On the outside, they may look calm and focused, reading the music and making the precise and practiced movements required.

表面上他們看起來冷靜而且專注閱讀著樂譜並且精確熟練的演奏樂器

But inside their brains, there's a party going on.

但他們的大腦卻像是開派對般地繁忙

How do we know this?

我們是如何知道這件事?

Well, in the last few decades, neuroscientists have made enormous breakthroughs in understanding how our brains work by monitoring them in real time with instruments like FMRi and PET scanners.

在過去幾十年間神經科學家利用FMRI以及PET的大腦影像分析工具 來即時監控大腦 因而對大腦運作原理取得重要進展

When people are hooked up to these machines, tasks, such as reading or doing math problems, each have corresponding areas of the brain where activity can be observed.

當研究人員用FMRI以及PET儀器掃描受試者時發現像是進行閱讀或者算數等不同任務 在大腦中 都各自有相對應的處理區

But when researchers got the participants to listen to music, they saw fireworks.

但是當研究人員讓受試者聽音樂時他們發現了如同煙火般大規模活動

Multiple areas of their brains were lighting up at once, as they processed the sound, took it apart to understand elements, like melody and rhythm, and then put it all back together into unified musical experience.

受試者在處理聲音時，大腦中許多不同部位都同時在活動 以分別解讀旋律及節奏等不同元素 然後再把這些元素結合起來變成一場音樂饗宴

And our brains do all this work in the split second between when we first hear the music and when our foot starts to tap along.

當我們聽到音樂並且用腳跟著節奏打節拍的短短幾秒之內我們的大腦就已經處理完所有程序

But when scientists turn from observing the brains of music listeners to those of musicians, the little backyard fireworks became a jubilee.

但是當科學家從觀察聽眾的腦部換成觀察演奏者的大腦時 後院的小煙火變成了千禧年的慶祝大煙火

It turns out that while listening to music engages the brain in some pretty interesting activities, playing music is the brain's equivalent of a full-body workout.

事實上，當我們在聽音樂時大腦會進行一些相當有趣的活動 而彈奏音樂對大腦來說等同於全身運動

The neuroscientists saw multiple areas of the brain light up, simultaneously processing different information in intricate, interrelated, and astonishingly fast sequences.

神經科學家看到大腦不同區域活動以錯綜複雜的方式快速序列 同時處理著不同的資訊

But what is it about making music that sets the brain alight?

但究竟彈奏音樂是如何使大腦如此活躍?

Research is still fairly new, but neuroscientists have a pretty good idea.

雖然該研究剛萌芽，神經科學家的推論已成雛形

Playing a musical instrument engages practically every area of the brain at once, especially the visual, auditory, and motor cortices.

彈奏樂器幾乎會同時激發大腦中各個區域特別是視覺、聽覺以及動作皮質區

And as with any other workout, disciplined, structured practice in playing music strengthens those brain functions, allowing us to apply that strength to other activities.

就像是其他練習，有紀律、有結構性地練習演奏會強化腦部功能，進而加強我們 其他活動的表現

The most obvious difference between listening to music and playing it is that the latter requires fine motor skills, which are controlled in both hemispheres of the brain.

聆聽音樂以及演奏音樂之間，最顯而易見的不同是演奏音樂需要精巧的動作技能

必須左右腦並用才能達成

It also combines the linguistic and mathematical precision, in which the left hemisphere is more involved, with the novel and creative content that the right excels in.

這同時也結合對語言和數字的精確度這些多半由左腦涉略 以及新穎、有創意的內容，這部分由右腦處理

For these reasons, playing music has been found to increase the volume and activity in the brain's corpus callosum, the bridge between the two hemispheres, allowing messages to get across the brain faster and through more diverse routes.

因為這些原因，研究發現彈奏音樂會提升腦部胼胝體的體積以及活動量 胼胝體是左右腦的橋梁 使訊息可以快速交換並穿越不同路徑

This may allow musicians to solve problems more effectively and creatively, in both academic and social settings.

這能使音樂家在學術和社會環境中以更有效率且有創意的方式解決問題

Because making music also involves crafting and understanding its emotional content and message, its emotional content and message, musicians often have higher levels of executive function, a category of interlinked tasks that includes planning, strategizing, and attention to detail and requires simultaneous analysis of both cognitive and emotional aspects.

因為演奏音樂也包含塑造及了解情感的內涵和寓意 音樂家通常有較高的執行力 連結各種不同的作業 包含規劃、制定策略以及專注於細節 並且同時分析認知以及情緒的面向

This ability also has an impact on how our memory systems work.

這種能力同時也影響記憶系統的運作

And, indeed, musicians exhibit enhanced memory functions, creating, storing, and retrieving memories more quickly and efficiently.

確實，音樂家展現了較強的記憶功能在創造、儲存以及提取記憶上更快速也更有效率

Studies have found that musicians appear to use their highly connected brains to give each memory multiple tags, such as a conceptual tag, an emotional tag, an audio tag, and a contextual tag, like a good internet search engine.

研究發現，音樂家運用他們高度腦部連結功能給予每段記憶多重標記 像是概念標記、情感標記、聲音標記以及情境標記 就像是個好用的網路搜尋引擎

So, how do we know that all these benefits are unique to music, as opposed to, say, sports or painting?

所以，我們如何得知這些是音樂特有的益處?而不是運動或繪畫的益處呢?

Or could it be that people who go into music were already smarter to begin with?

或者是那些彈奏音樂的人在一開始就比較聰明?

Neuroscientists have explored these issues, but so far, they have found that the artistic and aesthetic aspects of learning to play a musical instrument are different from any other activity studied, including other arts.

神經科學家已經探討過這個議題，但目前為止發現學習彈奏樂器的藝術以及美感 是遠不同於任何其他的活動，包括其他的藝術

And several randomized studies of participants, who showed the same levels of cognitive function and neural processing at the start, found that those who were exposed to a period of music learning showed enhancement in multiple brain areas, compared to the others.

隨機挑選的受試者研究中受試者們一開始都具備相同程度的認知及神經處理能力 部分受試者，經歷一段時間的音樂訓練之後 相對於沒受音樂訓練的受試者，多處腦部區域的功能均有提升

This recent research about the mental benefits of playing music has advanced our understanding of mental function, revealing the inner rhythms and complex interplay that make up the amazing orchestra of our brain.

這個有關演奏音樂對大腦有益的近期研究提升我們對腦功能的理解 揭密由內在節奏及複雜互動 所組成的腦內精采管弦樂!