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  3. It began as just another research project, in this case to examine the effects of various drugs on patients with a severe mood d

It began as just another research project, in this case to examine the effects of various drugs on patients with a severe mood d

admin2012-06-26  71
问题     It began as just another research project, in this case to examine the effects of various drugs on patients with a severe mood disorder. Using an advanced brain scanning technology--the clumsily named echo-planar magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (磁共振光谱成像 ) procedure, or EP-MRSI--researchers at Boston’s McLean Hospital scanned the medicated and un-medicated brains of 30 people with bipolar disorder in order to detect possible new treatments for the more than 2 million American adults who suffer from the disease.
    But something unexpected happened. A patient who had been so depressed that she could barely speak became ebullient after the 45-minute brain scan. Then a second patient, who seemed incapable of even a smile, emerged actually telling jokes. Then another and another. Was this some coincidence? Aimee Parow, the technician who made these observations didn’t think so. She mentioned the patients’ striking mood shifts to her boss, and together they completely refocused the study: to see if the electromagnetic fields might actually have a curative effect on depressive mood.
    As it turns out, they did. As reported last month in the American Journal of Psychiatry, 23 of the 30 people who were part of the study reported feeling significantly less depressed after the scan. The most dramatic improvements were among those who were taking no medication. The researchers are cautious. Says Bruce Cohen, McLean’s president and psychiatrist in chief: "I want to emphasize that we are not saying this is the answer  but this is a completely different approach in trying to help the brain than anything that was done before."
    It’s a completely different approach because of the way the magnetism is applied to the brain. But it’s an example of new research on an old idea: that the brain is an electromagnetic organ and that brain disorders might result from disorder in magnetic function. The idea has huge appeal to psychiatrists and patients alike, since for many people the side effects of psychiatric (精神的 ) drugs are almost as difficult to manage as the disease itself. And 30 percent of the nearly 18.8 million people who suffer from depression do not respond to any of the antidepressants available now. People with other severe mental disorders might benefit as well. And while no one fully understands exactly why or how the brain responds as it does to electrical currents and magnetic waves, fascinating new research is offering some possible explanations.
The researchers’ attitude toward the new finding can be described as______.
选项 A、confused
B、amused
C、careful
D、skeptical
答案C
解析
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