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本帖最后由 小山林卡 于 2018-10-24 15:24 编辑
Thebrain has more than one multitasking mode Betterdrivers switch between split- and whole-brain tasks more easily. CATHLEEN O'GRADY - 12/2/2016, 6:10 PM 凯瑟琳 奥格莱迪 2016年2月12日 下午6:10 file:///C:/Users/Joyce/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.jpg Ascreenshot from Racer, the driving simulation software used for the task. 来自Racer（赛车手）的操作截图，这是用于本次实验的一款模拟驾驶软件。
Despite how much noise pop psychology makes about beingleft-brained or right-brained, the brain is really a very cohesive unit. The right and left hemispheres have some differences, but theycommunicate with each other via dedicated neural connections that bridge thetwo halves of the brain. 无论现代流行的心理学对左脑或者右脑有多少理论，大脑仍然是一个密不可分的整体。尽管左右脑的确会有一些差别，但它们会通过两脑之间特有的神经连结来相互交流。
Some people, though, have the two halves of their brains separatedas a treatment for severe epilepsy. What’s remarkable is that this has fewereffects than you might imagine. Although there certainly are differences in howa split brain behaves, people who have this surgery tend to behave largely aswe'd expect anyone else to, and they're actually better at certain kinds ofdual tasks. 不过有些人，因为要治疗重度癫痫，他们的左右半脑会因此被独立，以作为一种治疗方法。值得一提的是，这样做带来的影响远小于你的想象。尽管独立后的左右大脑在运作上的确会有不同，但经历过这项手术的病人，行为举止如我们所期待，和寻常大众几乎无异；甚至实际上，他们可能更加擅长某些类型的双任务处理。
These split-brained individuals are interesting because they canhelp us understand how the brain processes information and how it integrates orseparates tasks that are running concurrently. For instance, we know that thetwo hemispheres in a split brain have to process tasks separately from eachother (the connection between them is gone, remember), with each hemisphereunaware of what the other one is up to. 研究这些左右大脑分离的人是十分有趣的，因为他们可以帮助我们了解大脑是怎样处理信息的，以及在同时工作时，它们是怎样整合分配任务的。比如说，被分离的两个脑半球只能各自分开处理工作（要记得在这里他们之间的连结已经没有了），并且两个半球都不知道彼此的进程。
A group of neuroscientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madisonsuspected that healthy brains might sometimes process tasks separately whenthey multitask. Although the brain wouldn't literally split, the researchersthought they might be able to detect two separate networks operatingindependently of each other. 威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的一组神经学家提出了这样的假设：一个健康的大脑在进行多任务处理时，有时候可能左右半脑会分开工作。研究者们认为，尽管大脑没有真正意义上的分开，但它们或许会建立两套独立运作的神经网络系统。
To test this, the researchers devised a functional magneticresonance imaging (fMRI) experiment that involved multitasking. They choselistening and driving as the tasks, partly because they’re everyday activities,which means there's less of a chance of just finding an artificial effect in aweird lab task. Another reason for the choice is that we already have anunderstanding of the networks we use for the auditory and linguisticprocessing, as well as the networks that are used for the visual and motor processesof driving. 为了验证这个想法，研究者们设计了一个运用功能性磁共振成像的实验，其中就包括研究大脑如何参与多任务工作。他们选择测试听觉和车辆驾驶，一方面是因为这些属于日常活动，因实验任务奇怪而出现人为干扰结果的可能性更低。另一个原因便是，我们已经对听力和语言处理的神经网络以及驾驶中所使用的视觉和运动的神经网络有了一定的了解
What the researchers wanted to see was whether they could findevidence of the two networks for listening and driving working together attimes and separately at other times, depending on the task. 研究者们想要知道的是，是否有证据可以证明有两套神经系统控制听觉和驾驶车辆，并且会根据情况的不同，在某些时候共同协作，而在其他时候各自运行。
The driving simulation that the researchers used was prettysimple: all the subjects had to do was drive on a two-lane road with nojunctions or other vehicles. The complication came in with the additional tasksthey had to perform. In the “integrated” task, the drivers had to listen toGPS-like instructions while they were driving, telling them when to changelanes. That’s multitasking, but the two separate tasks have a single aim, which is to navigate the simulationcorrectly. In the “split” task, theychanged lanes at designated objects (like road signs) and listened to theradio, which obviously had nothing to do with the main task of driving. 研究者们设计的模拟驾驶实验十分简单：参与者们要做的只是在一个没有岔口也没有其他车辆的双车道上行驶。比较复杂的部分是他们需要完成额外的任务。在“整合”任务环节，测试者需要在开车时听从类似于GPS导航的指挥，告诉他们什么时候需要变换车道。这就是多任务处理，但这两项独立的任务都只有一个目的，就是为了正确地导向这场模拟实验。在“分离”的任务环节，他们根据一些指定的物品（例如路标）来变换车道，同时收听无线电台广播，但广播很明显和驾驶这个主任务并没有很大关联。
There are some obvious potential pitfalls here. For instance, GPSvoices and radio often sound pretty different. To get around this, theresearchers used the same voice to read out both instructions for the GPS taskand articles for the radio. They also asked participants about how difficultthe tasks were and how drowsy they felt, ultimately testing their drivingperformance and listening comprehension. All of the checks suggested that thetasks were essentially the same in these respects. 在这些过程中，存在一些明显的小问题。比如说，GPS导航的声音往往和电台的十分不同。为了避免这个问题，研究者采用同样的声音来朗读GPS任务中的指导内容和电台的文章。他们也问了参与者们任务的难度系数以及疲倦程度，最终合起来来检测他们的驾驶表现以及对听到内容的理解程度。所有的确认项都表明，在考虑到以上情况之后，所有任务在本质上仍然是相同的。
When the drivers were doing the integrated task, the activation intheir brains showed an integrated network: their brains were processing bothchallenges as a single task. But when they were doing the split task, the scansshowed less connectivity between the two activity networks. “A brain may functionallysplit into two separate 'driving' and 'listening' systems when the listeningtask is unrelated to concurrent driving,” the authors write. 当驾驶者们在做“整合”环节的时候，他们的大脑活动展现了一个完整的网络系统：他们的大脑都把两项任务当作独立任务来处理。但当他们在进行“分离”任务环节的时候，扫描结果显示两个半脑活动网络之间的联系变少了。“当听力任务与同时进行的驾驶任务无关时，大脑可能会在功能上分出两个独立的神经网络系统分别给听力和驾驶。”作者这样写道。
The ability to manage these differentnetworks was also related to driving performance, which the researchers definedas driving in a straighter line with less weaving away from the centerline. If drivers could switch easily between high and low informationintegration, they were better drivers in both the integrated and the splittasks. 处理这些不同网络的能力和驾驶行为也有着一定的联系，这是研究者们通过观察车辆沿道路中心线行驶时是否有较少的偏离摆动来判断的。如果驾驶者可以在高低不同强度的信息整合处理之间轻松切换的话，他们在两项任务环节中的表现都会更好。
As with many fMRI studies, the sample size in the experiment wassmall: only 13 male participants. This creates the risk of finding an exciting effect just because therearen’t enough people to even out individualdifferences. If a different 13 people were used, the same effect might notappear. “I’d definitely like to see it replicated in a larger sample size thatincludes participants not limited to male adults,” says Gagan Wig, who studiesthe organization of brain networks and wasn’t involved with this research. “Butthis is at least evidence that there are some innovative ways of pursuing theseideas.” 和很多功能性磁共振成像的研究一样，这次实验中的样本数量很小，只有13位男性参与者。这就会有风险，因为出现令人振奋的研究结果可能只是因为没有足够的测试者来平衡个体差异。如果采用另外13个不同的参与者，可能实验就不会出现同样的结果。“我非常想用更多人重复这个实验，而且测试者不仅限于男性，”高甘·威格这样说道，他的研究领域是大脑网络结构，而且未参与这次的实验，“但至少这一次证明了可以有其他创新的方式去探索道路。”
The interesting thing about this research, says Wig, is that itshows just how flexible and dynamic the brain is. It’s capable of runningconcurrent, split networks, but it can also integrate those networks when itneeds to. This kind of flexibility has been suspected, he says, but thisresearch has found new ways to detect the integration and separation. 威格认为，这次实验有趣的地方在于它展现出了大脑的灵活性与动态转换能力。大脑不仅能同时工作，分离不同的活动网络，还能应需整合不同网络。他还说道，大脑的这种灵活性一直被人怀疑，但这个研究找出了探测整合性和独立性的新方法。
This research leads to further questions. The brain has lots ofprocessing capabilities beyond the ones tested here, and we don’t know whichother systems can integrate with one another and which systems can’t. There'salso a deeper level to investigate: what sub-networks control the brain's switchesbetween network integration and separation? This is an interesting proof of concept, but there's always morework to be done. 这场实验也带来了新的问题。大脑的处理能力远超过被测试的部分，我们也还不知道哪些系统可以彼此整合而哪些不可以。除此之外，还有一些更深层的问题需要去探索：哪些次神经网络能控制大脑整合分离状态的切换？这个实验为一些猜想带来了一些有益的探寻与证明，但前路仍然漫长。
PNAS, 2016. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1613200113 (About DOIs).
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发表于 2018-10-24 14:21:01
