喜歡吃甜食?科學家找到了抑制想吃甜食的方法大綱
If you've got a sweet tooth, you'll know all too well the temptation to reach for the biscuit jar. But help could soon be at hand, thanks to a new study that has identified a way to 'switch off' sugar cravings.
如果你喜歡吃甜食，那你就知道餅乾罐的誘惑力有多大了。但你很快就能得到幫助，因為一項新研究發現了一種抑制甜食渴望的方法。Researchers from Columbia University discovered a way to remove cravings for sugar in mice, and say that the technique could one day be applied to humans. The study builds upon previous research in which the researchers revealed that when the tongue encounters one of the five tastes - sweet, bitter, salty, sour or umami - cells on the tongue send signals to regions of the brain so as to identify the taste, and trigger the appropriate actions.
哥倫比亞大學的研究員發現了一種能消除老鼠對甜食渴望的方法。研究建立在先前研究的基礎之上，此前研究人員揭示：當舌頭嚐到5種味道--甜、苦、鹹、酸或鮮味時--舌頭上的細胞會向大腦區域發送信號以識別味道，同時觸發適當的動作。In this follow-up study, the researchers focused on sweet and bitter tastes and the amygdala - a brain region that is key for making judgements about sensory experience. Dr Li Wang, who led the study, said: "Our earlier work revealed a clear divide between the sweet and bitter regions of the taste cortex.
在後續研究中，研究員着重研究甜味和苦味以及扁桃體--這是對感官體驗做出判斷的關鍵大腦區域。該研究的首席研究員Li Wang博士説道："我們的早期工作揭示：味覺皮層的甜味區和苦味區存在明顯差異。"
"This new study showed that same division continued all the way into the amygdala. This segregation between sweet and bitter regions in both the taste cortex and amygdala meant we could independently manipulate these brain regions and monitor any resulting changes in behaviour."
"這項新的研究表明：這種差異一直延伸至扁桃體。味覺皮層和扁桃體中甜味區和苦味區的差異意味着我們可以獨立操縱這些大腦區域、監測由此產生的行為變化。"The team performed several experiments in which the sweet or bitter connections to the amygdala were artificially switched off. When the sweet connections were turned off, the mice could still recognise and distinguish sweet from bitter, but lacked the basic emotional reactions, like preference for sugar or aversion to bitter.
該小組進行了多次實驗，並人為地關閉甜味或苦味與扁桃體的之間的聯繫。當甜味被關閉時，小鼠仍能識別、辨別甜味和苦味，但缺乏基本的情緒反應，比如喜歡甜味或厭惡苦味。Dr Wang said: "It would be like taking a bite of your favourite chocolate cake but not deriving any enjoyment from doing so. After a few bites, you may stop eating, whereas otherwise you would have scarfed it down."
Wang博士説道："就像是咬了一口你最喜歡的巧克力蛋糕，但卻沒有從中感受到樂趣。吃了幾口後，你也許就不吃了，或者是狼吞虎嚥的吃完。"The researchers believe that the technique could one day be applied to humans, and could be used to treat people with obesity or eating disorders.
研究員認為這項技術或將有一天被用於人類，甚至可用於治療肥胖或飲食失調。
