词汇:

1. mental experiences 精神感受
2. discharge 释放
3. negligible 微小的,可以忽略不计的
4. manifold 多种多样的,多方面
5. neuron 神经元/细胞
6. neural (中枢)神经的(系统)
7. qualitative diversity 质的多样性,量变的
8. disprove 反驳,反证
9. homogeneous 相似的
10. sensory nerve 感觉神经
11. cortical 外皮的,皮质的
12. cerebral cortex 大脑皮层
13. locus 地点,区域
14. psychoneural 精神神经
15. heterogeneous 异源的,异种的,异体的
16. spatiotenporal 时空的

难句译注:

1. Such variations in size, shape, chemistry, conduction speed, excitation threshold, and the like ashad been demonstrated in nerve cells remained negligible in significance for any possible correlationwith the manifold dimensions of mental experience.
[结构分析] 句型为such…as 可as 具有关系代词作用,此处作从句中had been demonstrated 的主语。
[参考译文] 神经细胞中所显示的诸如在尺寸,形状,化学,神经脉冲中传导速度,激发界限等方面的那种变化差异对多方面的精神感受可能有联系来说仍然意义不大。

2. It was possible to demonstrate by other methods refined structural differences among neurontypes; however, proof was lacking that the quality of the impulse or its conduction was influencedby these differences, which seemed instead to influence the developmental patterning of the neuralcircuits.
[参考译文] 有可能用其他办法来显示神经类型之间细微的结构差异。可是,缺乏证据证实脉冲的或者其脉冲传导的质量受这些差别的影响。相反,这种质量看起来它却影响了中枢神经循环的进展模式。

3. In one experiment, when an electric stimulus was applied to a given sensory field of the cerebralcortex of a conscious human subject, it produced a sensation of the appropriate modality for thatparticular locus, that is, a visual sensation from the visual cortex, an auditory sensation from theauditory cortex, and so on.
[结构分析] 主从句。后面跟解释性同位语:that is ……。
[参考译文] 在一个实验中,当电刺激作用于有意识的人体大脑皮层的某个感觉部位,它对这个特定部位产生一种恰如其分的感觉道,也就是说,视觉来自视觉皮层,听觉来自听皮层,以此类推。

4. Other experiments revealed slight variations in the size, number, arrangement, andinterconnection of the nerve cells, but as for as psychoneural correlations were concerned, theobvious similarities of these sensory fields to each other seemed much more remarkable than anyof the minute differences.
[参考译文] 其他实验揭示了神经细胞在尺寸,数目,排列和相互联结上的细微变化。可是,就精神神经相互关系而论,这些感觉部位相互之间明显的相似性似乎比任何细微差异更为明显多。

5. In short, Brain theory suggested a correlation between mental experience and the activity ofrelatively homogenous nerve-cell units conducting essentially homogeneous impulses throughhomogeneous cerebral tissue.
[参考译文] 总之,大脑理论说明精神感觉和相对相似的神经细胞单位的活动有关系。这种活动通过相似的大脑皮层组织传导的基本相似的脉冲。

写作方法与文章大意:

文章是对“大脑神经活动和精神感受关系的探讨。”采用时空写法。先从1950年,探索两者关系的结果令人沮丧谈起。在临近本世纪转折时期,由赫林提出的不同的感觉态可能和某种神经能量有关。经过一系列理论和经验探索,最后得出大脑理论说明神经感受和相对相似的神经细胞单位活动有关的结论。这是一种通过相似的大脑结构引导相似脉冲的活动。