Managers have larger brain: Australia's study

 　　CANBERRA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Managing other people at work triggers structural¹ changes in the brain, protecting its memory and learning center well into old age, Australia's study revealed on Friday.

　　Australia's University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers have, for the first time, identified a clear link between managerial experience throughout a person's working life, and the integrity and larger size of an individual's hippocampus (the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory) at the age of 80.

　　"We found a clear relationship between the number of employees a person may have supervised or been responsible for and the size of the hippocampus," Dr Michael Valenzuela, Leader of Regenerative Neuroscience in UNSW's School of Psychiatry², said in a statement released on Friday.

　　"This could be linked to the unique mental demands of managing people, which requires continuous problem solving, short term memory and a lot of emotional intelligence, such as the ability to put yourself in another person's shoes. Over time this could translate into the structural brain changes we observed."

　　The findings confirmed that staying mentally active promotes brain health, potentially warding³ off neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

　　Using MRI imagery in a cohort of 75-92 year-olds, researchers found larger hippocampal volumes in those with managerial experience compared to those without. The effect was also seen in women who had taken on managerial roles in nursing or teaching, for example.

　　The study was presented at this week's Brain Sciences UNSW symposium⁴ Brain Plasticity The Adaptable⁵ Brain, held in Australia.

1 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

2 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

3 warding   

监护，守护（ward的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Magina channels a powerful warding magic damping the negative effects of spells. 敌法师用守护魔法来抵御负面法术的攻击。
• Indeed, warding off disruption is the principal property of complex systems. 的确，避免破损解体是复杂系统主要的属性。

4 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。

5 adaptable   

adj.能适应的，适应性强的，可改编的

参考例句：

• He is an adaptable man and will soon learn the new work.他是个适应性很强的人，很快就将学会这种工作。
• The soil is adaptable to the growth of peanuts.这土壤适宜于花生的生长。