时差N小时:药物与学习能力 Drugs and Learning

Yael, when you experience something new, do youknowwhat happens to your brain?

你知道当你碰到新的东西的时候，你的大脑会发生什么吗?

Some of the neurons in your brain build newconnections.

大脑中的神经元会建立起新的连接。

My brain is rewired, as scientists often put it.

就像科学家们经常做的，这个时候的大脑在重新装入信息。

Our brains arealways changing, in response to newexperiences or as a resultof learning new information.

由于我们接触到了新的东西或是获得了新的信息，我们的大脑一直都在不停的变化。

That's how we're able to learn and remember new experiences andinformation.

我们就是以这样的方式来学习和记忆新的东西，新的信息。

You got it! But you know what happens to your brain when you experience new things afteryoudone psychol similar drugs, such as amphetamine or cocaine?

就是这样的。但是你知道在服用了安非他命或可卡因这一类药物这样的情况下，接触到新事物时你的大脑又会发生什么吗?

The same thing? Right?Or no?

没什么不同的，吧?对吗?

The answer is, no!

答案当然是“No”。

Evidence indicates that prior use of some drugs impairs the brain's ability to forge newconnections between neurons in response to new experiences.

有科学依据称，在接触新事物之前服用某些药物会破坏大脑神经元之间建立连接的能力。

Scientists took abunch of rats and gave some of them either amphetamine or cocaine for twentydays, while givingthe others a saline solution for twenty days.

科学家们用大量的老鼠来做了试验。他们将老鼠分成两组，给第一组老鼠喂食20天的安非他命或是可卡因，给第二组老鼠喂食20天的盐水。

When the twenty days were up, half of the rats were moved from ordinary laboratory cagestofancy new cages equipped with all kinds of bridges, ramps, tunnels, and other toys.

20天过后，他们将一半的老鼠从普通的实验笼子转移到“超豪华”的新笼子里，里面有桥梁，有坡道，有隧道，还有其他的玩具。

After three andhalf months the scientists examined all of the rats brains.

三个半月后，科学家们对老鼠的大脑进行了仔细的研究。

They discovered that the saline solution rats that were moved to the new cages had a greaternumber of neuronal connections than all the other rats, including the drugged rats in thenewcages.

他们发现，搬入新“家”的喂食盐水的老鼠比其他的老鼠建立了更多的神经元连接。

These findings may aid in explaining some of the behavioral and cognitive impairments viewedin people who are addicted to drugs.

这些研究发现可能有助于解释为什么那些吸毒成瘾的人会有一定的行为和认知障碍。