注意力不集中？原来这是一种大脑的疾病_公共英语阅读理解

注意力不集中？原来这是一种大脑的疾病

The study’s authors hope that the research will help to combat widespread misunderstanding of ADHD, which is often seen as some sort of motivational deficit or character failing rather than a real disorder. The findings show that the disorder is as real as other neuropsychiatric disorders like depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

该项研究的作者希望这能够帮助解决大众对多动症的普遍误解，因为往往大家会认为这是种动机或性格缺陷而不是一种疾病。但研究结果表明，多动症和抑郁症以及强迫症一样都属于神经性精神疾病。

For the study, a team of Dutch neuroscientists analyzed MRI scans of the brains of more than 3,200 people between the ages of four and 63 years old (with a median age of 14 years old), measuring total brain volume as well as the volume of seven brain regions thought to be linked to ADHD. Roughly half of the participants had a diagnosis of ADHD.

在这项研究中，一批荷兰科学家分析了年龄在4到63岁之间（平均年龄14岁）的3200多人的大脑核磁共振扫描结果，测量了大脑总体积以及大脑七块与多动症的产生相关的区域体积。大约一半的参与者被诊断出患有多动症。

The brain scans revealed that five brain regions were smaller in people with ADHD. These include the amygdala, an almond-shaped structure involved in processing emotions like fear and pleasure; the hippocampus, which plays a role in learning, memory and emotion; and three brain areas within the striatum ― the caudate nucleus, the putamen and the nucleus accumbens. The structures within the striatum are involved in the brain’s reward system and in its processing of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control motivation and pleasure.