首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Researchers investigating brain size and mental ability say their work offers evidence that education protects the mind from the
Researchers investigating brain size and mental ability say their work offers evidence that education protects the mind from the
admin
2010-01-18
78
问题
Researchers investigating brain size and mental ability say their work offers evidence that education protects the mind from the brain’s physical deterioration.
It is known that the brain shrinks as the body ages, but the effects on mental ability are different from person to person. Interestingly, in a study of elderly men and women, those who had more education actually had more brain shrinkage.
"That may seem like bad news, "said study author Dr. Edward Coffey, a professor of psychiatry and of neurology at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. However, he explained, the finding suggests that education allows people to with- stand more brain-tissue loss before their mental functioning begins to break down.
The study, published in the July issue of Neurology, is the first to provide biological evidence to support a concept called the "reserve" hypothesis, according to the researchers. In recent years, investigators have developed the idea that people who are more educated have greater cognitive reserves to draw upon as the brain tissue to spare.
Examining brain scans of 320 healthy men and women ages 66 to 90, researchers found that for each year of education the subjects had, there was greater shrinkage of the outer layer of the brain known as the cortex. Yet on tests of cognition and memory, all participants scored in the range indicating normal.
"Everyone has some degree of brain shrinkage, "Coffey said. "People lose(on average)2. 5 percent per decade starting at adulthood. "
There is, however, a "remarkable range" of shrinkage among people who show no signs no mental decline, Coffey noted. Overall health, he said, accounts for some differences in brain size. Alcohol or drug use, as well as medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, contribute to brain-tissue loss throughout adulthood.
In the absence of such medical conditions, Coffey said, education level helps explain the range of brain shrinkageexhibited among the mentally-fit elderly. The more-educated can withstand greater loss.
Coffey and colleagues gauged shrinkage of the cortex by measuring the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain. The greater the amount of fluid, the greater the cortical shrinkage.
Controlling for the health factors that contribute to brain injury, the researchers found that education was related to the severity of brain shrinkage. For each year of education from first grade on, subjects had an average of 1. 77 milliliters more cerebrospinal fluid around the brain.
For example, Coffey’s team reported, among subjects of the same sex and similar age and skull size, those with 16 years of education had 8 percent to 10 percent more cerebrospinal fluid compared with those who had four years of schooling.
Of course, achieving a particular education level is not the definitive measure of someone’s mental capacity. And, said Coffey, education can be"a proxy for many things". More-educated people, he noted, are often less likely to have habits, such as smoking, that harm overall health.
But Coffey said that his team’s findings suggest that like the body, the brain benefits from exercise. "The question is whether by continuing to exercise the brain we can forestall the effects of (brain shrinkage), " he said. "My hunch is that we Call. "
According to Coffey, people should strive throughout life to keep their brains alert by exposing themselves to new experiences. Travelling is one way to stimulate the brain, he saicl; a less adventuresome way is to do crossword puzzles.
"A hot topic down the road, " Coffey said, will be whether education even late in life has a protective effect against mental decline.
Just how education might affect brain cells is unknown. In their report, the researchers speculated that in people with more education, certain brain structures deeper than the cortex may stay intact to compensate for cortical shrinkage.
According to this passage, all of the following factors could account for brain shrinkage except______.
选项
A、age
B、education
C、health
D、exercise
答案
D
解析
文中分别提到了几个相关因素,其中没有锻炼,故选D。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/GHvO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
WhyisCaliforniacalledtheGoldenState?
WhyisCaliforniacalledtheGoldenState?
Whoismorelikelytodomilitaryservices?
Organicfoodisconsideredbetterthanmedicinetokeeppeoplespiritualfitness.
WhichofthefollowingisNOTadrawbackoftraditionaleducationinChina?
今晚我要祝福你的俱乐部生日快乐。现在,我自己已经到达生命中的一个阶段,在这个阶段里我记住的是我的生日而不是我几岁了。我想我已经到了所谓的中年。这个阶段,我们往往摄人对我们有益的食物,而不是我们喜欢的食物。我为你们的俱乐部感到自豪,因为它是为我们上了年纪的人
Largepartsoftheworldhavenotenjoyedtheremarkableglobalprogressinhealthconditionsthathavetakenplaceoverthepas
Thinkgolfis【C1】______game?Thinkagain.ResearchersincludingDebbieCrewsofArizonaStateUniversityandJohnMiltonofthe
Eightthousandyearsago,forestscoveredmorethan23millionsquaremiles,orabout40percentofEarth’slandsurface.Today,
随机试题
人民法院在审理行政案件的过程中,认为行政机关的主管人员、直接责任人员违法违纪的,应当()。
食品生产经营者采购食品及原料,必须索取哪些材料
A.既能发散风寒,又能宣通鼻窍B.既能发散风寒,又能温化痰饮C.既能发散风寒,又能和中止呕D.既能发散风寒,又能祛除风湿E.既能发散风寒,又能利水消肿麻黄、香薷都具有的功效是
在图示机构中,杆O1A=O2B,O1A∥O2B,杆O2C=杆O3D,O2C∥O3D,且O1A=20cm,O2C=40cm,若杆O1A以角速度ω=3rad/s匀速转动,则杆CD上任意点M速度及加速度的大小分别为:
先张法预制梁是在混凝土浇筑完成( )h后,再将胶囊气抽走。
宽松的财政政策与紧缩的货币政策使国民收入()。
旅游目的地安全风险提示级别的划分和实施程序,由()会同有关部门制定。
请结合实际说明元认知策略在学习中的运用。
从事生产、经营的纳税人外出经营,在同一地()的,应当在营业地办理税务登记手续。
(2009年多选23)下列犯罪行为中,应以盗窃罪追究刑事责任的是()。
最新回复
(
0
)