养只小狗，健康常有！研究：摸摸小狗有助于强化你的大脑
吸猫、撸狗，已经成为当代年轻人的“续命大法”。
正所谓“养只小狗，健康常有”。已经有许多研究表明，养狗对于人的身体健康益处良多，比如说能明显降低死亡率、减少抑郁孤独等等。
最近，一项新的研究表明，仅仅是摸摸小狗，就能帮助我们强化大脑的认知功能。
Researchers led by Rahel Marti at the University of Basel in Switzerland report that viewing, feeling, and touching real dogs leads to increasingly higher levels of activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain.
由瑞士巴塞尔大学的拉赫尔·马蒂（Rahel Marti）领导的研究团队在一项研究报告中指出，观察、感觉和触摸真实的狗狗会导致大脑前额叶皮层的活动水平越来越高。
Published in PLOS ONE on October 5, the study shows that this effect persists after the dogs are no longer present, but is reduced when real dogs are replaced with stuffed animals. The findings have implications for animal-assisted clinical therapy.
Researchers think that a better understanding of the associated brain activity could help clinicians design improved systems for animal-assisted therapy.
Results showed that prefrontal brain activity was greater when participants interacted with the real dogs, and that this difference was largest for petting, which was the most interactive condition.
结果表明，当受试者与真正的狗狗互动时，前额叶的活动更活跃，并且这种差异在抚摸时更明显，是互动性最强的情况。
❶
a dog's breakfast/dinner
这可不是表示“狗狗的早餐或晚餐”的意思。它是指一件事情完成得非常糟糕，相当于“make a mess”。
例：
He's made a real dog's breakfast of this homework.
他这个作业做得一团糟。
❷
every dog has his/its day
例：
I've been waiting a long time for success - four years - but every dog has its day.
我等待成功已经很久了——四年了——但人人都会有高光时刻。
❸
be like a dog with a bone
例：
I was late once, and my boss is like a dog with a bone, bringing it up every chance she gets.
有一次我迟到了，我的老板对此无比执着，一有机会就会提起这件事。
❹
give a dog a bad name
例：
- "Ever since I failed my exam, my teacher sees me as a slacker, no matter what I do."
自从我考试不及格后，不管我做什么，老师都认为我是个懒鬼。
- "Well, give a dog a bad name, right?"
嗯，名声一坏难以翻身，对吧？
编辑：朱迪齐
实习生：黎咏欣
来源：CNN; Study Finds; Neuroscience News; healthline; The Guardian
推 荐 阅 读
微信扫码关注该文公众号作者