第15篇-A Memory Drug.docVIP

2014年职称英语考试教材理工类A级新增补全短文 (第15篇) 第十五篇：A Memory Drug? It’s difficult to imagine many things that people would welcome more than a memory- enhancing drug. 1_A memory enhancer could help eliminate forgetting associated with aging and disease， Furthermore, such a drug could help people remember past experiences more clearly and help us acquire new information more easily for school and at work. As scientists learn more about memory, we are closing in on this tantalizing goal. 很难想象还有比能增强记忆力的药物更受人们欢迎的东西了。增强记忆的药物能让人消除因变老和疾病造成的遗忘。而且这种药物能够帮助人们更加清晰地记起过去的经历，更容易地在学习和工作中获取新信息。随着科学家对记忆了解增多，我们正在接近这一诱人的目标。 Some of the most exciting evidence comes from research that has built on earlier finding,, linking LTP2 and memory to identify a gene that improves memory in mice. 2 The gene makes a protein that assists the NMDA receptor, which plays an important role in　long-term memory by helping to initiate LTP. Mice bred to have extra copies of this gene showed more activity in their NMDA receptors, more LTP, and　improved performance on several different memory tasks -- learning a spatial layout, recognizing familiar objects, and recalling a fear-inducing shock. 一些最激动人心的证据来自于一项研究，这项研究是基于早期通过将LTP 和记忆连接起来识别老鼠中能提升记忆力的基因所得到的发现。这种基因能够制造一种辅助NMDA 受体的蛋白质，这个受体通过帮助启动LTP而在长期记忆中起到重要作用。被喂养这种基因复制品的老鼠的NMDA受体表现得更活跃，具有更多的LTP，在许多不同的记忆实践中有更好的表现——学习空间布置，辨认熟悉物品，回忆起引起惊吓的冲击。 If these basic insights about genes, LTP, and the synaptic basis of memory can be translated to people- and that remains to be seen -- they could pave the way for memory-enhancing treatments. 3 Like steroids for bulking up the muscles,these drugs would bulk up memory. As exciting as this may sound, it also raises troubling issues. Consider the potential educational implications of memory-enhancing drugs. If memory enhancers were available, children who used them might be able to acquire and retain extraordinary amounts of information, allowing them to progress far more rapidly in school than they could otherwise. How well could the brain han