Gentle sound stimulation, also known as pink noise, may significantly enhance deep sleep in older adults and improve their ability to recall words, a new study has found.
Deep sleep is critical for memory consolidation. However, beginning in middle age, deep sleep decreases substantially, which scientists believe contributes to memory loss in aging. The sound stimulation significantly enhanced deep sleep in participants and their scores on a memory test. “This is an innovative, simple and safe non-medication approach that may help improve brain health,” said Phyllis Zee, professor at Northwestern University in the US. “This is a potential tool for enhancing memory in older populations and attenuating normal age-related memory decline,” said Zee.
Zee and a team of researchers gathered 13 adults, 60 and older, and monitored their sleep in a lab for two nights. On both nights, the participants took a memory test, went to bed while wearing headphones and a special cap, and took another memory test in the morning. But without the participants’ awareness, researchers only played pink noise into the headphones on one night. More specifically, they timed the sounds to match the participants’ slow-wave oscillations. During deep sleep, brain waves slow to about one oscillation per second, compared to about ten oscillations per second during wakefulness. The system they employed in the study allowed the team to deliver a low burst of pink noise at the “precise moment” when the participants’ slow waves rose — a pattern that is unique to each person.
The study found that participants’ slow waves increased after the night of sound stimulation, suggesting that they were getting more deep sleep. And on the morning after hearing pink noise, they performed three times better on memory tests than they did after sleeping without any sound stimulation.
Previous research showed pink noise during deep sleep could improve memory consolidation in young people. But it has not been tested in older adults. The new study targeted older individuals and used a novel sound system that increased the effectiveness of the sound stimulation in older populations.
The study was a relatively small one, so further research is needed to confirm its findings and to study how longer-term use of pink noise affects sleep. But Northwestern has taken steps to patent the researchers’ technology, which seems to have hit upon a way to stimulate slow waves at the right moment. The team hopes to develop an affordable device that people can use at home, from the comfort of their beds.
1. The new study mainly reveals that _____.A.deep sleep consolidates old adults’ memory |
B.pink noise boosts memory among the elderly |
C.sleep disorders play a key role in memory loss |
D.sound stimulation increases the length of sleep |
A.worsening | B.reversing | C.slowing down | D.bringing about |
A.It employed a sound system programmed in step with brain waves. |
B.It compared the effects on older adults and on younger populations. |
C.It repeated the experiment several times without the participants’ notice. |
D.It adjusted the participants’ slow-wave oscillations to match the stimulations. |
A.may put old adults in risk in the long run |
B.has the potential to be applied in practice |
C.requires an innovative and affordable device |
D.needs Northwestern’s patent for confirmation |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】A punctual (准时的) person is in the habit of doing a thing at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment.
Failure to be punctual in keeping one’s appointments is a sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to dinner and arrives later than the appointed time, he keeps all the other guests waiting for him.
Unpunctuality, moreover, is very harmful when it comes to doing one’s duty, whether public or private. Imagine how it would be if those who are put in charge of important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time.
A.However, the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful with his time and seldom complains because he lacks it. |
B.The unpunctual man, on the other hand, never does what he should do ahead of time. |
C.The unpunctual man, on the other hand, never does what he has to do at the proper time. |
D.A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men. |
E.In fact, time is life itself. |
F.All guests present ought to be respected by the host. |
G.Usually this will be regarded as a great disrespect to the host and all other guests present. |
【推荐2】A group of blue-faced birds step through the grass shoulder to shoulder, red eyes looking around. They look like middle schoolers seeking a cafeteria table at lunchtime. Perhaps they’re not so different.
A new study, led by Damien Farine, an ornithologist who studies collective behaviour, shows that vulturine guinea fowls of eastern Africa, like humans, have multilevel societies. In the past, scientists assumed such social structures required a lot of brainpower. But the pea-brained guinea fowls are revealing the faults in that assumption.
These large birds wander across the landscape in packs, often walking so closely that their bodies touch. They may fight each other to maintain their strict hierarchies, but at other times they engage in friendly behaviours like sharing food.
Suspecting the guinea fowl might have a social structure, Dr. Farine and his colleagues began a thorough study of their society. For a whole year, they made daily observations of 441 birds. Coloured leg bands in unique combinations let researchers tell the black-and-blue birds apart. They also attached GPS devices to the backs of 58 birds, which let them see exactly where every group went, 24 hours a day.
The findings of the research suggest that vulturine guinea fowls have a multilevel society. There are groups within groups within the population as a whole. There even seem to be groups of friends within the small groups. This is the first time anyone has observed such a society in a bird.
And Dr. Farine emphasizes this particular bird’s tiny brain size. “They don’t only have small brains relative to mammals; they also have quite small brains relative to other birds,” he said.
According to him, living in this kind of society might actually make it easier to keep track of the social order. For example, if groups are stable and a bird can identify just one or two individuals within a group, it knows which group it’s looking at — no need for a brain that can recognize every single animal. Multilevel societies also let animals adjust their group sizes based on whatever challenges they’re facing. Depending on what enemies or resources are around, it might make sense to travel in a combined group rather than a smaller one.
“Having a multilevel structure may not require having a large brain,” Dr. Farine said. There may be more birds and other animals out there that, although small-brained, have multilevel societies as our own.
1. According to the passage, what inspired Dr. Farine to carry out the study?A.The guinea fowl’s social behaviour. | B.Previous assumptions about birds. |
C.His interest in animals’ brainpower. | D.The faults in earlier research. |
A.The research subjects. | B.The research methods. |
C.The research findings. | D.The research equipment. |
A.Complex social systems can be a disadvantage to guinea fowls. |
B.Guinea fowls are good at recognizing individuals in a group. |
C.Birds maintain the social order by travelling in combined groups. |
D.Small-brained animals can form multilevel societies. |
A.To present the findings of a study of the guinea fowl. |
B.To explain the interaction patterns in multilevel societies. |
C.To introduce a new approach to observing the guinea fowl. |
D.To uncover clues about how complex societies are formed. |
【推荐3】When you were at school, were you ever told to stop daydreaming and concentrate? It was easy for your mind to wander if you weren’t interested in what you were learning or if you had better things to think about. Staying focused can still be a challenge in adult life, but understanding how to do it, and knowing what is distracting you, can help.
Scientists have looked at what makes us delay and found a number of ways to help us stay in the zone. One of the most obvious things is removing noise. Research by Science Focus magazine found silence is best for concentration, or a gentle background hum and coffee shop noise is great! It also found turning off notifications on your phone, or switching it off altogether, removes a major distraction and helps us focus on the task at hand.
Another possible cure for a short attention span is brain training. Psychologists and neuroscientists are increasingly interested in our ability to get down to it and have looked at what we can change inside our head to make us concentrate. An article for BBC Future by Caroline Williams says that “Attention Researcher NilliLavie of University College London has found that making a task more visually demanding takes up more processing power and leaves the brain nothing left to process distractions.” So, keeping your mind busy might be the answer.
There are more practical tips to keeping your mind focused. These include making a list or timetable of the tasks you have to do, finding a workspace where you’re not tempted to do other things, or chewing some gum! It’s possible that the movement in your mouth occupies parts of the brain that might otherwise get distracted.
But according to Science Focus magazine, distraction isn’t all bad. “If we were always so focused that we never got distracted, we’d miss potential changes, such as threats, in our environment. Distraction is vital for survival.”
1. Which of the following distracts people easily according to the scientists?A.Task. | B.Science. | C.Zone. | D.Noise. |
A.Attention is paid to his articles. | B.Distraction is not easy to settle. |
C.Challenging tasks make people concentrate. | D.A noisy background helps cure distraction. |
A.Dissatisfied. | B.Objective. | C.Subjective. | D.Curious. |
A.Dealing with distraction. | B.Ways distracting people. |
C.Things interesting people. | D.Learning skills. |
【推荐1】“I can’t live without my mobile phone!” is what I often hear people say as they talk about how mobiles have become an essential part of their lives.
The all so common sight of heads bent, eyes staring at mobile screens and fingers busy tapping away repeats itself across major cities around the world. Whenever there is a moment to spare while on the train, taxi or waiting in a queue, people busy themselves with their mobile phones.
Some people believe our unhealthy obsession with mobile phones is destroying how we appreciate the little things in life or miss the moments that matter. The truth is that technology overall should be seen as a tool to improve our lives.
Mobile phones have certainly had a great influence on our lives, but I truly believe it’s for the better.
It’s changed the way we communicate, whether for work or play. We are now less constrained (限制) by time and geographical location. With my mobile phone, I can dial into conference calls while stuck in a traffic jam, or reply to urgent e-mails while on the go. I can send a text message or share photos and videos with friends who aren’t living in the same country. My phone calendar keeps my life organized, and even Facebook. Twitter, and instant messaging are now accessible from mobile phones!
The mobile revolution isn’t just changing the lives of urbanite like myself. I know of a young Bangladeshi woman named Shompa Akhter who is crazy about fashion and design. She dreamt about starting her own business and she did just that, opening a shop in Kushtia featuring her own creations. Dealing with suppliers in different towns was a problem for Shompa-purchase orders had to either be hand delivered or mailed out to suppliers. Shompa also found it tough publicizing (宣传) her business to potential customers outside her town. But once she learnt to operate the mobile phone, she was addicted. The 25-year-old businesswoman now stays in touch easily with her suppliers. Mobile e-mail is a blessing in her life. Who would have thought that mobility could bring about such enormous change? It shouldn’t really be a surprise though.
1. The author intends to ____by citing a common saying about mobile phones at the beginning.A.attract the readers’ attention |
B.introduce the topic |
C.stress how mobile phones affect our lives |
D.share his own feelings about mobile phones |
A.mobile phones make people communicate less |
B.mobile phones make people’s life more enjoyable |
C.people’s health is greatly affected by mobile phones |
D.people become addicted to mobile phones in daily life |
A.Doubtful. | B.Supportive. | C.Critical. | D.Uninterested. |
A.new functions of mobile phones | B.new changes in Information Age |
C.the advantages of mobile phones | D.the author’s personal experiences |
A.She operates a food store. |
B.She is addicted to Internet surfing. |
C.Mobile e-mail is still unavailable to her. |
D.Her mobile phone helped her business a lot. |
【推荐2】Have you ever shouted at your computer because it wasn’t working? Your computer couldn’t “yell” back – until now. AI researchers are now working on computers that can argue and perhaps even win debates with humans.
IBM scientists published a paper in Nature on March 17 about their new AI system – Project Debater. After listening to arguments from its opponent (对手), the system can search around 400 million online articles in less than five minutes. It looks for ideas that can support its own argument.
Testing on the system began in 2019 when it debated with Harish Natarajan, a professional debater who holds the world record for most debate competition victories. The debate topic was whether or not preschool should be funded, and the AI system argued in favor of this idea. Although the AI lost the debate in the end based on the audience vote, the audience said it did very well. Interestingly, 58 percent of the audience said that Project Debater increased their knowledge about the topic, while only 20 percent said the same about Natarajan. Also, Project Debater has shown strength at making impressive and logical opening statements in the debate, according to Scientific American.
Humans and technology have been battling for decades. In 1997, IBM’s Deep Blue became the first computer to defeat a reigning (卫冕的) chess champion, Garry Kasparov in a six-game match. So after two decades, have IBM’s researchers just reproduced a “Deep Blue” to debate? It’s much more than that, the researchers noted. Argument and debate are fundamental abilities of human intelligence, and it’s a step outside of AI’s comfort zone to enter this field, according to the article in Nature.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?A.To give background information. | B.To ask a question about computer. |
C.To make a comparison. | D.To introduce the topic. |
A.By collecting a lot of data in a short time. |
B.By listening to researchers’ instructions. |
C.By making use of its internal data. |
D.By learning from humans. |
A.Its statements were not logical enough. |
B.Its opening statements were boring. |
C.Its overall performance was better than Natarajan’s. |
D.It made them more informed of the topic. |
A.AI technology hasn’t progressed much for decades. |
B.AI has advanced itself by stepping in debating. |
C.Project Debater is much better than Deep Blue. |
D.AI has lost the battle against humans in debating. |
【推荐3】The Sony World Photography Awards is the leading competition for photographers. It is made up of the following competitions, that is, Professional, Open, Student and Youth competitions.
For this year’s Youth Competition, we’re asking you to show us Your Everyday. What does your day-to-day life look like? What are the people around you like? What scenes do you see-busy streets or beautiful landscapes? Whatever the style, technique or subject matter, we want to share your unique view of the world!
RULES
·The competition runs from 1 June 2022 to 6 January 2023
·Free to enter and open to photographers under 19
·Photographers can enter up to three photos taken in 2022
·Judges will select a shortlist (决选名单) of up to 10 photographers
·The overall winner on the shortlist will receive Youth Photographer of the Year title
PRIZES
OVERALL WINNER | SHORTLIST—UP TO 10 | |
Sony digital imaging equipment | √ | |
Certificate (证书) | √ | |
Shown to the global media | √ | √ |
Inclusion in our exhibition | √ | |
Promoted on our website | √ | √ |
Promoted in our online community | √ | √ |
A.1. | B.2. | C.3. | D.4. |
A.In 2022. | B.In 2023. |
C.After 1 June 2022. | D.Before 6 January 2023. |
A.Sony digital imaging equipment. |
B.Introduction to the media worldwide. |
C.Promotion on the organizer’s website. |
D.Advertisement in the organizer’s online community. |