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【medical-news】为什么总想吃甜食？原来是大脑在
Last updated at 11:20am on 10th March 2008
Scientists have discovered that it is not just Homer Simpson who finds it impossible to keep his hands off doughnuts.
Apparently our brains are programmed to leap into action when presented with the sugary treats.
A study found that when hungry volunteers were shown a picture of a Krispy Kreme doughnut or a screwdriver, the sugary snack sent the brain into overdrive.
The same response did not occur after participants had stuffed themselves with up to eight of them.
Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago carried out functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans while volunteers were shown the pictures.
After the eating binge, neither image generated much of a reaction.
But after volunteers had fasted for eight hours, two distinct parts of the brain "lit up" at the sight of the doughnuts.
The first was the limbic brain, an ancestral part of the brain present in all animals from frogs to humans.
"That part of the brain is able to detect what is motivationally significant," said Dr Marsel Mes***, senior author of the research published on line in the journal Cerebral Cortex.
"It says, not only am I hungry, but here is food."
Next the brain's spatial attention network locked onto the doughnuts, deciding they were more important than the screwdrivers.
Dr Aprajita Mohanty, another of the scientists, said: "There's a very complex system in the brain that helps to direct our attention to items in the environment that are relevant to our needs, for example, food when we are hungry but not when we are full."
The research demonstrated how the brain sifts out all sorts of relevant material, not just doughnuts, from a world full of stimuli.
"If you are in a forest and you hear rustling, the context urges you to pay full attention since this could be a sign of danger," said Dr Mes***.
"If you are in your office, the context makes the identical sound less relevant. A major job of the brain is to match response to context."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/dietfitness.html?in_article_id=528832&in_page_id=1798&ct=5 本人已认领该文编译，48小时后若未提交译文，请其他战友自由认领。 Scientists have discovered that it is not just Homer Simpson who finds it impossible to keep his hands off doughnuts.
科学家发现，并不仅仅是霍默•辛普森发现让他的双手远离甜甜圈是不可能的
Apparently our brains are programmed to leap into action when presented with the sugary treats.
很明显，当呈上甜味品时，我们的大脑会机械地采取行动。
A study found that when hungry volunteers were shown a picture of a Krispy Kreme doughnut or a screwdriver, the sugary snack sent the brain into overdrive.
一项研究发现，当向饥饿的志愿者展示KK甜甜圈和螺丝钻鸡尾酒的图片时，甜甜圈刺激大脑高速运转。
The same response did not occur after participants had stuffed themselves with up to eight of them.
当参与者用八个甜甜圈填饱肚子后，没有发生同样的反应。
Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago carried out functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans while volunteers were shown the pictures.
当向志愿者展示图片时，芝加哥西北大学的研究者进行了fMRI（功能性磁共振成像）大脑扫描。
After the eating binge, neither image generated much of a reaction.
当一顿暴食后，没有一张图像能产生那么多反应。
But after volunteers had fasted for eight hours, two distinct parts of the brain "lit up" at the sight of the doughnuts.
但当志愿者禁食8h后，大脑的两个不同部分一看见甜甜圈便发亮。
The first was the limbic brain, an ancestral part of the brain present in all animals from frogs to humans.
首先是边缘脑，大脑的一个古老部位，存在于从青蛙到人的所有动物中。
"That part of the brain is able to detect what is motivationally significant," said Dr Marsel Mes***, senior author of the research published on line in the journal Cerebral Cortex.
“大脑的另一部位能够检测什么刺激是重要的，”发表在〈大脑学杂志〉上的该研究的第一作者Mesu lam博士说。
"It says, not only am I hungry, but here is food."
它不仅告诉我饿，而且告诉食品在这里。
Next the brain's spatial attention network locked onto the doughnuts, deciding they were more important than the screwdrivers.
接下来，大脑的空间注意网络锁定在甜甜圈上，认为他们比螺丝钻鸡尾酒更重要。
Dr Aprajita Mohanty, another of the scientists, said: "There's a very complex system in the brain that helps to direct our attention to items in the environment that are relevant to our needs, for example, food when we are hungry but not when we are full."
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-02-12 05:14
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