67 Get Smart Our Amazing Brain

CHAPTER 1 The Brain: Facts and Myths YOUR BRAIN MAKES YOU WHO YOU ARE, BUT WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT? In the past, people knew little about the human brain. The Greek philosopher Aristotle believed we thought with our hearts! Now, thanks to science, we know more. But what do you know about your brain? Read the sentences. Decide whether each one is a fact (true) or myth (not true). 1 People only use about 10 percent of the brain. 2 People use one hemisphere of the brain more than the other. 3 Once brain cells die, new ones cannot grow in their place. 4 The brain, like a computer, has a fixed and limited memory.

第一章大脑：事实与神话你的大脑决定了你是谁，但是你对它了解多少？ 在过去，人们对人类的大脑知之甚少。 希腊哲学家亚里士多德相信我们是用心思考的！现在，感谢科学，我们知道了更多。 但是你对你的大脑了解多少呢？ 读下面的句子。判断每一个是事实（真实）还是神话（不真实）。 人们只使用了大脑的10%。 人们使用大脑的一个半球比另一个半球多。 一旦脑细胞死亡，新的脑细胞就不能在原来的地方生长。 大脑，就像一台电脑，有固定的和有限的记忆。

5 The white matter in the brain doesn't do anything important. 6 The brain uses almost a quarter of all a person's energy. 7 Teenage brains aren't totally finished developing. 8 Men and women think differently. 9 The brain can repair itself after an accident. 10 The different lobes in the brain do different jobs. The Answers 1. Myth. We use different parts of the brain at different times and for different functions, so we really use a large amount of our brain. In fact, if neurons aren't used, they die. 2. Myth. Until recently, many scientists believed that people used one half of the brain more than the other. Now we know the brain uses both sides together. For example, while the left side processes language, the right side controls the way we speak.

大脑中的白质不做任何重要的事情。 大脑几乎消耗了人全部能量的四分之一。 青少年的大脑还没有完全发育完。 男人和女人的想法不同。 大脑在事故发生后可以自我修复。 大脑中不同的脑叶做不同的工作。 1.答案神话。我们在不同的时间和不同的功能使用大脑的不同部位，所以我们确实使用了大量的大脑。 事实上，如果神经元不被使用，它们就会死亡。 2. 神话。直到最近，许多科学家都认为人们使用大脑的一半比另一半多。 现在我们知道大脑同时使用两边。 例如，当左脑处理语言时，右脑控制我们说话的方式。

3. Myth. Many people think that as we get older, our brain cells die away, making us less intelligent. Fortunately, adults can grow new neurons by learning new things, doing exercise, and remembering things. 4. Myth. When we remember something, our brain is actually making new memory connections for the first time! 5. Myth. In the past, scientists thought that white matter didn't do anything important. Now they know that it is full of special cells, called glia, which help control the neural signals and also clean and repair neuron cells. 6. Fact. Our brain uses about 20 percent of all our energy and 25 percent of all the oxygen we breathe. 7. Fact. Studies show that teenagers don't use as much of the brain as adults. In particular, the frontal lobe, which controls social feelings and guilt, is less active. In other words, teenagers really are more selfish than adults! However, the brain becomes fully adult by about age 17.

3. 神话。许多人认为，随着年龄的增长，我们的脑细胞会死亡，使我们变得不那么聪明。 幸运的是，成年人可以通过学习新事物、锻炼和记忆来生长新的神经元。 4. 神话。当我们记东西的时候，我们的大脑实际上是第一次建立新的记忆联系！5. 神话。过去，科学家们认为白质没有任何重要作用。 现在他们知道，大脑中充满了一种叫做神经胶质的特殊细胞，这种细胞有助于控制神经信号，并清理和修复神经元细胞。 6. 的事实。我们的大脑消耗了我们20%的能量和25%的氧气。 7. 的事实。研究表明，青少年使用的大脑不如成年人多。 特别是，控制社会感觉和内疚的额叶变得不那么活跃。 换句话说，青少年真的比成年人更自私！然而，大脑在17岁左右就完全成熟了。

8. Myth. Although it is true that men's and women's brains have different amounts of white and gray matter, new studies show that there seems to be no difference between how well men and women think and solve problems. 9. Fact. The brain is actually very flexible. When a part of the brain is damaged, other parts of the brain often create new connections to do the job of the missing part. 10. Fact. With the frontal lobe we think, plan, and feel emotion. With the parietal lobe we taste things and feel touch, pressure, pain, or temperature. The occipital lobe lets us see the world. The temporal lobe lets us hear things, and it is also important for emotion and memory.

8. 神话。虽然男性和女性的大脑中白质和灰质的数量确实不同，但新的研究表明，男性和女性在思考和解决问题的能力上似乎没有区别。 9. 的事实。大脑实际上是非常灵活的。 当大脑的一部分受损时，大脑的其他部分通常会建立新的连接来完成缺失部分的工作。 10. 的事实。我们用额叶思考、计划和感受情感。 我们用顶叶来品尝东西，感受触摸、压力、疼痛或温度。 枕叶让我们看世界。 颞叶让我们听到声音，它对情感和记忆也很重要。

CHAPTER 2 The Brain and Personality HOW MUCH OF OUR PERSONALITY ARE WE BORN WITH? What type of personality do you have? Are you shy or outgoing, cheerful or sad? Many psychologists divide human personality into these five general personality types: Extrovert— how outgoing and social we are Neurotic— how angry, guilty, or worried we are Agreeable— how kind, friendly, and trusting we are Conscientious— how self-controlled, responsible, and organized we are Open— how interested in new things we are Psychologists see our personalities as a mix of different amounts of each type. They use personality tests— special lists of questions— to decide how much of each type a person has.

大脑与人格我们的人格有多少是与生俱来的？ 你是哪种性格的人？ 你是害羞还是外向，快乐还是悲伤？ 许多心理学家将人的性格分为以下五种一般的性格类型：外向——我们有多外向和社交——神经质——我们有多愤怒、内疚或担心——随和——我们有多善良、友好和信任——我们有多认真——自我控制、负责和有组织——我们有多开放——我们对新事物有多感兴趣——心理学家认为我们的性格是每种类型的不同数量的混合体。 他们使用性格测试——一种特殊的问题列表——来确定一个人每种类型有多少。

But how much of a person's personality is learned from other people, and how much are people born with? And are the five types connected to different parts of the brain? In the 1980s, studies were carried out on identical twins (born from the same egg) who had grown up with different families. Although the children often grew up in very different places with different people, scientists found that they usually had extremely similar personalities. These studies led the scientists to realize that our brain controls our behavior and personality much more than they had previously thought. Today, scientists have the technology to take a computer picture, or scan, that shows which areas of the brain are being used when people think, speak, and act. This means they can look for connections between the scans and the results of traditional personality tests. The results are both interesting and complicated. So what is the exact relationship between personality and the areas of the brain?

但是，一个人的性格有多少是从别人那里学来的，又有多少是天生的呢？ 这五种类型是否与大脑的不同部位相连？ 在20世纪80年代，对在不同家庭长大的同卵双胞胎（来自同一个卵子）进行了研究。 尽管这些孩子通常在不同的地方和不同的人一起长大，但科学家们发现，他们通常有着极其相似的性格。 这些研究让科学家们意识到，我们的大脑对我们的行为和个性的控制比他们之前认为的要大得多。 今天，科学家们有技术通过电脑拍照或扫描，显示出人们思考、说话和行动时大脑的哪些区域正在被使用。 这意味着他们可以寻找扫描结果和传统性格测试结果之间的联系。 结果既有趣又复杂。 那么性格和大脑区域之间的确切关系是什么呢？