基本信息
阅读理解精选21 motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia(痴呆) in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones(荷尔蒙) , u.s. researchers reported on thursday. tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory a nd skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as alzheimer’s(早老痴呆症). university of richmond psychology professor craig kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans. “our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy(怀孕) are protecting the brain, including estrogen(雌激素), which we know has many neuroprotective (保护神经的) effects,” kinsley said. “it’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals ar e mammals,” he added in a telephone interview. “they go through pregnancy and hormonal changes.” kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline. “when people think about pregnanc y, they think about what happens to babies a
