on with the task.
Megan Spencer-Smith: That's right, you describe it really well, yes.
Norman Swan: What training is around? And I should say here that we are slightly conflicted in this conversation in that your co-author is a consultant 13 for one of the companies that produces one of these programs, but in general what's available on the market for working training?
Megan Spencer-Smith: There's quite a few programs that have been developed targeting working memory, so we call them computerised working memory training programs. There are some programs that have been developed just for research purposes, and then there's some programs that are now available commercially.
Norman Swan: Having evolved from research programs.
Megan Spencer-Smith: That's correct.
Norman Swan: And so in general what do they do though?
Megan Spencer-Smith: In general the individual would be on a computer, and they are training on tasks that are presented on a computer or on an iPad. These training tasks are visual spatial working memory tasks or they are verbal working memory tasks or they are using a combination of both. So they are training repeatedly on these tasks over many weeks and over many days.
Norman Swan: And it's not skills training, it's actually training the nerves in your brain to network and control, and it's making connections in your brain that otherwise would not have been made.
Megan Spencer-Smith: That's right, we are trying to strengthen those connections, and there's also some evidence from neuroscience research demonstrating that a working memory training program can change brain structure and function.
Norman Swan: Yes, for example, if you learn the violin you can actually see that effect physically 14 in the brain rather than some abstract notion of electrical networks.
Megan Spencer-Smith: Yes.
Norman Swan: And what sort of research has been done in this area? Because normally when you bring together the available evidence, it's usually from randomised controlled trials, you know, somebody gets a placebo 15 and you measure the two and see what the real effect is. Is that the sort of evidence that is available on these working memory training programs?
Megan Spencer-Smith: Yes, there has been an accumulation of research over the last 10 years, and there are quite a few randomised controlled trial designed studies evaluating the effects of these different working memory training programs, compared with a control group.
Norman Swan: So that's what you did, you brought together the available studies in what's called a meta-analysis or a systematic 16 review. What did you find?
Megan Spencer-Smith: When we systematically 17 researched the literature and we also contacted researchers who are in the area who might not have published their data, when we pulled the results from those studies together we identified 11 studies that have a control group and an intervention 18 group, and these studies were reporting on inattention in daily life. So that's a measure of a generalising benefit of the working memory training program.
Norman Swan: It's one thing to say that…and neuropsychologists get very excited about this, is that you've improved on these neuropsychological measures and isn't that wonderful, and notoriously it has been done on drugs and dementia. And actually when you ask people whether it changes their daily life, it's barely noticeable. How many of those studies actually looked at whether or not it was improving the quality of people's lives or the quality of their brain function that they noticed a difference rather than on fancy neuropsychological tests?
Megan Spencer-Smith: That's a really good question and it's something that we wanted to address in the meta-analysis. So we focused on studies that were reporting on benefits in daily life. So either the individual himself or a teacher or a parent describes that individual's behaviour by rating their behaviour.
Norman Swan: So are they sticking to task, are they achieving tasks, are they remembering things better et cetera?
Megan Spencer-Smith: That's correct.
Norman Swan: So what did you find?
Megan Spencer-Smith: So we found that when we compared these 11 studies with an intervention and control group and pulled the data together and did the meta-analysis, this main analysis showed that the treatment effect was significant and also moderate. So the effect size was 0.47.
Norman Swan: What does that mean?
Megan Spencer-Smith: That's an effect size described often as moderate or moderate to large. For example, when we look at the effects of pharmacological treatments that are trying to address behaviour problems such as antidepressants, the effect sizes there are generally around 0.3. So an effect size of 0.47 is impressive, and the initial evidence is encouraging.
Norman Swan: What are the elements of a training system that people should be looking for if they are thinking of taking up one of these working training programs?
Megan Spencer-Smith: The programs that are often discussed in the literature as having benefits for daily life, these programs have an adaptive approach, constantly pushing the individual to their capacity based on their own performance on a trial by trial basis.
Norman Swan: What should you look for in the tasks themselves? What are the elements of the tasks that are likely to track you to practical improvement?
Megan Spencer-Smith: At the moment that is being studied. So whether, for example, training on verbal working memory tasks or visual spatial working memory tasks are most beneficial, that isn't quite clear at the moment. Some other aspects of a program that seem to be important are factors such as motivation. So this is important for making sure that the individuals are completing the program, we are asking them to do demanding tasks for quite a long time.
Norman Swan: And what does a long time actually mean?
Megan Spencer-Smith: The training programs can range in length. The program that we focused on has a program that is five weeks long, and the individuals are asked to train every day, five days a week over those five weeks.
Norman Swan: So if a program offers you a quick fix, run for the hills.
Megan Spencer-Smith: You might want to ask some questions, yes.
Norman Swan: And is it different for kids and for adults?
Megan Spencer-Smith: The difference between those programs is minimal 19 and it's just the interface 20. So this idea of trying to engage a child to keep motivated for five weeks, whereas adults perhaps they wouldn't be motivated by the same format 9 as a child.
Norman Swan: It's assumed that these things have no harms, but that's not necessarily a fair assumption. Did any of the studies measure harm?
Megan Spencer-Smith: Harm is something that hasn't been discussed so much in the literature. There is discussion about whether asking an individual to train for that amount of time without benefits, that is something that's concerning and that's why it's important that we do these trials to make sure that if we are asking someone to do such a large commitment and pay money, that there are real benefits.
Norman Swan: Megan Spencer-Smith, thanks for joining us on the Health Report.
Megan Spencer-Smith: Thank you Norman.
Norman Swan: Dr Megan Spencer-Smith is in the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University . . .

1 psychiatry
n.精神病学,精神病疗法
  • The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
  • A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。
2 ram
(random access memory)随机存取存储器
  • 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存,640K内存则更佳。
3 overlap
v.重叠,与…交叠;n.重叠
  • The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
  • Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。
4 deficit
n.亏空,亏损;赤字,逆差
  • The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
  • We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。
5 disorder
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调
  • When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后,他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
  • It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。
6 diagnosis
n.诊断,诊断结果,调查分析,判断
  • His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
  • The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。
7 deficits
n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 );赤字;亏空;亏损
  • The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句
8 spatial
adj.空间的,占据空间的
  • This part of brain judges the spatial relationship between objects.大脑的这部分判断物体间的空间关系。
  • They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
9 format
n.设计,版式;[计算机]格式,DOS命令:格式化(磁盘),用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据;v.使格式化,设计,安排
  • Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
  • The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。
10 cognitive
adj.认知的,认识的,有感知的
  • As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大,他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
  • The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。
11 retrieving
n.检索(过程),取还v.取回( retrieve的现在分词 );恢复;寻回;检索(储存的信息)
  • Ignoring all, he searches the ground carefully for any cigarette-end worth retrieving. 没管打锣的说了什么,他留神的在地上找,看有没有值得拾起来的烟头儿。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
  • Retrieving the nodules from these great depths is no easy task. 从这样的海底深渊中取回结核可不是容易的事情。 来自辞典例句
12 leakage
n.漏,泄漏;泄漏物;漏出量
  • Large areas of land have been contaminated by the leakage from the nuclear reactor.大片地区都被核反应堆的泄漏物污染了。
  • The continuing leakage is the result of the long crack in the pipe.这根管子上的那一条裂缝致使渗漏不断。
13 consultant
n.顾问;会诊医师,专科医生
  • He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
  • Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来,加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。
14 physically
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
15 placebo
n.安慰剂;宽慰话
  • The placebo has been found to work with a lot of different cases.人们已发现安慰剂能在很多不同的病例中发挥作用。
  • The placebo effect refers to all the observable behaviors caused by placebo.安慰剂效应是指由安慰剂所引起的可观察的行为。
16 systematic
adj.有系统的,有计划的,有方法的
  • The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
  • The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。
17 systematically
adv.有系统地
  • This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
  • The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。
18 intervention
n.介入,干涉,干预
  • The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
  • Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。
19 minimal
adj.尽可能少的,最小的
  • They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
  • I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家,所以我的花费很小。
20 interface
n.接合部位,分界面;v.(使)互相联系
  • My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
  • This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了,适用范围广。
学英语单词
Adrenocorticosteroids
alternaria nelumbii (ellis et everhart)enlows et rand
anthysteric
Astroturfed
Ban Sangphok
Beer Lambert law
bent-kneest
berth declinity
Beta-Chlor
bisecting compass
blastochore
Boehmenism
bubbly-jock
burst on the wing
busard
by-pass(flow)
Chuzik
closerest
complementarians
cross-laying angle
data transmission testing set
define tape file command
definite time delay operation
devona
directors' interests
double thickiness
down-cut shears
dredging anchor
enneaploid
Enterprise contract management responsibility system
equiangular involution
exponential law of attenuation
fan runner
firing rule
flake powder
focusing lamp
gene silencing
Goryeo
group incentive system
Hemimonstrosity
Higgs-like
Holophane
home-from-home
hyperthyroid cardiopathy
inflammable film
jhaveri
Kolbingen
kopstein
Koulamoutou
Kubalakh
labour party
lamina profunda (fasci? temporalis)
loimographia
luborsky
lymphadenosis bernigna cutis
magnetisms
main instruction buffer
Martinmas summer
medis
meteorological record
modulation jamming
monoderm
multi-beacon
muota
myomonitor
Odelouca
opticomalacia
outrowing
parallel distributed processing model (pdp model)
payable at a definite time
peg method
perfect negative relation
photoelectric width meter
power cut-over relay
PR (progress report)
Primitive security
puzzledly
quantimeters
rack space
ranalian complexes
remainderings
rescowe
retroversion
Rhododendron lindleyi
Salam
selfdiffusion
shear-strength
ship hydrodynamics
single-beam spectrometer
social work statistics
special preferences
starch sulphate
str8
sweet corns
switching locomotive
tinea interdigitalis
tps (total productive system)
two-phase clock
two-year ice
vitelline sacs
Wiarton
within the age bracket of