新奇事件簿 唱歌帮助中风患者（在线收听）

Scientists in the USA have found that singing helps stroke victims with their speech difficulties. Doctors at two different medical schools said they had great success with getting patients to sing words instead of speak them. The treatment is called Music Intonation Therapy (MIT). One of the researchers, Gottfried Schlaug, gave an example of a success story. He showed a video of someone who had a stroke who could not speak the words of a birthday song. The person could only repeat the letters N and O. When Dr Schlaug asked him to sing the song, the words "happy birthday to you" came out. Schlaug said: "This patient has meaningless utterances when we ask him to say the words but as soon as we asked him to sing, he was able to speak the words."

美国科学家发现，唱歌可以帮助中风患者应对语言障碍。来自两所不同的医学院的医生表示，他们通过让病人唱出歌词而不是说出词语取得了很大的成功。这种治疗方法叫做音乐发音治疗（MIT）。其中一位研究人员Gottfried Schlaug举例讲述了一个成功的故事。他展示了一段视频，一位病人患有中风，说不出生日歌的歌词，只能重复N和O这些字母。当Schlaug医生要求他唱这首歌时，他就唱出了“祝你生日快乐”这一句。Schlaug说：“当我们要求他说歌词的时候，他说的都是毫无意义的话。但是我们让他唱的时候，他就能把歌词唱出来。”

The research team is still unclear why MIT works. Dr Schlaug has one theory. He points out that the brain processes music in a different part from that which deals with speech but that there are areas of overlap. "Music-making is a multisensory experience that simultaneously activates several systems in the brain and links and loops them together. It engages many regions of the brain," he said. MIT treatment is a very long process. It can last for up to 16 years and requires hourly sessions five days a week. The good news is the benefits of the therapy are usually permanent. Two thirds of patients who tried MIT with Dr Schlaug reported they could say more words. MIT could potentially help up to 70,000 stroke victims in the USA alone.

研究团队仍然不清楚为何音乐发音疗法能够奏效。Schlaug有一个理论。他指出，大脑处理音乐和处理语言使用的是不同的区域，但是也有重叠的部分。“制作音乐是一个多种感官同时使用的体验，同时激活大脑中几个系统，将他们联结起来，涉及大脑许多区域。”MIT疗法是非常漫长的过程。该过程可能会持续16年的时间，要求每天都进行一小时训练，每周五天。好消息是，治疗的效果通常是永久性的。在Schlaug医生那里接受了MIT治疗的三分之二的病人报告称他们能够说出更多词语。仅在美国，MIT或许就可以帮助7万名中风患者。