Brains may be wired for addiction
2 February 2012 Last updated
at 19:03 GMT
Source:By James GallagherHealth and science
reporter, BBC News
Red areas show parts of the brain more active
in drug users. Blue regions are abnormally decreased in drug users.
紅色區域顯示在吸毒群體裡大腦較為活躍的部份。藍色區域是吸毒群體裡異常減少的部份。
Abnormalities in the brain may make some
people more likely to become drug addicts, according to scientists at the University of Cambridge
根據在英國劍橋大學的科學家表示，大腦裡的異常可能使某些人更可能成為吸毒者。
They found the same differences in the
brains of addicts and their non-addicted brothers and sisters.
The study, published in the
journal Science, suggested addiction is in part a "disorder of the
brain".
Other experts said the non-addicted
siblings offered hope of new ways of teaching addicts "self-control".
他們在吸毒成癮者和非吸毒成癮的兄弟姐妹們的大腦中發現了同樣的差異性。
其他專家說，非成癮的兄弟姐妹，提供教導癮君子“自我控制”新方法的希望。
It has long been established that the
brains of drug addicts have some differences to other people, but explaining
that finding has been more difficult.
長久以來，吸毒成癮者的大腦和其他人的可能有差異的說法已建立，但一直以來如何解釋此發現確比較困難。
Experts were unsure whether drugs changed
the wiring of the brain or if drug addicts' brains were wired differently in
the first place.
專家們不確定是毒品改變了大腦的佈線或應將吸毒者的大腦已對吸毒亢奮而不同於未吸毒前。
This study, funded by the Medical Research
Council, attempted to answer that by comparing the brains of 50 cocaine or
crack addicts with the brain of their brother or sister, who had always been
clean.
醫學研究理事會資助的這項研究中，企圖藉由50個古柯鹼或快克(可卡因)吸毒者的大腦和他們未曾吸毒的兄弟或姐妹乾淨的大腦比較結果來回答。
Both the addicts and the non-addict
siblings had the same abnormalities in the region of the brain which controls
behaviour, the fronto-striatal systems.
無論是吸毒者和非吸毒者的兄弟姐妹大腦控制行為相同的區域，即額葉-紋狀體系統區域是異常的。
The suggestion is that these brains may be
"hard-wired" for addiction in the first place.
Lead researcher Dr Karen Ersche said:
"It has long been known that not everyone who takes drugs becomes
addicted."
這項建議是，首先這些大腦可能是“重度吸毒”成癮。
首席研究員卡倫Ersche博士說：“長期以來，人們一直知道，不是每個人吸毒都會成為癮者。”
She told the BBC: "It shows that drug
addiction is not a choice of lifestyle, it is a disorder of the brain and we
need to recognise this."
她告訴BBC說：“這顯示，吸毒成癮並非是一種生活方式的選擇，它有可能是大腦發生失序障礙，我們需要辨識這一點。”
However, the non-addicted siblings had a
very different life despite sharing the same susceptibility.
然而，非成癮的兄弟姐妹，儘管共享相同的易感性卻過著非常不同的生活。
"These brothers and sisters who don't
have addiction problems, what they can tell us is how they overcome these
problems, how they manage self-control in their daily life," Dr Karen
Ersche said.
“這些兄弟姐妹們，沒有成癮問題，他們可以告訴我們，他們是如何克服這些問題，他們在日常生活中是如何自我控制管理，” Karen Ersche 博士說。
Dr Paul Keedwell, a consultant psychiatrist
at Cardiff University
Paul Keedwell 醫生，加的夫大學的精神科顧問醫生，說：“成癮，像大多數精神疾病，是天性和教養的產物。
"We need to follow up people over time
to quantify the relative risk of nature versus nurture."
“我們需要隨著時間的推移跟進人們，量化天生與培育相對的風險。”
It is possible that the similarities in the
sibling's brains may not be down to genetics, but rather growing up in the same
household. Research on the relationship between addiction and the structure of the
brain is far from over.
一種可能是在兄弟姐妹的大腦相似之處可能不是遺傳，而是因為在同一家庭中成長。成癮和大腦結構之間的關係的研究離結束還有一段距離。
However, many specialists believe these
findings open up new avenues for treatment.
"If we could get a handle on what
makes unaffected relatives of addicts so resilient we might be able to prevent
a lot of addiction from taking hold," said Dr Keedwell.
然而，許多專家認為，這些發現為治療開闢一個新的途徑。
Keedwell博士說：”如果我們能控制成癮者的親屬如此堅韌不受影響的原因，我們也許能夠防止採取控制以預防形成更多成癮者。
The chief pharmacist for Derbyshire Mental
Health Trust, David Branford, said the study, "implies that addiction does
not produce noticeable changes to brain structure and function which means that
there may be provision for looking at new treatment techniques for
addiction".
德比郡，心理健康信託首席藥劑師大衛·布蘭福德說，這項研究“，暗示著成癮者大腦結構和功能不會產生明顯的改變，這也意味著可能需為成癮者尋找新的治療技術規定”。
Prof Les Iversen, from the department of
pharmacology at the University of Oxford, said: "These new findings
reinforce the view that the propensity to addiction is dependent on inherited
differences in brain circuitry, and offer the possibility of new ways of
treating high-risk individuals to develop better 'self control'."
在牛津大學藥理學部門，萊斯艾弗森，教授說：“這些新發現加強認為成癮傾向的觀點是依賴於大腦迴路系統在遺傳的差異，並提供新方法治療高風險的個體去發展更好的“自我控制”。“
Case Study
案例研究
By David Shukman
Science Editor, BBC News
科學編輯，BBC新聞
I met two of the participants in the study
in Cambridge
Sophia has the pallor and nervousness of a
long-term user of cocaine and crack. Her elder sister Teresa is smartly-dressed
and describes herself as a control freak.
我昨天會見了加入英國劍橋大學研究的兩個參與者。
索菲亞長期使用古柯鹼和可卡因而顯得蒼白和緊張。她的姐姐泰瑞莎打扮時髦，並介紹了自己是個控制狂。
They went through the tests and the scans
and were surprised to find that they share the same abnormalities of the brain.
It's a discovery that makes their contrasting lives all the more remarkable.
他們經歷了測試和掃描，並驚訝地發現，他們有著相同的大腦異常。它的發現，令他們對比的生活更引人注目。
Sophia is receiving treatment but admits
she has trouble with self-control. Theresa, with a similar biological
predisposition to addiction, has found the strength of character to stay clean.
索菲亞正在接受治療，但承認她有自我控制的麻煩。泰瑞莎，類似的生物成癮傾向，已經找到了堅強的性格，以保持清潔。
Poles apart, they are nevertheless devoted
to each other and these findings bring them closer. A unique project has an
unexpectedly moving outcome.
兩人南轅北轍般，但仍然為彼此奉獻，這些發現使他們更加親近。一個獨特的計畫促使未預期的結果出現。
參考資料 :
沒有留言:
張貼留言