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Hitting the bottle to help drown out memories you'd rather forget may in fact etch (铭刻) them
more deeply into your consciousness, a new study has found.
And having one or two glasses of wine a day may increase your ability to remember, and even
help with Alzheimer (老年痴呆症) sufferers. The study at Auckland University was undertaken by
Dr. Maggie Kalev and Professor Mathew During.
The two researchers found moderate levels of alcohol consumption, equivalent to one or two
glasses of wine a day, could augment memory.
In contrast, high levels of alcohol decreased the ability of new brain cells to develop and mature.
"Low levels of alcohol promoted neutral memories, such as remembering objects," said Dr. Kalev.
"However, contrary to popular belief, we also found that excessive levels of alcohol enhanced
memories of highly emotional stimuli (刺激), meaning the concept of 'drinking to forget' is unlikely
to be true."
"Our work suggests that heavy drinking actually reinforces negative memories."
The study also identified the way low doses of alcohol improved memory.
Dr. Kalev said a "very important" brain receptor(受体), called an NMDA receptor, appeared
to be necessary for the process.
Testing done on rats showed if they did not have enough NMDA receptors, their memory did
not improve when given low alcohol doses.
However, rats which did show high numbers of NMDA receptors exhibited memory improvement
when given small amounts of alcohol.
"Pathways by which memory is laid down are unclear, but NMDA receptor is critical in this
process," Dr. Kalev said.
"Building on this knowledge may help in the treatment of memory disorders, such as Alzheimer's
disease and other dementias."
The results of the study are published in Journal of Neuroscience.
1. What is the best title of the passage?
A. The introduction of Alzheimer
B. The good effect of alcohol
C. The importance of NMDA receptor
D. Moderate drinking can improve memory
2. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Not low levels but excessive levels of alcohol increase memory.
B. An NMDA receptor is the only factor for the process.
C. According to the testing done on rats, their memory did not improve when given low alcohol doses if they did not have enough NMDA receptors.
D. It is sure that the knowledge of the research can help to treat the memory disorders.
3. This article probably appears in ______.
A. a newspaper
B. science report
C. science fiction
D. a novel
4. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Alcohol is unharmful to the new brain cells.
B. The alcoholic amount beneficial to individuals is certain.
C. It is advised that one should not drink too much to forget emotional stimuli.
D. The alcoholic degree of wine is very critical in the research.
