英文原文
Professor, psychologist say doing puzzles ‘will only improve how you do the puzzles’. Executive vice president of Alzheimer’s Los Angeles says there is no evidence doing puzzles will ward off senility. By Steve Lopez – Los Angeles Times. March 14, 2023. LOS ANGELES — It’s a daily ritual for millions of people. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and eventually make your way to one or more crossword puzzles, word games and other brain twisters. The test of banked knowledge and problem-solving ability can boost your ego, or deflate it. But either way, you’re clearing out the cobwebs, right? It’s the “use it or lose it” theory in action, and as I get older, I’d like to believe these mental exercises can help keep my mind sharp and maybe even ward off memory loss, even if my wife usually beats me at all these games. But is there any science behind that, or is it wishful thinking? I am trying to solve that riddle, because since launching the Golden State column two months ago, I’ve heard from a lot of readers who — like me —put at least a bit of faith in the value of mental gymnastics. “In order to keep my brain functioning,” 73-year-old Jairo Angulo of West L.A. wrote, “I play Wordle, complete the Jumble, do the Sudoku, KenKen and crossword puzzles daily.” Jose Galvan, 77, said he thinks his daily routine of a crossword puzzle, Wordle and “one or more Sudoku grids” keeps him “mentally agile.” I’m not out to crush the spirits of Angulo, Galvan or anyone else who labors daily at the kitchen table, pencil or digital device in hand, but nailing Sudoku or reaching genius level in the Spelling Bee might not be as beneficial as you might think. “Doing puzzles, in and of itself, will only improve how you do the puzzles,” said Dr. Beau Ances, a Washington University professor who specializes in neurodegenerative disease. “I am not sure it improves long-term cognition.” Ances said he has patients who love the puzzles and he absolutely encourages them to keep at it; having a daily ritual you look forward to is beneficial in many ways. Galvan, for instance, told me it’s good for his self-esteem when he conquers a puzzle. One more benefit, Ances said, is that because some crosswords get harder as the week goes on, it’s useful for a doctor to know that you used to make it to the end of the week but now lose your way by Wednesday or Thursday. But don’t count on it to ward off senility. Debra Cherry, a clinical psychologist and executive vice president of Alzheimer’s Los Angeles, said there’s no strong evidence to support widespread faith in the value of word games and other brain enhancement products. In fact, her agency’s website offers a warning: “There is a lot of information available on the internet on the topic of keeping your brain healthy, but it is important to understand there is currently no proven way to absolutely prevent Alzheimer’s or another dementia. Beware of anyone promising to do that.” Not that there isn’t hope of breakthroughs, said Cherry, and she highly recommends intellectual stimulation as one component of healthy living. But when it comes to activities that might improve acuity, she said, “the strongest evidence is for aerobic exercise.” In fact, exercise, a heart-healthy diet, social engagement, good sleep habits and general physical health were cited by a half-dozen specialists I interviewed about keys to mental acuity. “Everybody wants to say, ‘Oh, if I do crossword puzzles, or oh, if I eat blueberries,’” said UC Irvine neuroscientist Dr. Claudia Kawas, who initiated a long-term study of Laguna Woods residents 90 and older. But “a healthy lifestyle involves physical and cognitive activities, period.” Dr. Scott Grafton, a UC Santa Barbara neuroscientist and author of “Physical Intelligence,” says humans did not evolve in order to sit around playing word games. Going back 75,000 years, he said, they had to solve tough physical and social challenges to survive. Because of where we came from, a brisk off-trail walk in the woods is better for us than a stroll through a park, Grafton said, and “the cognitive challenge in the former drives brain health in profound ways.” Dr. Lon Schneider, a Keck School of Medicine of USC professor who serves on the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, once told me that if I occasionally forget where I left my keys, there’s no cause for concern unless I find them in the refrigerator. When I asked him about cognitive maintenance, he sent me a Lancet report that identified 12 risk factors for dementia. The 12 are excessive alcohol consumption, head injury, exposure to air pollution, lack of education, hypertension, hearing impairment, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes and infrequent social contact. So avoiding those things, to the extent possible, might be more helpful than mastering Sudoku. But as we all know, medical science has a long history of changing its mind about what’s good or bad for us, and there is no more mysterious organ in the body than the brain. And although experts don’t completely understand it, the ones I spoke to said that learning new things — such as music and language — might be helpful. That’s why I was particularly interested in an email from Michael Suttle, a Dana Point resident who shared a success story. Back in 2010, when he was in his late 50s, Suttle, a software salesman, ocean swimmer and trumpet player, found himself forgetting phone numbers and appointments. It got so bad that he began writing down his daily schedule so he wouldn’t miss meetings. About four years later, he said, “I noticed a remarkable improvement in short-term memory and wondered why.” The improvement happened just as Suttle rededicated himself to music, practiced hard and won a seat in the newly formed Dana Point Symphony Orchestra. He also joined Symphony Irvine, and being a concert performer required him to learn difficult new music, including Beethoven’s Fifth and Ninth symphonies, and Mahler’s Third, Fourth and Fifth. “Plus, the art of executing these onstage in front of a packed house requires a ton of concentration,” said Suttle, who found that he no longer needed to write down his daily schedule. I’d selfishly like to think it was the music that turned things around for Suttle, because I’ve been putting in time on my guitar and learning Spanish. But without large studies over long stretches, it’s hard to reach strong conclusions about any of this. It might well be that for Suttle, having a specific goal and new social networks were as helpful to him as playing the music. Daniel Levitin, a musician and neuroscientist who poo-poohs the benefits of word games in his book “Successful Aging,” told me it’s a little easier to make a case for music. When I told him about Suttle, Levitin — who also wrote “This Is Your Brain on Music” — said it’s likely that decoding music he’d never played before was key, challenging his fingers to process complex signals from his brain. “There is some possibility that physical and mental tasks in tandem are beneficial,” Levitin said. “You cannot make a musical sound without moving something,” and this taxes the brain in ways that create “new layers of connectivity.” You won’t “stave off Alzheimer’s,” Levitin said, but you might “stave off the noticeable effects of it.” One more argument for the benefits of music comes from a small short-term memory study that tested adults between 60 and 80. Theodore Zanto, director of the UC San Francisco Neuroscape’s Neuroscience Division, told me that 20 participants played a word search game for 20 minutes each day on a tablet, and 20 more played a game that required them to remember and repeat a musical rhythm. Participants did a digital facial recognition test before and after, taxing their short-term memory skills. After the eight weeks of games, the word search group showed no improvement, but the music group showed a 4% improvement. “It’s not a whopping change,” said Zanto, but it suggests “maybe you can get a bit of an edge” through music. Or through other tasks that challenge the mind or muscle. “We push kids to learn things all the time, but we don’t push ourselves at the other end,” said Kawas. “I don’t think it’s about any particular activity, but the more the brain is challenged, probably the better it is.” So if you have a favorite puzzle, keep playing. But when you get pretty good, step up to the next challenge, and it’s never too late to learn an instrument or new language.
中文翻译
教授和心理学家表示，做谜题“只会提高你做谜题的能力”。阿尔茨海默病洛杉矶分会执行副总裁称，没有证据表明做谜题能预防衰老。作者：史蒂夫·洛佩兹 – 洛杉矶时报。2023年3月14日。洛杉矶——这是数百万人的日常仪式。你醒来，倒一杯咖啡，最终开始玩一个或多个填字游戏、文字游戏和其他脑筋急转弯。对储备知识和解决问题能力的测试可以提升你的自尊，或打击它。但无论如何，你都在清理蜘蛛网，对吧？这是“用进废退”理论在起作用，随着我年龄增长，我愿意相信这些脑力锻炼可以帮助保持思维敏锐，甚至可能预防记忆丧失，尽管我妻子通常在这些游戏中击败我。但这背后有科学依据吗，还是一厢情愿？我正在试图解开这个谜题，因为自从两个月前推出“金州”专栏以来，我收到了很多读者的来信，他们——像我一样——至少对脑力体操的价值抱有一点信心。“为了保持大脑功能，”西洛杉矶73岁的海罗·安古洛写道，“我每天玩Wordle，完成Jumble，做数独、KenKen和填字游戏。”77岁的何塞·加尔万说，他认为每天做填字游戏、Wordle和“一个或多个数独网格”让他“思维敏捷”。我并不是要打击安古洛、加尔万或任何其他每天在厨房桌旁辛勤劳作、手持铅笔或数字设备的人的精神，但精通数独或在拼字游戏中达到天才水平可能并不像你想象的那么有益。“做谜题本身只会提高你做谜题的能力，”华盛顿大学教授、专攻神经退行性疾病的博·安塞斯博士说。“我不确定它是否能改善长期认知。”安塞斯说，他有喜欢谜题的患者，他绝对鼓励他们坚持下去；拥有一个你期待的日常仪式在许多方面都是有益的。例如，加尔万告诉我，当他征服一个谜题时，这对他的自尊心有好处。安塞斯说，另一个好处是，因为一些填字游戏随着一周的进行而变得更难，医生知道您过去能坚持到周末，但现在在周三或周四就迷失方向，这是有用的。但不要指望它能预防衰老。临床心理学家、阿尔茨海默病洛杉矶分会执行副总裁黛布拉·切里说，没有强有力的证据支持对文字游戏和其他大脑增强产品价值的广泛信仰。事实上，她机构的网站提供了一个警告：“互联网上有很多关于保持大脑健康的信息，但重要的是要理解，目前没有经过验证的方法可以绝对预防阿尔茨海默病或其他痴呆症。警惕任何承诺做到这一点的人。”切里说，并不是没有突破的希望，她强烈推荐智力刺激作为健康生活的一个组成部分。但当谈到可能提高敏锐度的活动时，她说，“最强的证据是有氧运动。”事实上，运动、有益心脏健康的饮食、社交参与、良好的睡眠习惯和整体身体健康是我采访的六位专家提到的保持思维敏锐的关键。“每个人都想说，‘哦，如果我做填字游戏，或者哦，如果我吃蓝莓，’”加州大学欧文分校神经科学家克劳迪娅·卡瓦斯博士说，她启动了一项对90岁及以上拉古纳伍兹居民的长时期研究。但“健康的生活方式包括身体和认知活动，就这样。”加州大学圣巴巴拉分校神经科学家、《身体智力》作者斯科特·格拉夫顿博士说，人类进化不是为了坐着玩文字游戏。追溯到75,000年前，他说，他们必须解决艰难的身体和社会挑战才能生存。格拉夫顿说，由于我们的起源，在树林中快步走比在公园里散步对我们更好，“前者的认知挑战以深刻的方式促进大脑健康。”南加州大学凯克医学院教授、柳叶刀痴呆预防委员会成员朗·施耐德博士曾告诉我，如果我偶尔忘记把钥匙放在哪里，除非我在冰箱里找到它们，否则无需担心。当我问他关于认知维护时，他发给我一份柳叶刀报告，该报告确定了痴呆症的12个风险因素。这12个因素是过量饮酒、头部受伤、暴露于空气污染、缺乏教育、高血压、听力障碍、吸烟、肥胖、抑郁、缺乏身体活动、糖尿病和不频繁的社交接触。因此，尽可能避免这些事情可能比掌握数独更有帮助。但众所周知，医学科学长期以来一直在改变对我们有益或有害的看法，而大脑是身体中最神秘的器官。尽管专家们并不完全理解，但我交谈过的专家表示，学习新事物——如音乐和语言——可能是有帮助的。这就是为什么我对达纳角居民迈克尔·萨特尔的一封电子邮件特别感兴趣，他分享了一个成功故事。早在2010年，当萨特尔50多岁时，这位软件销售员、海洋游泳者和小号手发现自己忘记电话号码和约会。情况变得如此糟糕，以至于他开始写下每日日程，以免错过会议。大约四年后，他说，“我注意到短期记忆有了显著改善，并想知道原因。”这种改善发生在萨特尔重新致力于音乐、努力练习并赢得新成立的达纳角交响乐团席位的同时。他还加入了尔湾交响乐团，作为一名音乐会演奏者，他需要学习困难的新音乐，包括贝多芬的第五和第九交响曲，以及马勒的第三、第四和第五交响曲。“此外，在座无虚席的观众面前在舞台上执行这些需要大量的专注力，”萨特尔说，他发现他不再需要写下每日日程。我自私地认为，是音乐为萨特尔扭转了局面，因为我一直在花时间弹吉他并学习西班牙语。但如果没有长期的大规模研究，很难对此得出强有力的结论。很可能对萨特尔来说，拥有特定目标和新的社交网络与演奏音乐一样有帮助。音乐家和神经科学家丹尼尔·列维京在他的书《成功衰老》中贬低了文字游戏的好处，他告诉我，为音乐辩护要容易一些。当我告诉他关于萨特尔的事时，列维京——他还写了《音乐中的大脑》——说，解码他从未演奏过的音乐可能是关键，挑战他的手指处理来自大脑的复杂信号。“身体和心理任务结合可能是有益的，”列维京说。“你不能不移动某物就发出音乐声，”这以创造“新连接层”的方式给大脑带来负担。你不会“阻止阿尔茨海默病”，列维京说，但你可能“阻止其明显影响”。另一个支持音乐益处的论点来自一项小型短期记忆研究，该研究测试了60至80岁的成年人。加州大学旧金山分校Neuroscape神经科学部门主任西奥多·赞托告诉我，20名参与者每天在平板电脑上玩20分钟单词搜索游戏，另外20名玩一个需要他们记住并重复音乐节奏的游戏。参与者在前后进行了数字面部识别测试，考验他们的短期记忆技能。经过八周的游戏后，单词搜索组没有显示改善，但音乐组显示了4%的改善。“这不是一个巨大的变化，”赞托说，但这表明“也许你可以通过音乐获得一点优势。”或者通过其他挑战思维或肌肉的任务。“我们总是推动孩子学习东西，但我们没有在另一端推动自己，”卡瓦斯说。“我认为这不是关于任何特定活动，而是大脑受到的挑战越多，可能就越好。”所以，如果你有喜欢的谜题，继续玩。但当你变得相当擅长时，迎接下一个挑战，学习乐器或新语言永远不晚。
文章概要
本文探讨了谜题解决对认知锻炼的效用，基于关键词“Adult ego state in puzzle-solving for cognitive exercise”。文章指出，专家认为做谜题主要提升解谜技能，而非长期认知或预防痴呆。研究显示，综合健康生活方式如有氧运动、社交和饮食更重要。案例表明，学习新事物如音乐可能更有效。文章强调，认知锻炼需多样化挑战，避免单一活动依赖。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容：这篇文章说，很多人喜欢每天玩填字游戏或数独，以为这样能让大脑更聪明，防止变老变笨。但科学家发现，这些游戏其实只是让你更会玩这些游戏，不一定能让大脑长期变好。真正对大脑好的事情是运动、吃健康食物、和朋友玩、睡好觉，还有学新东西比如音乐或外语。所以，如果你喜欢玩谜题，可以继续玩，但也要试试其他挑战哦！
TA沟通分析心理学理论评价：从沟通分析心理学角度看，文章中的谜题解决行为体现了“成人自我状态”在认知锻炼中的应用。当个体进行谜题时，他们可能处于“成人自我状态”，理性分析问题、运用逻辑和知识，这有助于短期技能提升。然而，文章指出这种状态若过度依赖，可能忽略“父母自我状态”的照顾（如健康生活方式）和“儿童自我状态”的创造性探索（如学习音乐）。专家强调综合策略，这反映了沟通分析中自我状态的平衡理念，即健康认知需要“成人”的理性、“父母”的关怀和“儿童”的创新协同作用。
在实践上可以应用的领域和可以解决人们的十个问题：1. 职场压力管理：通过谜题解决作为“成人自我状态”的锻炼，帮助员工缓解压力，提升专注力。2. 老年认知维护：结合音乐学习等新挑战，激活“儿童自我状态”，延缓认知衰退。3. 教育方法优化：在学校中引入多样化认知活动，平衡“成人”和“儿童”自我状态，提高学习兴趣。4. 心理健康促进：鼓励社交互动，强化“父母自我状态”的关怀，减少孤独感。5. 康复治疗辅助：在神经康复中，使用谜题和音乐结合，刺激大脑连接恢复。6. 家庭关系改善：通过共同解谜或学习新技能，增强家庭成员间的“成人”沟通和“儿童”乐趣。7. 个人成长规划：设定学习目标如乐器，利用“成人自我状态”制定计划，实现自我提升。8. 社区活动设计：组织脑力游戏和运动结合的活动，促进社区成员的全方位健康。9. 预防保健宣传：基于沟通分析理论，推广综合生活方式，预防认知问题。10. 休闲娱乐选择：引导人们选择多样化休闲活动，避免单一谜题依赖，丰富生活体验。