In a report in the journal Current Biology, researchers claim that the brain interprets a tool, such as a hammer, as a temporary extention of your physical body.

    研究者們發表在《當代生物》（Current Biology）雜志上的一篇報道稱，大腦把工具（比如錘子）認為是我們身體的一個臨時延伸。

    Tools Are Body Parts To Brain

    If all you have is a hammer, they say that everything looks like a nail. But when you use that hammer, it looks like your arm-to your brain, anyway. A report in the June 23rd issue of the journal Current Biology shows that the brain interprets tools as just an extension of your physical self.

    To move our bodies around in space, the brain builds what's called a "body schema," a representation of all our various parts. And this so-called schema is frequently updated to keep up with our ever-changing bodies. Otherwise, you'd think you were still a bitty baby. Now scientists have taken this body-image overhaul a step further. They've shown that when we use a tool, even for a few minutes, the brain sees it as a temporary body part.

    Subjects were asked to pick up a block. They then used a long, mechanical grabber to pick up the same block. Then they tried to snag the block barehanded again. And it took longer than their initial grab. That's because they were briefly behaving like their arms were still augmented. So next time you feel like a total tool, you might just be hitting the nail on the head.

    大腦認為工具是身體的一部分

    如果你手頭僅僅只有錘子的話，那么每樣東西看起來都像是釘子。不過，對你的大腦來說，當你使用錘子的時候，錘子就像是你手臂的一部分。發表在6月23日的《當代生物》（Current Biology）雜志上的一篇報道表明，大腦認為工具是身體的一種延伸。

    在空間中移動我們身體的時候，大腦構建起一個"身體綱要",它是我們所有身體各部分的一種表現。這種所謂的"綱要"經常更新以便跟上我們隨時變換的身體。否則的話，你會認為你仍然是個協調能力欠缺的嬰兒。目前科學家們對這種身體-影像的認識又深入了一步。他們發現，當我們使用工具的時候，即便只使用幾分鐘的時間，我們的大腦認為工具是身體臨時的一部分。

    科學家們讓實驗參與者拿起一塊東西。然后這些參與者使用一個長的機械爪來拿起這塊同樣的東西。這之后，他們再嘗試徒手拿起這塊東西，這時候與他們第一次拿起這塊東西相比，他們需要花更多的時間。這是因為他們認為他們的手臂上仍然像是有機械爪存在一樣。因此，如果下一次你感覺你完全像是一個工具的話，也許你的感覺一點不錯呢！

    Vocabulary:

    Interpret: 解釋

    Hammer: 錘子

    Temporary:暫時的

    Extention: 擴展

    Nail: 釘子

    Representation: 表現；代表

    Schema:（計劃或理論的）提要。綱要

    Bitty: 零散的；支離破碎的

    Overhaul: 大修；改造

    Snag: （名詞）問題；（動詞）抓住；搶先獲得

    Barehanded: 徒手的

    Augment: 增大

    英語點滴：

    hit the nail on the head這個習語的意思是"一語中的；切中要害".