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Lesson29 Alcohol Damage to the Young Brain.
酒精對青少年大腦的傷害 。
Few teens seem to worry about what alcohol does to their bodies. Cirrhosis of the liver is unlikely to catch up with them for decades, and heart disease must seem as remote as retirement, but recent research indicates that the younger the brain, the more it may be at risk. Because their brains are still developing, teens who drink excessively may be destroying some of their mental capacity - affecting their ability to learn.
青少年似乎并不擔心酒精對他們身體的傷害。幾十年內他們不大可能會得肝硬化，心臟病對他們來講如同退休一樣遙遠。但是最近的研究表明大腦越年輕，越容易受到傷害。因為青少年的大腦還在發育，過度飲酒可能會損害他們的智力，從而影響他們的學習能力。
Nearly 7 million youths between the ages of 12 and 20 binge drink at least once a month, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. That means downing five or more drinks in a row.
美國管制藥品濫用及精神衛生管理局的數據表明，將近700萬12到20歲之間的青少年每個月至少有一次過量飲酒，也就是連續喝酒五杯或五杯以上。
Teen drinkers appear to be most susceptible to damage in two developing parts of the brain, the hippocampus, a structure responsible for learning and memory, and the prefrontal cortex, the chief decision-maker and voice of reason.
青少年飲酒者的大腦的兩個正在發育的部分最容易受到傷害，它們是負責學習和記憶的海馬狀突起和主要的決策和理性中心——前額皮質。
In a study of how alcohol affects the hippocampus, scholars dosed adolescent and adult rats with alcohol and ran them through mazes. Compared with the adults, the adolescents failed miserably. To see whether similar results held true for humans, some scholars split a small group of volunteers into two groups: ages 21 to 24, and 25 to 29.
在一個研究酒精對海馬狀突起的影響的實驗中，研究者給幼年的和成年的老鼠服用了酒精后把它們放到了迷宮里。與成年老鼠相比，幼年的老鼠慘敗。為了驗證在人類身上是否也會有相似的結果，一些研究者把一小群志愿者分成了兩組，21至24年齡組和25至29年齡組。
After drinking enough to achieve a blood-alcohol level slightly below 0.08 percent, the younger group's learning was significantly more impaired than the older group's.
給他們飲酒使他們血液內的酒精含量達到略低于0.08%的水平后，年齡稍小的那一組的學習能力受到的損害明顯大于年齡大的那一組。
cirrhosis [醫]硬化susceptible 易受影響的hippocampus 海馬狀突起prefrontal [解]額葉前部的cortex 腦皮層impair 削弱
