VOA常速英语2015--研究表明强大爆炸会改变大脑结构

研究表明强大爆炸会改变大脑结构

Many veterans who survived powerful explosions show symptoms of psychological injuries, such as mood swings, violent outbursts, difficulty to concentrate or depression.

很多从战场强大爆炸中存活下来的老兵都会有诸如情绪波动、暴力倾向,难以集中注意力或抑郁等的心理损害症状。

As with people who died in transportation accidents or from drug overdoses, their brains show physical damage.

而死于交通事故或吸毒过量人们的大脑也展示物理性损害的迹象。

But researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine say close examination of the brains of veterans who died of other causes shows a pattern of swollen¹ and broken nerve fibers² concentrated in the frontal lobe³.

但约翰霍普金斯大学医学院的研究人员表示仔细检查死于其他原因退伍军人的大脑显示肿胀及破碎的神经纤维集中在额叶部分。

“And that's very important because this is the site, the center, of the executive functions of the brain. Functions that allow you to put your life together, organize, plan ahead, understand, abstract. And you can imagine this can make your life difficult."

“这是非常重要的,因为这是中枢,中心,大脑的执行功能场所。这些功能使得你把生活串联在一起,组织,提前计划,理解,提取。你可以想象这也可以使你的生活变得困难。”

Koliatsos, a pathologist and neurologist who led the study, says the specific honeycombed pattern of these damages and their concentration near blood vessels⁴ suggest that the force of a powerful explosion squeezes the blood in the soldiers' chest and pushes it into the brain.

主持这项研究的病理学家及神经学家克里阿特斯表示这些损害的具体蜂窝状模式及其附近血管的浓度证明强大爆炸的力量会对老兵胸部的血液进行挤压并使它们流入大脑。

“Because there's a pulse of over-pressure wave that happens like this, the brain also swells⁵ like this. And when the brain swells, it pushes against some of the fixed⁶ elements inside the skull⁷."

“因为有这样的过压发生,大脑也会这样的。当大脑开始膨胀,它会对一些头骨内的固定结构施压。”

 

Koliatsos says, if there is a neurological basis for these damages, doctors may start thinking of prescribing different medications to the veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders⁸, and military planners may be able to help the survivors⁹' by improving the soldier's chest protection.

克里阿特斯表示如果有这些损害的神经基础,医生可能开始考虑为患有创伤后应激障碍的退伍军人开具不同处方药物,并且军事人员可以通过提高士兵的胸部保护帮助幸存者。

1 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

2 fibers   

光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质

参考例句：

• Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
• Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

3 lobe   

n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶

参考例句：

• Tiny electrical sensors are placed on your scalp and on each ear lobe.小电器传感器放置在您的头皮和对每个耳垂。
• The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling movement.大脑前叶的功能是控制行动。

4 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 swells   

增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The waters were heaving up in great swells. 河水正在急剧上升。
• A barrel swells in the middle. 水桶中部隆起。

6 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

7 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

8 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者