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Mixing energy drinks with alcohol can impair brain function, study in rats shows
混合飲用能量飲料與酒精或損害青少年大腦功能
Experiments on rats have shown that mixing energy drinks with alcohol can cause long-term problems with cognitive function, adding to concerns over young adults drinking habits.
對大鼠的實驗顯示，混合飲用能量飲料與酒精會導致認知功能的長期問題，這一發現增加了人們對年輕人飲酒習慣的擔憂。
The study was carried out by a team from the University of Cagliari and the University of Catania in Italy, and groups of male adolescent rats being given alcohol, energy drinks, or a mixture of both. Various standard experiments were then used to assess cognitive function --including brain scans and behavioral tests – up to 53 days after drinking.
這項研究由意大利卡利亞里大學和卡塔尼亞大學的團隊開展，研究對象為一組雄性青春期大鼠，分別給予酒精、能量飲料或兩者的混合物。隨后，研究人員通過腦部掃描和行為測試等標準實驗評估大鼠的認知功能，最長持續到飲酒后53天。
These tests revealed that the animals that consumed the mixed drinks showed enduring changes in their ability to learn and remember, as well as changes in the hippocampus part of the brain – the area responsible for learning and memory.
這些測試結果顯示，飲用混合飲料的大鼠在學習和記憶能力方面表現出持久的變化，大腦中負責學習和記憶的海馬區也發生了變化。
"Little is known about whether the combined consumption of these drinks, during adolescence, may have long-term effects on central function, raising the question of the risks of this habit on brain maturation," write the researchers in their published paper.
研究人員在其發表的論文中寫道：“關于青春期同時飲用這些飲料是否會對中樞功能產生長期影響知之甚少，從而讓人們開始好奇這種習慣對大腦發育風險的問題。”
Of course, both alcohol and energy drinks are popular with young people for a variety of reasons – from late-night parties to late-night study sessions – and the implications from this study are that these habits could be causing some long-term harm.
顯然，酒精和能量飲料出于各種原因——從夜間派對到熬夜學習——在年輕人中很受歡迎。這項研究指出，這些習慣可能會造成一些長期的傷害。
In particular, it seems that hippocampus plasticity could be affected, impairing the brain's ability to adapt and change in response to new information and demands. It's a crucial part of the brain's normal functioning.
值得注意的是，研究指出，海馬區的可塑性可能受到影響，這會削弱大腦適應和應對新信息和需求的能力，而這些能力是大腦正常功能的關鍵部分。
While the rats on alcohol and energy drinks initially showed a boost in certain brain metrics and functions – including a rise in a protein that drives neuron growth – these benefits didn't last, and over time and into adulthood there was actually a decline in brain capability.
盡管飲用酒精和能量飲料的大鼠最初表現出某些大腦指標和功能的提升——包括促進神經元生長的蛋白質水平上升——但這些益處并未持久，隨著時間推移，大鼠進入成年期，實際上大腦能力有所下降。
"Our results show that alcohol mixed with energy drinks consumption during the peri-adolescent period produces adaptive hippocampal changes at the electrophysiological and molecular levels, associated with behavioral alterations, which are already detectable during adolescence and persist in adulthood," write the researchers.
研究人員寫道：“我們的結果表明，在青春期混合飲用酒精和能量飲料會在電生理和分子水平上引起海馬區的適應性變化，并伴隨行為改變，這些改變在青春期就已能檢測到，并持續到成年期。”
These results still need to be confirmed in human studies. But the findings suggests that health concerns over energy drinks are justified. Alcohol has plenty of health implications of its own, and it's common sense that mixing the two together in any kind of significant way isn't the best idea.
這些結果仍需在人類研究中得到確認。但這些發現表明，擔憂能量飲料對健康的影響是有道理的。酒精本身對健康有很多影響，顯然將兩者混合飲用不是一個好主意。
The levels of drinks given to the young rats were the equivalent of binge-drinking, a behavior that appears to be on the rise among young human adults. Now the researchers want to see further studies into what the consequences might be.
研究中讓青春期大鼠攝入的飲料量相當于暴飲行為，這種行為在年輕人中似乎有上升趨勢。研究人員希望進一步研究這種行為的后果。
"Overall, the analysis of the whole set of data obtained strongly suggests that alcohol mixed with energy drinks, during adolescence, may have upshots that are not necessarily the sum of those observed with ethanol or energy drinks alone and permanently affect hippocampal plasticity," write the researchers.
研究人員總結道：“總體來說，對獲取的整套數據的分析有力地表明，在青春期混合飲用酒精和能量飲料可能會產生比單獨飲用酒精或能量飲料更嚴重的效果，并永久影響海馬區的可塑性。”
The research has been published in Neuropharmacology.
該研究發表在《神經藥理學》上。
英文來源：Science Alert
編譯：丹妮
審校：董靜、齊磊
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