新奇事件簿 头球会对大脑造成损伤

New research suggests that soccer players are at risk of brain injury, especially those who head the ball a lot. Researchers in America carried out tests on 38 amateur football players over the age of 30 who had played the sport since childhood. Doctors gave them MRI brain scans and tests to assess their brain function. The players were asked to estimate the number of times they had headed a ball in the past year. The research findings indicate a degree of brain injury not usually present in people who do not play soccer. Doctors reported the condition to be a form of concussion¹ known as mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). This can easily occur in soccer due to the frequent impact of the head with a ball that can travel at speeds close to 100 kph.

新的研究表明，足球运动员面临大脑损伤的风险，尤其是经常做头球动作的人。美国研究人员对38名30岁以上的业余足球运动员进行了测试，他们从童年时期就开始踢球。医生对他们进行了MRI大脑扫描，并进行了评估大脑功能的测试。研究人员还要求他们自我估计一下过去一年头球的次数。研究结果发现了在不踢足球的人群中罕见的脑损伤。医生报告称这是一种脑震荡，名为轻型脑外伤(TBI)。由于频繁地用头顶速度接近100千米每小时的球，这种情况在足球运动中很容易发生。

Lead author Doctor Michael Lipton explained the effect heading a ball can have on the brain: “Heading a soccer ball is not an impact of a magnitude that will [cut] nerve fibers² in the brain, but repetitive heading may set off a cascade³ of responses that can lead to a degeneration of brain cells." He added: “Brain injury and cognitive⁴ impairment can result from heading a soccer ball with high frequency….These are findings that should be taken into consideration in planning future research to develop approaches to protect soccer players." Doctor Lipton concluded it would be difficult to detect brain injury in children as it takes years of heading a ball for the damage to show up in brain scans.

首席作者Michael Lipton解释了顶球可能对大脑造成的影响：“顶球并不会造成切断大脑神经元的重大影响，但是反复多次顶球会引发大量反应，导致脑细胞退化。”他补充说：“高频率的头球会导致大脑损伤和认知缺损。将来针对保护足球队员的方法进行研究时应该考虑这次的研究结果。”Lipton医生得出结论，洞察儿童大脑损伤非常困难，因为多年的顶球动作造成的损伤才会在脑扫描中表现出来。

1 concussion   

n.脑震荡；震动

参考例句：

• He was carried off the field with slight concussion.他因轻微脑震荡给抬离了现场。
• She suffers from brain concussion.她得了脑震荡。

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 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

4 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。