2006年VOA标准英语-Paralyzed Man Operates Computer, TV Just by Thi

By David McAlary
Washington
13 July 2006

We often hear that imagining something will not make it so. But scientists have now overturned that adage¹, making a science-fiction dream come true.  U.S. researchers have shown that a paralyzed patient can use thoughts to control some aspects of his or her environment.

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Matthew Nagle, 26, of Weymouth, Massachusetts, is paralyzed below the shoulders because he was stabbed in the neck during a fight. But his inability to move his limbs does not mean that he and others like him will forever be unable to perform some of the daily activities the rest of us do.

Brown University nerve scientist John Donoghue and colleagues give new hope to such patients in a paper in the journal Nature.

"The paper is about the technology that we've developed to help a paralyzed person communicate with the outside world again, to be able to use their thoughts to control devices," said Mr. Donoghue.

Such patients might never be able to levitate² a fork to feed themselves, but under Donoghue's supervision³, Nagle was able to do things just as exciting. With a tiny electronic sensor⁴ implanted in his brain, he was able to use a television, a robot arm, and even a computer.

"We have the patient imagine that he's tracking a cursor on a screen," he explained.  "The patient is able to just think about moving and the cursor will move pretty much in the motion that the hand would take, if you were to imagine, say, moving left or right."

Nagle opened e-mail, changed the volume on a television, opened and closed a prosthetic hand and performed basic actions with a multi-jointed robotic arm.

The implanted brain sensor making this possible had an array of electrodes that recorded nerve activity in an area typically involved in arm movement. This is the first demonstration⁵ that such brain activity persists in paralyzed people. The information recorded by the electrodes was decoded⁶ and processed by a computer, allowing nerve firing patterns to be translated into movement commands that drove the devices.

But John Donoghue told Nature magazine, the movements are not yet smooth.

"The motion of the cursor by thought is wobbly and unstable," he noted⁷.  "What that means is that, at least, we haven't found out how to exploit the brain's plasticity. So, we need to change the computer to make the control signal better. We're doing that, and actually having some good success."

A way to improve performance is described in a second Nature paper by Stanford University researchers. Nerve scientist Krishna Shenoy and colleagues implanted sensors⁸ in monkey brains that recorded nerve activity further ahead in the circuit involved in arm movement, not near the nerve cells controlling the movement itself, but those involved with the intention to move.

"These cells relate to how you wish to move your arm and through mathematical algorithms we're able to interpret those neurosignals to predict, which way one would wish to move their arm," he said.

This is how it sounds.

The scientists were able to predict the intended location of movements before the monkeys made them.

Both sets of researchers say the implants⁹ are better than previous experiments with electrodes attached outside the scalp. The internal electrodes record nerve signals for specific movements, whereas the scalp electrodes sense activity throughout the brain.

Krishna Shenoy's Stanford University colleague, spine¹⁰ specialist Stephen Ryu, says the research could help improve the quality of life for paralyzed people.

"But, in order to actually translate this to something, which will be helpful to people, we're going to have to take it to another level, where we can show that they're both safe, and that they're effective, and can replace function that's already been previously¹¹ lost," said Mr. Ryu.

A major issue is that the brain implants still require a lot of equipment. Ryu says that, to become practical, the devices will need to be much smaller and automated¹².

"I think it is only a matter of time before we really start to see some true promise from these things."

1 adage   

n.格言，古训

参考例句：

• But the old adage that men grow into office has not proved true in my experience.但是，根据我的经验，人们所谓的工作岗位造就人材这句古话并不正确。
• Her experience lends credence to the adage " We live and learn!"她的经验印证了一句格言: 活到老，学到老！

2 levitate   

v.升在空中

参考例句：

• I often dream that I can levitate.我经常梦想我能够飞起来在空中飘浮。
• The guru claimed that he could levitate.这位宗教领袖声称他能够浮在空中。

3 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

4 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

5 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

6 decoded   

v.译（码），解（码）( decode的过去式和过去分词 )；分析及译解电子信号

参考例句：

• The control unit decoded the 18 bits. 控制器对这18位字进行了译码。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Scientists have decoded the dog genome. 科学家已经译解了狗的基因组。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

9 implants   

n.（植入身体中的）移植物( implant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters. 激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Perhaps the most far-reaching project is an initiative called Living Implants From Engineering (LIFE). 也许最具深远意义的项目，是刚刚启动的建造活体移植工程 (LIFE)。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

10 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。