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
2011-03-10
26
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 withstand 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 shrinkage exhibited 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 can." 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 said; 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.
Which of the following statements is true?
选项
A、The brain of an adult person shrinks 2.5% every 10 years.
B、The cerebrospinal fluid of a person with 8 years of education may have increased 17.7 milliliters.
C、The cerebrospinal fluid of a person with 16 years of education may increase by 10%.
D、The brain of an aged person shrinks 5% every 10 years.
答案
A
解析
答案在第六段,由此推导,选A。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/u3YO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Theivory-billedwoodpecker,ifyouhaven’theard,isnolongerextinct.Inlatespring,agroupof17researchersannouncedin
Note-takingSkillsNote-takingrequiresahighlevelofabilityinmanyskills,particularlyinthefollowingfourmostimpo
Manyobjectsindailyusehaveclearlybeeninfluencedbyscience,buttheirformandfunction,theirdimensionsandappearance,
IftherewasonethingAmericanshadarighttoexpectfromCongress,itwasafederalplantohelptheelderlypayforprescrip
AboutWetlandsintheU.S.A.Peopleenjoyafamoussoup(SHE-CRABSOUP)inNorthCarolinabecausethedaysoftheregionalso
WhichofthefollowingcitiesisinAustralia?
Doyourememberallthoseyearswhenscientistsarguedthatsmokingwouldkillusbutthedoubtersinsistedthatwedidn’tknow
Doyourememberallthoseyearswhenscientistsarguedthatsmokingwouldkillusbutthedoubtersinsistedthatwedidn’tknow
A、Angry.B、Apologetic.C、Surprised.D、Indifferent.A
我一直以为大学校长是高瞻远瞩、指导学术与教育大方向的决策人,而不是管馒头稀饭的保姆,但这也暂且不提。这一类型的教育者的用心,毋庸置疑,当然是善意的。问题是,我们论“事”的时候,用心如何根本不重要,重要的是实际的后果,而教育的后果何其严重!在这种过度呵护的幼
随机试题
《再别康桥》的艺术特征有()
A.月经周期规则,但周期缩短B.月经间隔时间正常,经期长C.停经超过6个月D.月经周期不规则,无痛经,基础体温呈单相型E.继发性进行性痛经无排卵性功血的特点是
“虚”的病机概念.主要是指
男,58岁。劳累后心前区闷痛8年,近1周常因夜间胸痛而惊醒,发作时心电图特征为:Ⅱ、Ⅲ、aVF导联ST段呈单向曲线型上抬0.2mV,缓解后上抬消失,发作时最不宜用哪一个药物
如图所示的变压器,U1=220V,N1=1200匝,U2=36V,N2约有()匝。
甲公司是ABC会计师事务所的常年审计客户,主要从事家电产品的生产、批发和零售。A注册会计师负责审计甲公司2019年度财务报表,确定财务报表整体的重要性为800万元,明显微小错报的临界值为40万元。 资料一: A注册会计师在审计工作底稿中记录了所了解的甲
当今世界上存在两种不同的社会制度,社会主义社会和资本主义社会。区分这两种不同社会制度的客观依据是()。
公安机关在刑事诉讼活动中,必须坚持同人民检察院、人民法院分工负责,互相配合,必要时可互相代替,同时又要互相制约。()
设求区域D绕x轴旋转一周所成几何体的体积.
Theterm"corporatetransparency"hasbecomeratherfashionable.Thebeliefthat"transparencyresultsinresponsibilityandeth
最新回复
(
0
)