这个是我在学校首页上看到的,看完之后觉得挺有意思,然后考虑到这里大部分不学神经学的朋友都不会留意,所以就翻译出来给大家看看
http://www.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/about/news/articles/2007/09/alcohol_memory.cfm
Glass of wine aids memory
一杯酒增强记忆力
26 September 2007
2007年9月26日
Research suggests drinking in moderation may increase the ability to remember, whilst "drinking to forget" may make things worse.
研究者们发现适量饮酒可以增加我们对知识的感知能力,而与此同时“借酒消愁”反而会让事情变得更糟。
Studies at The University of Auckland have shown that moderate levels of alcohol consumption, equivalent to a glass or two of wine a day, can enhance memory. In contrast, high levels of alcohol decrease the ability of new brain cells to develop and mature, and cause an impairment of memory except at times of heightened emotion, when memory is increased.
奥克兰大学的研究成果表明中等程度的饮酒可以增强记忆力,中等程度理解为一天一到二杯。相比较之下,高度的酒精浓度会降低脑细胞的发育以及生长,进而直接导致记忆力下降,但是比较有意思的事,与此同时对于情绪化的记忆则会进一步加强。
The study was performed by researchers Dr Maggie Kalev and Professor Matthew During. Results are published in this week’s Journal of Neuroscience.
研究这个项目的是Maggie Kalev博士和Matthew During教授,他们的实验结果即将出版在这个星期的Journal of Neuroscience上。
编者按:截止到目前,仍然没有能够看到这个paper出版。 Maggie Kalev博士 和Matthew During教授
"Low levels of alcohol promoted neutral memories, such as remembering objects," says Dr Maggie Kalev of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. "However, contrary to popular belief, we also found that excessive levels of alcohol enhanced memories of highly emotional stimuli, meaning the concept of "drinking to forget" is unlikely to be true. Our work suggests that heavy drinking actually reinforces negative memories."
Maggie Kalev博士说“低浓度的酒精会促进中性的记忆力,比如记忆物体的结构”,“而和我们大家所想象的不一样的是,我们与此同时发现高究竟浓度会增强对于情绪化刺激性的记忆,这表明了借酒消愁的理论不是完全正确的。我们的实验结果表明过量饮酒实际上会加重负面的记忆”
The study also identified the mechanism by which low dose alcohol improves memory. A very important brain receptor, called NMDA receptor, appears required for this process. When rats that did not produce sufficient NMDA receptors were given alcohol, memory improvements were not observed. On the other hand, rats with increased numbers of NMDA receptors mimicked effects of low dose alcohol.
这项研究与此同时还确定了低酒精浓度时如何增强记忆力的。(编者按:下面是专业的东西,我已经用最简单通俗的言语来表达了,如果还是不明白的话就只能找神经学的论文学习了)
这一切都是关于NMDA receptor, NMDA学名的全名叫N-methyl-D-aspartic acid,中文不详,是氨基酸aspartic acid的衍生物。现在超级多的实验表明这个所谓的NMDA receptor在记忆中占有很大的部分。NMDA receptor用glutamate作为神经传导素,在所谓的LTP,即long term potentiation中就是NMDA receptor被inserted到细胞膜,传递glutamate才能增强所谓的生物电。
他们的实验观察到的是在老鼠中,低酒精浓度可以增加NMDA receptor被inserted到细胞膜的数量,从而增强记忆。但与此同时,当老鼠脑内NMDA receptor下降的时候,给予酒精并没有观察到记忆力的改进。
"Pathways by which memory is laid down are unclear, but NMDA receptor is critical in this process. Building on this knowledge may help in the treatment of memory disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Furthermore, it could assist in designing novel strategies to enhance brain functions in other disease contexts."
“记忆到底是什么,现在还没有研究可以彻底的说明,但是NMDA receptor是其中非常重要的一部分。只要我们进一步的充实记忆力的研究,很多疾病比如老年痴呆,失意都有可能改善。进一步,这些研究也可以让我们对于新治疗方法有更多的突破,从而加深对脑子功能结构的进一步的认识。 注:NMDA receptor:
« Back返回
[ 本帖最后由 Anatomy 于 2007-9-28 21:06 编辑 ] |