注意力不集中？原来这是一种大脑的疾病

 　　People With ADHD Have Different Brains

　　患有多动症的人有着不同的大？

　　Certain brain structures related to emotion and reward are smaller in people with the disorder¹, new research finds.

　　据最新的研究表明，患有多动症的人的大脑中与情感和奖励有关的组成结构比常人更小。

　　The largest-ever brain imaging study on attention deficit² hyperactivity disorder has led scientists to say the condition should be considered a neurological disorder, not just a behavioral one.

　　有史以来，对多动症最深入的脑成像研究让科学家发现，这应该是一种神经系统疾病，而不仅仅是一种行为。

　　The brain structures of children with ADHD differ in small but significant ways from those of normally developing children, according to the findings, which were published online in the journal Lancet Psychiatry³ on Feb. 15.

　　2月15日，发表在柳叶刀医学杂志上的研究结果显示，患有多动症儿童的大脑结构比正常发育的儿童更小，但也更能发挥效用。

　　注意力不集中？原来这是一种大脑的疾病

　　Up to 11 percent of U.S. children and around 5 percent of U.S. adults have been diagnosed with ADHD, which causes symptoms like difficulty paying attention, impulsivity⁴, irritability⁵ and forgetfulness.

　　高达百分之11的美国孩子以及百分之5左右的美国成人被诊断患有多动症，这导致了他们产生注意力难以集中、冲动、烦躁、健忘等症状。

　　The study’s authors hope that the research will help to combat widespread misunderstanding of ADHD, which is often seen as some sort of motivational deficit or character failing rather than a real disorder. The findings show that the disorder is as real as other neuropsychiatric disorders⁶ like depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

　　该项研究的作者希望这能够帮助解决大众对多动症的普遍误解，因为往往大家会认为这是种动机或性格缺陷而不是一种疾病。但研究结果表明，多动症和抑郁症以及强迫症一样都属于神经性精神疾病。

　　For the study, a team of Dutch neuroscientists analyzed⁷ MRI scans of the brains of more than 3,200 people between the ages of four and 63 years old (with a median age of 14 years old), measuring total brain volume as well as the volume of seven brain regions thought to be linked to ADHD. Roughly half of the participants had a diagnosis⁸ of ADHD.

　　在这项研究中，一批荷兰科学家分析了年龄在4到63岁之间（平均年龄14岁）的3200多人的大脑核磁共振扫描结果，测量了大脑总体积以及大脑七块与多动症的产生相关的区域体积。大约一半的参与者被诊断出患有多动症。

　　The brain scans revealed that five brain regions were smaller in people with ADHD. These include the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure involved in processing emotions like fear and pleasure; the hippocampus, which plays a role in learning, memory and emotion; and three brain areas within the striatum ― the caudate nucleus⁹, the putamen and the nucleus accumbens. The structures within the striatum are involved in the brain’s reward system and in its processing of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control motivation and pleasure.

　　脑部扫描结果显示，患有多动症的人的五个大脑区域较小。其中包括杏仁核，一种处理类似恐惧和愉悦的情感的杏仁状结构；海马在学习、记忆和情感中发挥作用；另外在纹状体中还有三个大脑区域---纹状体尾状核、壳核和伏隔核。在纹状体中的这些结构是大脑的奖励系统中的一部分，在它处理多巴胺的过程中，有一种神经递质能控制动机和情绪。

　　These differences were more dramatic in children than in adults, leading the study’s authors to conclude that ADHD involves delayed brain development. It appears that as the brains of people with ADHD develop and mature, these brain regions “catch up” to the brain regions of people without ADHD.

　　这些差异在儿童身上比成人显现得更具戏剧性，根据这项研究的作者得出的结论表明：患有多动症的人大脑发育较为迟缓。但当有多动症的人的大脑发育并逐渐成熟时，这些大脑区域的发展会“赶超”没有多动症的人。

　　At the time of the study, 455 of the participants with ADHD were taking psychostimulant medication like Adderall, and more than 600 others had taken psychostimulants in the past but were not currently on medication. Brain volume differences did not correlate with stimulant¹⁰ use, suggesting that such discrepancies¹¹ were not a result of medication.

　　在研究期间，455名多动症患者服用了兴奋剂药物如Adderall，超过600人在以前服用过兴奋剂但现在未服药。脑容量的差异与使用兴奋剂并无关系，这表明这种差异并不是由于药物引起的。

　　“We only studied a small part of the brain,” Hoogman said. “There is still a long way to go.”

　　“我们只研究了大脑的一小部分，”Hoogman说。“要真正了解大脑、研究多动症，还有很长的路要走。”

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

3 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。

4 impulsivity   

认知的熟虑性？冲动性

参考例句：

• Fortifying executive function and restraining impulsivity are possible with active interventions. 积极干预可能有助加强执行功能和抑制冲动性。

5 irritability   

n.易怒

参考例句：

• It was the almost furtive restlessness and irritability that had possessed him. 那是一种一直纠缠着他的隐秘的不安和烦恼。
• All organisms have irritability while alive. 所有生物体活着时都有应激性。

6 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

9 nucleus   

n.核，核心，原子核

参考例句：

• These young people formed the nucleus of the club.这些年轻人成了俱乐部的核心。
• These councils would form the nucleus of a future regime.这些委员会将成为一个未来政权的核心。

10 stimulant   

n.刺激物，兴奋剂

参考例句：

• It is used in medicine for its stimulant quality.由于它有兴奋剂的特性而被应用于医学。
• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。

11 discrepancies   

n.差异，不符合（之处），不一致（之处）( discrepancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• wide discrepancies in prices quoted for the work 这项工作的报价出入很大
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》