2017-01-13 Brain activity and heart disease 大脑活动与心脏疾病之间的联系

文字稿

一项对人类大脑里一个细小部位的最新研究报告帮我们更近一步地理解了人类情绪变化与心血管疾病之间的联系。这项研究说减轻压力不仅可以改善人们的心理健康状态，还有助于降低心脏疾病的发生机率。请听以下报道。

The study lead by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School measured the effect of stress on 300 people over nearly four years.

Scientists use scans to monitor a tiny area of the brain called the amygdala which processes emotions such as fear and anger, they found for the first time in studying humans that higher levels of activities in the amygdala were linked with greater activities in bone marrow and inflammations in the arteries.

They suggested the amygdala tells bone marrow to produce extra white blood cells, which cause arteries to develop blockages and to become inflamed.

词汇表

measured 测量
monitor 观察、监测
the amygdala 杏仁核（大脑深处的一个很小的组织）
processes 处理
emotions 情感、感情、情绪
bone marrow 骨髓
inflammations （医学）炎症
arteries （医学）动脉
blockages 堵塞、阻塞

测验

请听报道并回答下列问题。

1. What was measured during the study?

2. The study was conducted over how many years?

3. True or false? If you feel fear or anger, this could increase inflammation of the arteries.

4. Which word in the text means ‘images of body taken by special machine’?

答案

1. What was measured during the study?
The study measured the effect of stress on human body.

2. The study was conducted over how many years?
The study was conducted over four years.

3. True or false? If you feel fear or anger, this could increase inflammation of the arteries.
True. According to the text, the amygdala processes emotions such as fear and anger. The study found that higher levels of activities in the amygdala were linked with greater activities in bone marrow and inflammations in the arteries.

4. Which word in the text means ‘images of body taken by special machine’?
Scans.