VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-04-12 Caffeine and Mental Exercises Improve Memory 咖啡因和精神训练能帮助提高记忆力

 

AS IT IS 2014-04-12 Caffeine and Mental Exercises Improve Memory 咖啡因和精神训练能帮助提高记忆力

Welcome to VOA Learning¹ English.  This is As It Is! I’m Anna Matteo. 

On today’s show we will talk about … wait a minute. What was I going to talk about?  I was just about to say… oh, yes – memory!   

When we are young, we expect to remember things easily.  But as we age, it gets harder and harder to remember things.

Later in the show, we will talk about how some popular drinks may help keep your memory sharp and active. 

But first, we talk about another way to improve memory.  Researchers have found that an aging brain does not have to lose its ability to remember.  All it takes is some training and exercises.  We have a useful expression for that: Use it or lose it!

Here is Christopher Cruise² with more.

Cognitive³ Training and Memory 

Some kinds of mental skills naturally decrease as people get older.  Yet research seems to show that some training can improve such skills. 

A recently published study also appears to demonstrate⁴ that the good effects of training can last for many years after that training has ended.  Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland wanted to learn how long memory and thinking skills would last in older people who trained to keep them.  The people were part of a 10-year research project.  They were taught methods meant to improve their memory, thinking and ability to perform everyday tasks. 

 

More than 2,800 volunteered for the study called ACTIVE, short for Advanced Training for Independent and Vital Elderly.  Most started when they were more than 70 years old.

One class trained participants in skills including how to remember word lists.  Another group trained in reasoning.  A third group received help with speed of processing – speed of receiving and understanding information.  A fourth group, the control group, did not get any training.

Earlier results had established that the training helped the participants for up to five years.  Now, lead study writer George Rebok says the research showed most of the training remained effective a full 10 years later.

“We were wondering whether those effects would endure⁵ over time and would still be there 10 years following the training, and in fact that’s exactly what we found.”                                 

The effect on memory, however, seemed not to last as long.  Still, the older people in any of the three classes generally reported less difficulty in performing daily activities than the control group.

Professor Rebok and his team are now considering ways to provide such training for lower cost.

“We are trying to make the training more broadly available.  For example, we have a grant⁶ right now from the National Institute on Aging to try to make a Web-based version⁷ of the active memory training and then put the training online.” 

One question still to be studied is how only a few hours of training can still be effective after 10 years.  The study appears in the Journal⁸ of the American Geriatrics Society.

I’m Christopher Cruise. 

And I’m Anna Matteo.  You are listening to As It Is from the VOA Learning English.

We just heard how mental exercises and training can keep your memory working at full speed.  But did you know that some common, everyday drinks can also improve your long-term memory?

Study Finds Caffeine Improves Long-Term Memory 

Many people say they cannot start their day without first having a cup of coffee or tea.  People say these drinks help them think clearly and feel more awake.  This is because of caffeine, a substance found in some plants.  Caffeine helps to give a jump start to the nervous system.    

Now, a report says it may also improve long-term memory.  The report was published earlier this year in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Mike Yassa is a neurobiology professor at the University of California, Irvine.  He and other researchers wanted to know if caffeine could improve a person’s memory. 

They asked a group of individuals to learn something new.  Then, the same people were given caffeine, the active ingredient⁹ in coffee, tea and chocolate.   Professor Yassa explains.  

“So after you learn anything, it takes some time for that memory to strengthen and become resistant¹⁰ to forgetting.  And over the first 24 hours is actually where most of the forgetting happens.  So that is where we wanted to intervene¹¹ with caffeine and see if we can help reduce this forgetting to some extent¹².”                            

According to Dr. Yassa the first 24 hours are when we are most at risk of forgetting something new we’ve learned¹³.  That is the time to drink a strong cup of coffee or tea, or eat some chocolate.

This is what he and his team did.  They took 160 caffeine-free people and showed them pictures of everyday objects.  These people were asked if the objects could be found inside the house or outdoors.

Then some of the subjects were given a caffeine pill.  The others were given a placebo¹⁴ -- a pill containing nothing. 

Twenty-four hours later, the subjects were shown the exact same images from the day before.  They were also shown images with slight differences, and some completely new images. 

Both groups correctly identified the exact same and completely new pictures.  But those who took the caffeine pill were better at spotting the pictures that were slightly different.  

Professor Yassa says their answers helped to show the effects of caffeine on memory.

“When they actually had to make a memory judgment¹⁵ and say, 'Is this the same item I have seen before or not?' that was a really important bit of information for us.  And we find that if they are on caffeine they are much more likely to make the right decision.”

The amount of caffeine the researchers used in the study was similar to one cup of strong coffee.

The researchers did not see any improvement¹⁶ to memory from smaller doses of caffeine or when it was given an hour before viewing the images.

Do you have any tricks for remember things?  Share it in our comment section!

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。

3 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

4 demonstrate   

vt.论证，证明；示范；显示；vi.示威游行

参考例句：

• Let me demonstrate to you how this machine works.我给你演示一下这台机器的运转情况。
• How can I demonstrate to you that my story is true?我怎样才能向你证明我的话是真实的呢？

5 endure   

vt.忍受(痛苦、困难等)，耐住

参考例句：

• If other people can endure hardship,why can't I? 人家能吃苦，我就不能？
• You can only guess at what mental suffering they endure.你只能猜测他们忍受着多大的精神痛苦。

6 grant   

vt.同意给予，授予，承认；n.拨款；补助款

参考例句：

• If you grant my request, you will earn my thanks.如果你答应我的要求，就会得到我的感谢。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

7 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

8 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

9 ingredient   

n.（烹饪）等的材料，原料，成分，因素

参考例句：

• The basic ingredient of this meal is rice.这一餐的主要原料是大米。
• Trust is a key ingredient.信任是关键要素。

10 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

11 intervene   

vi.干涉，干预，干扰，阻挠

参考例句：

• When riot broke out,the police were obliged to intervene.发生暴乱时，警察有责任干预。
• You don't intervene between those two drunks.你不要在那两个酒鬼之间进行调解。

12 extent   

n.程度，范围，限度；广度，宽度，大小

参考例句：

• The new race track is nearly six miles in extent. 这条新跑道将近六英里长。
• What's the extent of the damage? 损坏的程度如何?

13 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

14 placebo   

n.安慰剂；宽慰话

参考例句：

• The placebo has been found to work with a lot of different cases.人们已发现安慰剂能在很多不同的病例中发挥作用。
• The placebo effect refers to all the observable behaviors caused by placebo.安慰剂效应是指由安慰剂所引起的可观察的行为。

15 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

16 improvement   

n.改进，增进；改进之处，改善的地方

参考例句：

• The doctor noticed a gradual improvement in his patient.医生注意到病人在逐渐恢复健康。
• I can detect signs of improvement in your thinking.我可以察觉出你思考问题方面的进步。