2007年VOA标准英语-Musical Training Found Important for Verbal Com

By Jessica Berman
Washington
25 September 2007

Scientists say musical training appears to improve verbal skills.  They explain that developing musical skills and learning to speak involve the same brain stem process, and that could help children with learning disabilities.  VOA's Jessica Berman reports.

Musical training involves putting together information from multiple sources, according to Nina Kraus, a neurobiologist at Northwestern University in Illinois.

She says it involves looking at the musical score, reading the lips of other musicians, hearing what's being played and touching¹ an instrument, things that enhance multi-sensory² processing.  

Kraus says the process of speaking is not that different.

"Both are structurally³ complex and they are functionally⁴ complex in that they engage the nervous system in ways that really make us think about what it is we are doing and focus on what it is that we are doing," she noted⁵.

In both instances, Kraus says speech and music are filtered through a structure of the nervous system called the brain stem that controls auditory response or hearing, which is essential for verbal communication.

Until recently, experts have thought that the brain stem could not be manipulated or changed.

But a study by Kraus and her colleagues reported in Proceedings⁶ in the National Academy of Sciences suggests that brain stem function can be enhanced significantly in humans through musical training.

In the study, participants with varying degrees of musical ability were asked to wear scalp electrodes that measured their multi-sensory brain responses while they listened to audio and watched a video of a cellist⁷ playing and a person speaking.

"The cello⁸ has sound tones, sound frequencies, that correspondent quite a bit acoustically⁹ with some of the sounds that are important with speech," he said.  "And, so, we thought that would be a good sound to work with."

Investigators¹⁰ found that the more years of training volunteers had, the more sensitive they were to the tones, pitch and rhythm of the sample music. 

"It seems the people who practiced most recently and were engaged in musical activity and listening to concerts for example… these were people in whom the enhancement of sensory and multi-sensory events was the strongest," she said.

For children with learning disabilities, Kraus says strengthening auditory perception through music could mean they hear sentences and perceive facial expressions accurately¹¹.

"My goodness we are just scratching the surface here.  There are so many studies to be done with different instruments," she noted.

Studies that could lead to greater gains in human perception through music.

1 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

2 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

3 structurally   

在结构上

参考例句：

• The house roof was (structurally) unsound. 这屋顶（结构）不牢固。
• Pinhole on shot-hole damage is never structurally significant. 针孔和蛀洞所造成的危害对结构的影响不大。

4 functionally   

adv.机能上地，官能地

参考例句：

• Objective To explore occlusion reconstruction by computer aided design (CAD) with functionally-generated pathway (FGP). 目的探索借助功能性？记录(functionally-generated pathway,FGP)技术进行口腔固定修复体计算机辅助设计(Computer aided Design,CAD)生理性建？的方法。 来自互联网
• In this respect, the proceeding was functionally similar to a comparative licensing adjudication. 在这一点上，手续在作用上即类似于比较许可证发放的裁断。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

7 cellist   

n.大提琴手

参考例句：

• The cellist's bowing was very sensitive . 那位大提琴手的弓法十分细腻。 来自辞典例句
• World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded The Silk Road Project in 1998. 世界闻名的大提琴家马友友于1998年创建了丝路工程。 来自互联网

8 cello   

n.大提琴

参考例句：

• The cello is a member of the violin family.大提琴是提琴家族的一员。
• She plays a melodious cello.她拉着一手悦耳的大提琴。

9 acoustically   

听觉上，声学上

参考例句：

• The hall is excellent acoustically. 这个大厅在传音方面极好。
• Moos Acoustically speaking, what happens before and after mating is most interesting. 默丝从象的叫声判断，交配前后发生的事情最有意思。

10 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。