生物資料英語翻譯-人體節(jié)奏有新發(fā)現(xiàn)
你有沒有患過時(shí)差綜合癥，即由于長時(shí)間坐噴氣飛機(jī)環(huán)球飛行跨越過很多時(shí)區(qū)而感到疲倦和沮喪?你有沒有像北歐國家的很多人一樣患過冬季憂郁癥，即由于在陰郁的12月和1月老是看到冬日陰沉灰暗的天空而感到郁悶?也許一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)光就能解決你的問題——而且只需要照射你皮膚上一小塊地方。實(shí)際上，美國科學(xué)家已竭盡全力進(jìn)行研究——用光照射受試者的膝蓋后部，試驗(yàn)光在提神方面的作用。
對付時(shí)差綜合癥和冬季憂郁癥的東西可能是荷爾蒙褪黑激素。已知荷爾蒙褪黑激素能調(diào)節(jié)人體節(jié)奏。它于夜幕降臨時(shí)分泌，可用于幫助治療時(shí)差綜合癥和睡眠紊亂。冬天光線昏暗、白晝時(shí)間短，人們褪黑激素分泌較少，據(jù)說這就是許多人在天氣昏暗時(shí)普遍有這種感覺(即冬季憂郁)的原因。
許多年來，專家們一直在試驗(yàn)用光治療時(shí)差綜合癥和季節(jié)性情緒失調(diào)(“冬季憂郁證”)。他們建議患者坐在模仿太陽光自然波長的燈光前，以恢復(fù)褪黑激素。1996年，哈佛大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)院的戴安娜·波文及其同事發(fā)現(xiàn)即使是昏暗的臺燈也可以起到同樣的作用。
動物、生物和人接觸光都會引起體內(nèi)復(fù)雜的反應(yīng)。紐約一個(gè)大學(xué)的研究小組說他們發(fā)現(xiàn)光照射在皮膚上會重新調(diào)整體內(nèi)的生物鐘。他們選擇了胭窩做試驗(yàn)是因?yàn)槟莾喝菀捉佑|到而且遠(yuǎn)離眼睛，許多科學(xué)家認(rèn)為那個(gè)部位決定著人體節(jié)奏的周期。
Scientists Shed New Light On The Body's Rhythms
Have you ever suffered from jet-lag, the fatigue and depression
that comes from long hours spent in a jet aircraft traveling across
the world over many time zones? Or like many people in northern
European countries, have you ever suffered the dark depression of
winter blues, the feelings of gloom that comes from facing the
somber December and January winter days under dark, cloudy skies?
Maybe all you need is a little light -- and merely on a small patch
of your skin. In fact, in experiments investigating the effect of
light in raising our spirits, American scientists have done all
their research using light played on the back of the subjects'
knees.
What could be a key to jet-lag and winter blues is the hormone
melatonin, which is known to regulate body rhythms. It is secreted
as night falls and it can be used to help to overcome jet-lag and
some sleep disorders. The low level of melatonin we experience in
winter when light is dull and daylight hours are shorter is said to
be cause of that common feeling many people get in dull weather --
winter depression.
For years experts have experimented with treating jet-lag and
seasonal affective disorder ("winter depression") with light. They
counsel victims to sit in front of lights simulating the sun's
natural wavelengths to restore melatonin. In 1996, Diane Boivin and
colleagues at Harvard Medical School found even dim reading lamps
worked in this way.
Exposure to light sets off a complex response inside the bodies of
animals and humans. A university team in New York said they had
found that shining light on the skin could re-set the body's
internal clock. They chose the back of the knee because it was easy
to reach and away from the eyes, which is where many scientists had
bdieved circadian rhythm is determined.
2012.10.8