VOA慢速英语2014 Study Finds Caffeine May Help Enhance Long-term Memory 研究发现咖啡因有助于增加长期记忆

 

Study Finds Caffeine May Help Enhance¹ Long-term Memory 研究发现咖啡因有助于增加长期记忆

From VOA Learning² English, this is the Health Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

Many people say they can not start their day without first having a cup of coffee or tea. People say these drinks help them think clearly and feel more awake. This is because of caffeine, a substance found in some plants.

许多人说，如果不先喝杯咖啡或茶，他们就没法开始新的一天。人们说这些饮品可以帮助他们更清晰地思考并感觉更清醒。这是因为咖啡因这种存在于某些植物中的物质。

Caffeine helps to give a jumpstart to the nervous system. Now a new report says it may also improve long-term memory. The report was published earlier this year in the journal³ Nature Neuroscience.

咖啡因有助于启动神经系统。目前，一份新的报告称，咖啡因还能改善长期记忆。这份报告今年早些时候发表在《自然神经科学》杂志上。

Michael Yassa is a neurobiology professor at the University of California, Irvine. He and other researchers wanted to know if caffeine could improve what they called memory consolidation⁴. They asked a group of individuals to learn something new, then the same people were given caffeine, the active ingredient⁵ in coffee, tea and chocolate.

迈克尔·雅萨（Michael Yassa）是加州大学尔湾分校的一名神经生物学教授。他和其他研究人员想要搞懂咖啡因是否有助于改善他们所谓的记忆固化。他们让一群人记住一些新东西，然后服用了咖啡因，咖啡、茶和巧克力都含有这种活性成分。

He and the other researchers worked with a group of 160 people who were caffeine free. On the first day, all the subjects were shown pictures of everyday objects. They were asked to identify whether the pictures could be found inside the house or outdoors. Some of the subjects were then given a caffeine pill, the others were given a placebo⁶ - a pill containing an inactive substance.

他和其他研究人员同160位无咖啡因嗜好的人进行了实验。第一天，他们给所有实验对象展示了日常用品的图片，并要求实验对象辨别该图片是否可以在屋内或户外找到。然后一些实验对象服用了咖啡因药片，其余人服用了安慰剂，这是指无活性成分的药片。

On the second day, all of the subjects were asked to look at more pictures. Some of the images were exactly like the ones they had seen 24 hours early. But other images were different. And a third group of pictures was similar to the first group but a little different. The participants had to decide whether the images they saw were the same or different from the ones on the first day.

第二天，他们让所有实验对象看了更多图片。这些图片有些和他们24小时前看到的完全一样，但另一些则不一样。而第三组图片和第一组图片类似但有少许不同。参与者必须判断他们看到的这些图片和他们第一天看到的一样还是不同。

Professor Yassa says their answers help to show the effects of caffeine on memory.

雅萨教授表示，他们的回答有助于展示咖啡因对记忆的影响。

He says those who took the caffeine pills had a ten to twelve percent increase in their ability to remember the objects. The amount of caffeine the researchers used in the study was similar to one strong cup of coffee.

他说，服用了咖啡因药片者记住这些物体的能力提高了10%到12%。研究人员使用的咖啡因用量近似于一大杯咖啡。

Professor Yassa says pills with a little more coffeine also increased memory, but resulted in some participants appearing more nervous.

 

雅萨教授表示，咖啡因含量略高的药片也增强了记忆，但导致了一些参与者表现得更紧张。

1 enhance   

vt.提高（强度、力量、数量等），增加（进）

参考例句：

• BBC backing for the scheme will enhance its credibility.英国广播公司对这一计划的支持将提高其可信度。
• Good secretarial skills should enhance your chances of getting a job.出色的秘书工作技能会增加你找工作的机会。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

4 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

5 ingredient   

n.（烹饪）等的材料，原料，成分，因素

参考例句：

• The basic ingredient of this meal is rice.这一餐的主要原料是大米。
• Trust is a key ingredient.信任是关键要素。

6 placebo   

n.安慰剂；宽慰话

参考例句：

• The placebo has been found to work with a lot of different cases.人们已发现安慰剂能在很多不同的病例中发挥作用。
• The placebo effect refers to all the observable behaviors caused by placebo.安慰剂效应是指由安慰剂所引起的可观察的行为。