【推荐1】Young children don’t get sarcasm (冷嘲热讽) — but by the time they’re teens, it can be their default (默认的) mode. Here’s what science tells us about the mental skills behind that ironic expression. If I were to tell you that sarcasm is one of our most powerful linguistic tools, your first response might reasonably be, yeah right! Perhaps you’d even simply assume that I was sinking into a little irony myself. Parents or teachers of teenagers, in particular, may find it hard to believe that this annoying linguistic habit is a sign of a flexible and inventive mind. Yet that is exactly what psychologists and neuroscientists have been arguing. Psychologists and neuroscientists have found that sarcasm requires the brain to jump through numerous hoops to arrive at a correct interpretation, requiring more brainpower than literal statements.

And although it’s often dismissed as childish comments, sarcasm is actually evidence of maturity — as it takes years for a child’s developing brain to fully grasp and master it. An understanding of sarcasm’s use in humour develops particularly late--at around nine or ten years of age on average.   

As a form of humour, sarcasm may also help us to deal with frustration or stress. It can be a way of letting off steam. Interestingly, studies have found that depressed and anxious individuals’ use of sarcasm increased over the Covid-19 pandemic — which may reflect this coping mechanism. In general, though, the primary motivation of sarcasm will be linguistic — to add colour to the messages that we hope to convey.

It may initially feel like a shock when parents notice their children deploying sarcasm. Parents may feel particularly helpless when dealing with a teenager who injects it into almost all interactions, as if they struggle to express any sincere emotions. But should we blame teens for employing this versatile tool? Perhaps it’s better seen as the useful practice of a vital ability.

【推荐3】Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption may offer some protective benefits for patients with heart disease, a new study suggests. The research pulled data from a combined sample field of 48,423 patients, thousands of whom had history of heart-related diseases.

The researchers noted that lifestyle and dietary habits play a major role in secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but that the impact of alcohol consumption on patients’ prognosis remains unclear. “While light-to-moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of developing multiple cardiovascular outcomes in general population groups, it’s difficult to extend the supposed cardio-protective effects to CVD patients because of their typically older age and compromised vasculature as well as the medications they take to prevent secondary events,” researchers wrote.

Among the patient sample, former drinkers were separated from current drinkers, with the latter being broken into three groups of low-level drinkers, medium-level drinkers and high-level drinkers. Patients were followed until either their death or first detected heart-related diseases.

An analysis of three major cohorts together with those from 12 published studies found J-curve relationships between alcohol consumption and mortality in those with cardiovascular disease. The greatest reduction in all-cause mortality was found among patients with light alcohol consumption. “In summary, our study shows an alcohol intake up to about 105g a week is associated with lower risks of both mortality and subsequent cardiovascular events among CVD patients,” the team wrote.

The research team warned that the study had limitations and that current drinkers may not need to stop drinking for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, but rather be informed that lower levels of consumption may be associated with reduced risks. Patients who are non-drinkers, however, should not be encouraged to take up light drinking.

【推荐1】We’ve all heard about techniques to get us more physically active — take the stairs and park the car a bit further from your destination. Now a study led by Dr. Buchman finds even simple housework may benefit brain health for the elderly.

“Our study shows exercise is an inexpensive way to improve health. It also shows exercise may have a protective effect on the brain,” says Dr. Buchman.

Previous research found just 45 minutes of walking three days a week actually increased brain volume.

The new study is unique. Dr. Buchman was able to analyze the actual brains of the study participants.

The study looked at 454 older adults who were over 70 years old when the research began. Of those adults, 191 had behavioral signs of dementia(痴呆) and 263 did not.

In the research, each participant wore an activity monitor called an accelerometer(加速度计). It measured those participants’ physical activity around the clock — everything from walking around the house to exercise routines. Researchers collected and evaluated ten days of movement data for each participant and calculated the levels of daily movement.

The findings show that higher levels of daily movement were linked to better thinking and memory skills. And when Dr. Buchman analyzed brain tissue under a microscope, this finding turned out to be the case even for individuals with at least three signs of Alzheimer’s disease(阿尔茨海默病). Even though these individuals might have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, 30 percent of them had“normal”cognition(认知), says Dr. Buchman.

Why one person shows signs of dementia and another, who has similar degenerative(退行的) changes in the brain, does not, is a mystery. But Dr. Buchman says the new findings suggest that physical activity may be protective, even among developing Alzheimer’s. It sort of masks the symptoms, he says. It suggests that you can have some control over your brain health even if you don’t have control over developing Alzheimer’s.

And, while intense exercise is highly beneficial, light activity can make a difference as well. “As long as you are doing exercise and you’re moving, whether you’re chopping onions or sweeping the floor, you can reduce your risk of cognitive decline,” says Dr. Buchman.