Learning Keeps Brain Healthy: Mental Activity Could Stave Off Age-Related Cognitive and Memory Decline 學習可以減低大腦因為年紀增長所造成的認知功能以及記憶的衰退。 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的神經生物學家提出了學習有益於大腦健康，這是第一個視覺的證據。而心理 性的刺激可以限制因為年紀所造成的記憶衰退。 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. 利用一個新穎的視覺化技術來進行記憶的研究，這個團隊由Lulu Chen和Christine Gall 所領導。研究發現日常形式的學習可以活化神經元的受器(neuron receptor)，這可以使 得大腦的神經細胞都處於最佳的狀態。 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. 這些受器可被稱為brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)的蛋白質刺激。BDNF可以 幫住連結或突觸的成長和分化，並負責神經元之間的溝通。BDNF可以說是記憶形成的關鍵 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. 這個結果確定了學習和大腦成長的重要關係，未來也許可以更重視這個關係，並藉此治療 相關疾病。 Study results appear in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences for the week of March 1. 這個結果第一次刊登在3/1日的PNAS的電子版本上。 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. 除了找出在突觸發展的神經元會有被大腦活動啟動的BDNF訊號，研究者確定了這個歷程和 theta節律（theta rhythms）相關，而theta節律在產生新的記憶時也是很重要的。 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. 在海馬迴的眾多神經元以頻率約3-8 Hz同步活化時，就會產生theta rhythm。theta rhythm一直被認為與long-term potentiation(LTP)相關，LTP是一個分子程次機制，是學 習與記憶的基礎機制。 In rodent studies, the team found that both unsupervised learning and artificial application of theta rhythms triggered BDNF signaling at synapse creation sites. 在囓齒動物的研究中，這個團隊發現不論是未被監控的學習或是人工製造的theta rhythms 都會在突觸產生的地方驅動BDNF的訊號。 "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." 這個關係指出了維持大腦健康的方法，Gall說。有證據指出theta rhythms隨著年紀變弱 ，而我們的研究指出這可能造成記憶的障礙。另一方面來說，這也建議了維持神經元 BDNF信號的頻率固定，可以減少記憶的老化。 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學習所引起的生長信號是會隨著年紀減少，如果是，這是否可由新類 型的藥物所逆轉？ 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. -- 原始網址： http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100302151242.htm 這個研究的過程憑這篇報導有點難以瞭解，可能要去看原始論文了。 --

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