评论
打印
For older adults, the ability to move is often a big deal. It can be a huge factor in keeping independent and staying safe.
对于老年人来说，活动能力往往是个大问题，这可能是保持独立和安全的一个重要因素。
But for millions of people with Parkinson's disease, movement becomes much harder.
但是对于数百万帕金森氏症患者来说，活动变得更加困难。
Parkinson's can cause tremors, muscle rigidity, and a harder time with balance.
帕金森氏症会导致震颤、肌肉僵硬、难以保持平衡。
And while there is medication for it, it's not perfect, so many patients supplement their meds with physical therapy or exercise.
虽然有药物治疗，但药物并不完善，所以很多病人除服用药物外，还辅助以物理疗法或锻炼。
Just like how scientists want to know how drugs help a disease, they also want to know which of these supplemental treatments work best.
就像科学家想知道药物是如何帮助治疗疾病一样，他们也希望知道这些辅助疗法中哪一种效果最好。
And out of this wave of research, one treatment has popped up as a unique match for Parkinson's patients dance therapy.
在这一波研究中，有种疗法已经成为帕金森病患者舞蹈疗法的一种独特搭配。
Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease, meaning it's a result of dying neurons.
帕金森氏症是一种神经退行性疾病，这意味着这种疾病是由神经元死亡所致。
And in this case, neurons are dying in the substantia nigra, near the middle of the brain.
在这种情况下，靠近大脑中部的黑质神经元正在死亡。
This region produces dopamine, and it uses it to communicate with other brain areas that help control motion.
该区域产生多巴胺，并利用它与其他大脑区域交流，帮助控制活动。
So, when cells in the substantia nigra die, there's less dopamine to go around, and this communication system is disrupted.
所以，黑质中的细胞死亡时，周围的多巴胺就会减少，该沟通系统就会中断。
As a result, someone develops those motor symptoms— along with some cognitive ones, like trouble focusing.
结果，有人会出现这些运动症状，同时还会出现一些认知症状，比如注意力不集中。
To help with this, doctors will usually prescribe medication that replaces the missing dopamine.
为了对此进行缓解，医生通常会开一些药物来替代缺失的多巴胺。
But while it can help, the brain can also stop responding to it after a while, so many patients still have a hard time walking or balancing.
但尽管这样有所帮助，但大脑也会在一段时间后停止对它做出反应。所以，许多患者仍然很难行走或保持平衡。
And that's where physical therapy and exercise come in.
这就是物理疗法和锻炼的作用所在。
In the last 20 years or so, a lot of research has gone into studying things like strength training, stretching, or even biking for people with Parkinson's.
在过去20几年里，很多研究都在研究帕金森病患者的力量训练、伸展运动，甚至骑自行车训练。
Each intervention is designed differently, but for the most part, these things work.
每种干预措施的设计都不同，但在大多数情况下，这些措施是有效的。
There's evidence that these routines can improve balance, reduce falls, and improve walking speed.
有证据表明，这些做法可以改善平衡，减少摔倒，并提高步行速度。
As for why? Well, recent studies have found that exercise might help the brain pump out more dopamine or use it more efficiently,
至于其原因？最近的研究发现，运动可以帮助大脑泵出更多的多巴胺，或者更有效地加以利用，
and it might also cause the brain to produce compounds that protect neurons from damage.
它还可能导致大脑产生保护神经元免受损害的化合物。
But of all the therapies out there, dance therapy is the one that really shines.
但是在目前所有的疗法中，舞蹈疗法才是真正令人眼前一亮的疗法。
Partly because it's fun, so people want to keep doing it, but also because dancing seems to do some cool things to our brains.
部分是因为它很有趣，所以人们想继续做下去，而且跳舞似乎对我们的大脑有好处。
Like other exercise interventions, there is no "one size fits all" model here.
与其他锻炼干预措施一样，这里没有“一刀切”的模式。
If you showed up to one of these group classes, you'd most likely perform a Tango. But there are others, from salsa dance to Irish set dancing, ballroom, and ballet.
如果你参与其中一个小组的课程，很可能要表演探戈。但还有其他课程，从萨尔萨舞到爱尔兰民族舞、交谊舞和芭蕾舞。
Some classes don't even have a style — they just focus on getting people to move regularly or express their emotions through movement.
有些课程甚至没有风格，只是专注于让人们有规律地运动或者通过运动来表达情绪。
In any case, the choice of dance is more than stylistic evidence suggests that certain styles might be helpful for different symptoms.
在任何情况下，舞蹈的选择表明某些风格可能对不同症状有所帮助。
For instance, a Tango features a lot of stop and go, and sharp changes in direction. So it may be appropriate for targeting the slower movement seen in Parkinson's.
例如，探戈的特点是有很多停下来走，方向有很大的变化。因此，它可能适用于帕金森氏症患者的缓慢运动。
Basically, by intentionally practicing Tango moves in a class,
基本上，通过课堂上有意识地练习探戈动作，
someone would get practice moving their body more quickly — benefits that would carry into everyday life.
患者可以更快地练习移动身体，这将有助于其日常生活。
Meanwhile, ballet involves more strength and flexibility,
同时，芭蕾舞需要更多的力量和柔韧性，
so it may be more useful in helping someone practice maintaining posture and improving coordination.
所以它在帮助患者练习保持姿势和提高协调性方面可能更有用。
Technically, you could practice these motions in silence, in a more traditional physical therapy setting.
从技术方面来看，你可以在更为传统的物理治疗环境中，安静地练习这些动作。
But the music makes things more interesting.
但是音乐让事情变得更有趣。
And what's maybe even cooler is that the rhythm of the music might actually provide a cue that helps a dancer's brain start movement.
更酷的是，音乐的节奏实际上可能提供了线索，有助于舞者的大脑开始活动。
Very few studies have used imaging techniques to look at brain activity during dancing, mostly because that's very hard to do.
很少有研究使用成像技术来观察跳舞时的大脑活动，主要是因为这很难做到。
The machines we use for that kind of thing are usually big and bulky!
我们用来做这种事情的机器通常又大又笨重！
But some studies on Parkinson's patients have found that walking to a beat led to bigger improvements in things like gait and step size than walking to silence.
但是对帕金森病患者的一些研究发现，在步态和步幅等方面，按节拍行走比在安静状态下行走能获得更大的改善。
Researchers have speculated that this may be because the auditory cortex,
研究人员推测，这可能是因为负责处理声音的听觉皮层，
which processes sound, provides some sort of unique signal to the parts of the brain in charge of motion.
向负责运动的大脑部位提供某种独特的信号。
At this point, it's hard to say exactly what that signal might look like.
在这一点上，很难说出该信号的样子，
Maybe it's a matter of what specific brain areas that signal goes to.
也许这是一个信号传到大脑的哪个特定区域的问题。
But the idea seems to be that music primes the brain to get going in a way silence cannot — which would give dance therapy benefits over regular exercise.
但是，这个想法似乎是音乐可以让大脑以在沉默中无法做到的方式运转，这使舞蹈疗法比常规练习更有益处。
One way or another, there is plenty of evidence that dance therapy improves physical symptoms,
不管怎样，有很多证据表明舞蹈疗法可以改善身体症状，
including balance and walking speed. So whatever's happening neurologically, it works.
包括平衡和步行速度。所以，不管在神经学上发生了什么，它都是有效的。
Also, one last thing worth noting is that this therapy shines when it comes to non-physical symptoms, too, like mental health.
另外，最后一点值得注意的是，这种疗法在涉及精神健康等非生理症状时也很有效。
Studies show that it can improve mood and quality of life in older adults with Parkinson's.
研究表明，它可以改善老年帕金森氏症患者的情绪和生活质量。
Which totally makes sense — dancing with a group of people is a good time!
这完全有道理，和一群人跳舞很愉快！
We've been doing it since we were people.
我们从小就开始这样做了。
And that's wonderful, because having Parkinson's is about more than just physical symptoms.
这太棒了，因为帕金森氏症不仅是身体症状。
Those are important to treat, but diseases like this can be hard to mentally cope with, too — so the fact that dance therapy seems to address both is a huge plus.
这些对于治疗都很重要，但类似的疾病在心理上也很难应对。因此，舞蹈疗法似乎可以同时解决两方面问题，这是一个巨大的优势。
Ultimately, there's a lot we don't know for sure about how dance affects the brain, but what we do know is encouraging.
归根结底，我们对于舞蹈如何影响大脑还有很多不确定的地方，但我们知道事情是令人鼓舞的。
And with a disease like Parkinson's, which doesn't have a permanent cure, that means a lot.
像帕金森氏症这样没有永久性疗法的疾病，其意义非凡。
Over time, we'll probably learn more about how moving to music changes the way our brains operate. But in the meantime, Tango classes will continue.
随着时间的推移，我们可能会更多地了解音乐如何改变大脑的运作方式。与此同时，探戈课还将继续。
If all this talk of dance has gotten you in the mood to boogie, you might want to check out Skillshare.
如果所有这些关于跳舞的话题让你想去跳舞，你可以看一下Skillshare。
Skillshare is an online learning community with a bunch of art-related courses — including some dance ones.
Skillshare是一个在线学习社区，有很多与艺术相关的课程，包括一些舞蹈课程。
There's actually a really cool class about how to make an animated character dance in Adobe After Effects, which looks like a great time.
实际上，有一个非常酷的课程，是关于如何让动画角色在Adobe After Effects中跳舞，感觉很有趣 。
If you want to check it out, you can access all of Skillshare's classes with a Premium Membership
如果你想去观看，可以用高级会员的身份访问Skillshare的所有课程。
— which, for an annual subscription, comes out to less than $10 a month.
如果你每年订阅，每月的费用不到十美元。
Also, if you just want to try it, you can get a two-month free trial if you're one of the first thousand people to click the link in the description.
另外，如果你只是想试一下，第一批点击描述中链接的人，可以获得两个月的免费试用。
When you do, you'll be supporting SciShow along the way — so, thanks! And if you find any cool classes, let us know.
你这么做，就是一直支持《科学秀》。所以，谢谢！如果你发现什么好课，要告诉我们。
