What if I told you there was something thatyou can do right now that would have an immediate,positive benefit for yourbrain including your mood and your focus?And what if I told you that samething could actually last a long time and protect your brain from differentconditions like depression,Alzheimer's disease or dementia.Would you do it?Yes!
如果我告诉各位，有件你们现在就可以做的事，对你的大脑会立即产生正面的好处，包括你的心情和专注都会受惠，你会如何呢?如果我告诉各位，这事能持续很久的时间，并保护你的大脑免于不同的病症，比如忧郁、阿兹海默症，或失智症的侵扰，你会如何?你们愿意做这件事吗?愿意!
活动身体的强大效应
I am talking about the powerful effects ofphysical activity.Simply moving your body,has immediate,long-lasting andprotective benefits for your brain.And that can last for the rest of yourlife.So what I want to do today is tell you a story about how I used my deepunderstanding of neuroscience,as a professor of neuroscience,to essentiallydo an experiment on myself in which I discovered the science underlying whyexercise is the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today.
我谈的是活动身体的强大效应。只要很单纯地去动你的身体，就能对你的大脑产生立即、持久，且有保护作用的益处，且持续一生。所以，今天我要跟各位说个故事，这故事有关身为神经科学教授的我，如何用我对于神经科学的深入了解，在我自己身上实验，从实验中找到科学理由来说明，为什么在现今你能做的所有事情当中，运动最能改变你的大脑。
Now,as a neuroscientist,I know that our brains,that is the thing in our headright now,that is the most complex structure known to humankind.But it's onething to talk about the brain,and it's another to see it.
身为神经科学家，我知道我们的大脑，也就是在我们头里面的那个东西，是人类所知最复杂的结构。但，谈论大脑是一回事，看大脑又是另一回事了。
So here is a real preserved human brain.And it's going to illustrate two key areas that we are going to talk abouttoday.The first is the prefrontal cortex,right behind your forehead,criticalfor things like decision-making,focus,attention and your personality.Thesecond key area is located in the temporal lobe,shown right here.You have two temporal lobes in your brain,the right and the left,and deep in the temporallobe is a key structure critical for your ability to form and retain newlong-term memories for facts and events.
这是一个真正保存起来的人类大脑。它将会说明我们今天要谈到的两个关键区域。第一个是「前额叶皮质」，就在你的额头后面，对决策、专注、注意力，以及你的人格来说很重要。第二个关键区域位在「颞叶」，就在图上的这里。你的大脑中有两个颞叶，一右一左，颞叶的深处是个关键的结构，重要功能是让你能够针对事实和事件来形成并维持新的长期记忆。
海马体
And that structure is called thehippocampus.So I've always been fascinated with the hippocampus.How could itbe that an event that lasts just a moment,say,your first kiss,or the momentyour first child was born,can form a memory that has changed your brain,thatlasts an entire lifetime?That's what I want to understand.I wanted to startand record the activity of individual brain cells in the hippocampus assubjects were forming new memories.And essentially try and decode how thosebrief bursts of electrical activity,which is how neurons communicate with eachother,how those brief bursts either allowed us to form a new memory,or didnot.
那个结构就叫做「海马体」。我一直很迷海马体。怎么有可能，一个短暂的事件，比如，你的初吻，或是你的第一个孩子出生的那一刻，能够形成一个记忆，这记忆能改变你的大脑，且一生都不会忘记?那是我想要了解的。我想要记下受试者在形成记忆时，海马回中的每个脑细胞的活动。并真的试图破解那些短暂的突升电流活动，也就是神经元彼此沟通的方式，那些短暂的突升怎么让我们形成新记忆，或没形成记忆?
But a few years ago,I did something veryunusual in science.As a full professor of neural science,I decided tocompletely switch my research program.Because I encountered something that wasso amazing,with the potential to change so many lives that I had to study it.I discovered and I experienced the brain-changing effects of exercise.
但几年前，我做了一件在科学中被认为很不寻常的事。身为神经科学的正教授，我决定完全转换我的研究计划。因为我遇到了非常惊人的事，它有潜能可以改变许多人的生命，我得要去研究它。我发现且体验到运动有改变大脑的效应。
And I did it in a completely inadvertent way.I was actually at the height of all thememory work that I was doing--data was pouring in,I was becoming known in myfield for all of this memory work.And it should have been going great.It was,scientifically.But when I stuck my head out of my lab door,I noticedsomething.I had no social life.I spent too much time listening to those braincells in a dark room,by myself.
我完全是在无意间发现的。其实当时我正处于所进行的记忆研究工作的顶峰，资料不断地涌入，在我的领域中，我开始因为这项记忆研究而变得出名。本来应该很顺利。在科学上的确很顺利。但当我从实验室门探出头，我注意到了某件事。我没有社交生活。我花了太多时间，独自在黑暗的房间中倾听那些脑细胞。
I didn't move my body at all.I hadgained 25 pounds.And actually,it took me many years to realize it,I wasactually miserable.And I shouldn't be miserable.And I went on a river-raftingtrip--by myself,because I had no social life.And I came back--thinking,"Oh,my God,I was theweakest person on that trip."And I came back with a mission.I said,"I'm never going to feel like the weakest person on a river-rafting tripagain."And that's what made me go to the gym.
我完全没动我的身体。我的体重增加了二十五磅。而且，我花了很多年，才了解到我其实很悲惨。而我不应该如此悲惨。我参加一趟泛舟之旅──自己一个人，因为我没有社交生活。接着我回来了。心想：「我的天，我是那趟旅行中最弱的人。」回来后我就有了一个使命。我说：「我再也不要觉得自己是泛舟之旅中最弱的人了。」这就是我上健身房的动力来源。
And I focused my type-Apersonality on going to all the exercise classes at the gym.I triedeverything.I went to kickbox,dance,yoga,step class,and at first it wasreally hard.But what I noticed is that after every sweat-inducing workout thatI tried,I had this great mood boost and this great energy boost.And that'swhat kept me going back to the gym.Well,I started feeling stronger.I startedfeeling better,I even lost that 25 pounds.
我把我的A型人格专注在去参加健身房中所有的运动课程。我什么都尝试了，我去试了自由搏击、跳舞、瑜伽、阶梯课程，一开始真的很辛苦。但我注意到，在我每回尝试会让我满身大汗的运动之后，我的情绪和能量都会大大提升。这就是为什么我会一直持续回到健身房。我开始感觉比较强壮了。我开始感觉更好了，我甚至把那二十五磅给减掉了。
And now,fast-forward a year and a halfinto this regular exercise program and I noticed something that really made mesit up and take notice.I was sitting at my desk,writing a research grant,anda thought went through my mind that had never gone through my mind before.Andthat thought was,"Gee,grant-writing is going well today."
现在，从我开始做日常锻炼至今已有一年半多了，我注意到一件事，它让我吃惊并吸引了我的注意。我坐在桌前写研究补助申请书，脑中浮现一个想法，那是我以前从来没有想过的。那个想法就是：「天，今天的研究补助申请写得真顺利。」
And all the scientists--yeah,all the scientists always laugh whenI say that,because grant-writing never goes well.It is so hard;you're alwayspulling your hair out,trying to come up with that million-dollar-winning idea.But I realized that the grant-writing was going well,because I was able tofocus and maintain my attention for longer than I had before.And my long-termmemory--what I was studying in my own lab--seemed to be better in me.Andthat's when I put it together.
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