Learning Keeps Brain Healthy: Mental Activity Could Stave Off Age-Related Cognitive and Memory Decline 学习可以减低大脑因为年纪增长所造成的认知功能以及记忆的衰退。 ScienceDaily (Mar. 3, 2010) — UC Irvine neurobiologists are providing the first visual evidence that learning promotes brain health -- and, therefore, that mental stimulation could limit the debilitating effects of aging on memory and the mind. UC Irvine的神经生物学家提出了学习有益於大脑健康，这是第一个视觉的证据。而心理 性的刺激可以限制因为年纪所造成的记忆衰退。 Using a novel visualization technique they devised to study memory, a research team led by Lulu Chen and Christine Gall found that everyday forms of learning animate neuron receptors that help keep brain cells functioning at optimum levels. 利用一个新颖的视觉化技术来进行记忆的研究，这个团队由Lulu Chen和Christine Gall 所领导。研究发现日常形式的学习可以活化神经元的受器(neuron receptor)，这可以使 得大脑的神经细胞都处於最佳的状态。 These receptors are activated by a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which facilitates the growth and differentiation of the connections, or synapses, responsible for communication among neurons. BDNF is key in the formation of memories. 这些受器可被称为brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)的蛋白质刺激。BDNF可以 帮住连结或突触的成长和分化，并负责神经元之间的沟通。BDNF可以说是记忆形成的关键 角色。 "The findings confirm a critical relationship between learning and brain growth and point to ways we can amplify that relationship through possible future treatments," says Chen, a graduate researcher in anatomy & neurobiology. 这个结果确定了学习和大脑成长的重要关系，未来也许可以更重视这个关系，并藉此治疗 相关疾病。 Study results appear in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences for the week of March 1. 这个结果第一次刊登在3/1日的PNAS的电子版本上。 In addition to discovering that brain activity sets off BDNF signaling at the sites where neurons develop synapses, researchers determined that this process is linked to learning-related brain rhythms, called theta rhythms, vital to the encoding of new memories. 除了找出在突触发展的神经元会有被大脑活动启动的BDNF讯号，研究者确定了这个历程和 theta节律（theta rhythms）相关，而theta节律在产生新的记忆时也是很重要的。 Theta rhythms occurring in the hippocampus involve numerous neurons firing synchronously at a rate of three to eight times per second. These rhythms have been associated with long-term potentiation, a cellular mechanism underlying learning and memory. 在海马回的众多神经元以频率约3-8 Hz同步活化时，就会产生theta rhythm。theta rhythm一直被认为与long-term potentiation(LTP)相关，LTP是一个分子程次机制，是学 习与记忆的基础机制。 In rodent studies, the team found that both unsupervised learning and artificial application of theta rhythms triggered BDNF signaling at synapse creation sites. 在囓齿动物的研究中，这个团队发现不论是未被监控的学习或是人工制造的theta rhythms 都会在突触产生的地方驱动BDNF的讯号。 "This relationship has implications for maintaining good brain health," says Gall, a professor of anatomy & neurobiology. "There is evidence that theta rhythms weaken as we age, and our discoveries suggest that this can result in memory impairment. On the other hand, they suggest that staying mentally active as we age can keep neuronal BDNF signaling at a constant rate, which may limit memory and cognitive decline." 这个关系指出了维持大脑健康的方法，Gall说。有证据指出theta rhythms随着年纪变弱 ，而我们的研究指出这可能造成记忆的障碍。另一方面来说，这也建议了维持神经元 BDNF信号的频率固定，可以减少记忆的老化。 Researchers are now exploring whether learning-induced growth signals decrease with age and, if so, whether this can be reversed with a new family of experimental drugs. 研究者正在找出是否学习所引起的生长信号是会随着年纪减少，如果是，这是否可由新类 型的药物所逆转？ UCI psychiatry & human behavior professor Gary Lynch, postdoctoral fellow Christopher Rex, and undergraduate researchers Yas Sanaiha and Danielle Pham also worked on the study, which received support from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Mental Health. -- 原始网址： http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302151242.htm 这个研究的过程凭这篇报导有点难以了解，可能要去看原始论文了。 --

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