研究表明溫和電擊可提升智力

A zap of electricity to the brain could help stroke patients walk, talk or simply dress themselves without help, Oxford University research suggests.
　　一份牛津大學的研究猜測：“對大腦的一絲快速的電擊，可以幫助中風患者走路、說話、或是在沒有幫助下穿好簡單的衣物。”

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.

腦科學家們說，僅在5年內，將研發出一種可以在家裏帶着的“思考帽”，它也可以用來喚醒由於中風而損壞的腦白質，可以讓健康的人們變得更聰明，還能幫助培養更優秀的運動員。從英國科學界上獲悉，這甚至能幫到學鋼琴的孩子們。

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.

一百萬個英國人中，就有四分之一的人患中風，忍受着由此引起的肌肉無力、癱瘓，喪失協調能力。現在對中風的治療僅侷限於物理療法，所以即使治療技術的一點點改進，也能讓他們的生活產生很大改觀。

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·約翰森·伯格教授教授研究了顱直流電刺激（TDCS）能否讓一部分大腦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名健康志願者帶上接通電源的器具。一個電極放在左耳上，那是大腦控制運動的部分，另一電極則被放在右眼上。隨後，一絲麻刺電流通過大腦，接着，志願者們玩了一款涉及學習一連串的按鍵的電腦遊戲，這與學習彈鋼琴曲很相像。當電流從左通至右，他們學習的更快。

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.

約翰森·伯格教授說，5到10年內即可得到這項技術的家庭裝置。對中風的新療法來說，這絕對必要。

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績的家長，或想讓運動員獲得額外動力的教練也很可能搶購這些裝置。這導致了一個問題：對那些刻苦練習的人來說，很不公平。

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

然而，也有很多人關心TDCS的技術可能被濫用，損傷人的智力。