听力文摘：在大脑和内脏之间有联系吗？

Is There A Connection Between The Brain And The Gut¹?

在大脑和内脏之间有联系吗？

Most people realize there is a brain gut connection. Nervous tension can aggravate² irritable³ bowel⁴ syndrome⁵ and common dyspepsia, or stomach upset.

大多数人都意识到大脑和内脏有联系。神经紧张会加重肠道易激综合症和常见的消化不良，或者肠胃不适。

If the brain can upset the gut, can the gut upset the brain?

如果大脑会扰乱内脏，那内脏会扰乱大脑吗？

Scientists studying depression in rats think that it can.

在研究患抑郁症老鼠的科学家们认为这是可以的。

About twenty million Americans are diagnosed with depression each year, and medical specialists believe about ten percent of the population is affected⁶ by the disease. Antidepressants are popular, but they only work for thirty five to forty five percent of patients. So, new and innovative⁷ ways to deal with the disease are being explored.

每年大约有两千万的美国人被诊断为抑郁症，内科专家认为大约十分之一的人口受到疾病的影响。抗抑郁药非常受欢迎，但是它们只对35%到45%的病人有效。因此，新的有创意的治疗疾病的办法有待于探索。

Depressed⁸ people often have gut problems, but many assume this is because hormones⁹ are released because of the depression. To determine if that is always the case, researchers tested rats to see which came first, the depression, or the gut upset.

抑郁症患者经常存在内脏的问题，但是许多人认为这是由于抑郁引起内分泌释放导致的。为了判断是否常常如此，研究人员用老鼠做实验，调查是抑郁还是内脏不适先出现。

A group of ten day old male rats were given a mild stomach irritant for six days. Others received no treatment. They were then tested at eight to ten weeks of age with water swimming challenges, and mazes¹⁰. Scientists measured their responses and measured levels of stress hormones.

一群十天大的雄鼠的胃被持续轻度刺激六天。其它老鼠正常生长。然后它们在八到十个星期大的时候，检测它们面对在水中游泳的挑战和困境。科学家测量它们的反应和应激激素。

They found that the rats receiving the stomach irritation¹¹ weeks before were more depressed than the untreated rats. Even when researchers prevented the irritant from sending pain signal to the brain, the depression occurred.

他们发现那些胃受到刺激的老鼠比没有受到的更加抑郁。甚至当研究人员阻止刺激发送疼痛信号到大脑，抑郁症出现了。

Rats are not humans, and depression is often inherited, but this research gives scientist a new avenue to follow in depression treatment. The vagus nerve connects the gut to the brain. Stimulating¹² the nerve has been used to treat depression, epilepsy, and help memory in humans and animals. That connection may hold the secret to new treatment regimes and prevention of the disease.

老鼠不是人类，抑郁常常是遗传的，但是这个研究给科学家在治愈抑郁症很好的启示。交感神经连接内脏和大脑。刺激神经曾用来治愈抑郁症，癫痫症，帮助人类和动物记忆。这种联系正是新的治疗制度和抵御疾病的秘密所在。

1 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

2 aggravate   

vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火

参考例句：

• Threats will only aggravate her.恐吓只能激怒她。
• He would only aggravate the injury by rubbing it.他揉擦伤口只会使伤势加重。

3 irritable   

adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的

参考例句：

• He gets irritable when he's got toothache.他牙一疼就很容易发脾气。
• Our teacher is an irritable old lady.She gets angry easily.我们的老师是位脾气急躁的老太太。她很容易生气。

4 bowel   

n.肠(尤指人肠)；内部，深处

参考例句：

• Irritable bowel syndrome seems to affect more women than men.女性比男性更易患肠易激综合征。
• Have you had a bowel movement today?你今天有排便吗？

5 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

8 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

9 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

10 mazes   

迷宫( maze的名词复数 )； 纷繁复杂的规则； 复杂难懂的细节； 迷宫图

参考例句：

• The mazes of the dance were ecstatic. 跳舞那种错综曲折，叫人快乐得如登九天。
• For two hours did this singlehearted and simpleminded girl toil through the mazes of the forest. 这位心地单纯的傻姑娘在林间曲径中艰难地走了两个来小时。

11 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

12 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。