科学美国人60秒 科学家终于对口吃有了合理的解释

This is Scientific American’s 60-Second Science. I’m Karen Hopkin.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是凯伦·霍普金。

When you stop to think about it, it’s not all that easy to speak.

当你停下来思考时，就会发现说出话来并不那么容易。

First you have to think of something to say.

首先你得想好要说什么。

Then your brain has to tell your mouth to say it.

然后你的大脑会告诉你的嘴巴说出来。

Interruptions anywhere along this articulation¹ pathway can impair² the utterance³, and create something like a stutter.

在这条发音通路上的任何地方出现中断都可能阻碍说话，并造成口吃之类的症状。

Now, studying a neurocomputational model of this complex process, researchers have found that stuttering stems from a glitch⁴ in the neural⁵ circuit that initiates⁶ speech.

现在，研究人员过研究这一复杂过程的神经计算模型，发现口吃源于开始说话的神经回路中的一个小故障。

They presented their findings at the Meeting of the Acoustical⁷ Society of America.

他们在美国声学学会会议上展示了他们的发现。

“My main research interest is translating how the brain translates thoughts...”

“我的主要研究兴趣是解释大脑是如何将思想转变为...”

Frank Guenther of Boston University.

波士顿大学的弗兰克·冈瑟说。

“... into movements of the tongue and the other speech articulators that convey these thoughts to another person.”

“...舌头上的动作，解释那些把这些想法传达给另一个人的发音器。”

He says that stuttering is very common and it happens in all languages.

他表示，口吃很常见，在所有语言中都存在这种现象。

It’s estimated that about one percent of the world’s population stutters.

据估计，世界上大约有1%的人口吃。

Despite this, and despite being studied at least as far back as the ancient Romans, our understanding of what causes stuttering has been until recent years very poor.

尽管如此，尽管研究至少可以追溯到古罗马时期，但直到最近几年，我们对口吃的原因的理解还是很贫乏。

Numerous neural circuits come into play when it comes to generating speech.

在产生话语时，许多神经回路都发挥了作用。

But the key drivers can be broken down into two main circuits.

但关键的驱动因素可以分为两个主要电路。

One is an initiation⁸ circuit and the other is an articulation circuit.

一个是启动电路，另一个是发生电路。

To understand the function of these circuits it’s useful to consider something like the energizer⁹ bunny

为了理解这些电路的功能，可以考虑一些类似劲量兔的东西

which has an on/off switch as well as a set of motors and gears that make the bunny walk and play drums when the switch is turned on.

它有一个开启/关闭开关以及一组马达和齿轮，开关打开后，兔子就会走路和打鼓。

The on/off switch initiates the movement. And the motors and gears make it happen.

开启/关闭开关启动运动。马达和齿轮使这一运动发生。

But which of these circuits can lead to a stutter?

但这些电路中哪一种会导致口吃呢?

To find out, Guenther pieced together equations that represent how the neurons that form these circuits interact.

为了找到答案，冈瑟拼凑了一些方程，这些方程代表了构成这些电路的神经元是如何相互作用的。

These equations describe neural activity in different parts of the brain including the basal ganglia, cerebellum, and the cerebral¹⁰ cortex.

这些方程式描述了大脑不同部位的神经活动，包括基底神经节、小脑和大脑皮层。

One set of equations represents the electrical activity of the neurons in all of these regions.

一组方程代表了所有这些区域神经元的电路活动。

Another the strength of the connections they form with each other.

另一组方程是他们彼此之间连接的力量。

1 articulation   

n.（清楚的）发音；清晰度，咬合

参考例句：

• His articulation is poor.他发音不清楚。
• She spoke with a lazy articulation.她说话慢吞吞的。

2 impair   

v.损害，损伤；削弱，减少

参考例句：

• Loud noise can impair your hearing.巨大的噪音有损听觉。
• It can not impair the intellectual vigor of the young.这不能磨灭青年人思想活力。

3 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

4 glitch   

n.干扰；误操作，小故障

参考例句：

• There is a glitch in the computer program somewhere.这个计算机程序中的某个部分有点小问题。
• It could just be a random glitch that can be solved by restarting the machine.可能只是一个小故障，重新启动主机就能解决了。

5 neural   

adj.神经的，神经系统的

参考例句：

• The neural network can preferably solve the non- linear problem.利用神经网络建模可以较好地解决非线性问题。
• The information transmission in neural system depends on neurotransmitters.信息传递的神经途径有赖于神经递质。

6 initiates   

v.开始( initiate的第三人称单数 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• The booklet initiates us into the problems of living abroad. 这本小册子使我们对国外的生活情况有了初步了解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Everybody initiates and receives messages in some form or other. 每个人都以各种不同的方式发出并接收信息。 来自辞典例句

7 acoustical   

adj. 听觉的，声学的，音响学的

参考例句：

• This system can set up acoustical resonances. 这种系统能产生共鸣。
• The relevance of acoustical principles is by no means limited to sound and hearing. 声学原理并不仅仅适用于声音和听觉。

8 initiation   

n.开始

参考例句：

• her initiation into the world of marketing 她的初次涉足营销界
• It was my initiation into the world of high fashion. 这是我初次涉足高级时装界。

9 energizer   

n.抗抑制剂，情绪兴奋剂；增能器

参考例句：

• He thunk highly of QI of the spleen and stomach in middle energizer. 朱丹溪吸收了李东垣《脾胃论》的思想，临证用药重视中焦脾胃之气。 来自互联网

10 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。