60秒科学:Brain Has "Moving" Parts

For every action, there’s a reaction. And for many movements we make, there’s an intention: we think about moving, and we move. Now a study published in the May 8th issue of the journal Science suggests that the experience of moving is all in your mind. Because the part of the brain that’s active when you intend to move is the same part that lets you feel like you did.

Two separate brain regions are involved in moving your body. One part provides the intention, and the other powers the actual movement. But researchers didn’t know which part let you know that you actually moved.

In the new study, scientists were working with patients undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor¹. Surgeons often electrically stimulate² the area around the tumor while the patient is awake and can provide feeback, so they can avoid damaging critical tissue. The scientists found that zapping one particular part of the brain made their patients feel like they wanted to move their arms, lips or tongue. And ramping³ up the stimulation⁴ to that spot made them feel like they’d done it. But when the team poked⁵ at the region that actually caused motion, the patients didn’t know they moved—a finding that’s oddly moving.

—Karen Hopkin

 

1 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

2 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

3 ramping   

土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• The children love ramping about in the garden. 孩子们喜欢在花园里追逐嬉戏，闹着玩。
• Have you ever seen a lion ramping around? 你看到过狮子暴跳吗？

4 stimulation   

n.刺激，激励，鼓舞

参考例句：

• The playgroup provides plenty of stimulation for the children.幼儿游戏组给孩子很多启发。
• You don't get any intellectual stimulation in this job.你不能从这份工作中获得任何智力启发。

5 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》