Source：科学60秒
Date：2009.01.30
New Brain Cells Get Time-Stamped
You probably remember exactly what you were doing when you first heard the news on 9/11. That’s because the brain has ways to file information so that things that happen at the same time are forever linked in our minds. Now a study published in the journal |“Neuron”says that newborn cells in a structure called the hippocampus help us remember concurrent events. The hippocampus is part of the brain that allows us to lay down new memories. And about ten years ago, scientists were surprised to find that new neurons pop up in this region every day, even in adult animals and people. But what do these new cells do? Scientists turned to computer modeling to help them find out. They put in what they knew about the behavior of these new cells, which start out like puppies that get totally excited over every little thing, and eventually mature into more discerning members of neuronal society. And they found that the hyperactivity of these excitable young cells, which react with great gusto to everything that goes on, could help stamp memories with a sort of “time code” that indicates which things happened together. So if you still remember what you were eating when you dumped your loser boyfriend, you can thank your newborn neurons.
Words
file：归档，文件，档案
hippocampus：海马，海马体（大脑中被认为是感情和记忆中心的部分）
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocampus
concurrent：并发的， 一致的，协作的
lay down：放下
pop up：突然出现
puppy：小狗，自负的青年，小动物
discerning：有识别力的，眼光敏锐的
neuronal：神经元
hyperactivity：活动过度，极度活跃
excitable：易兴奋的，易怒的
gusto： 爱好，由衷的高兴，嗜好
stamp：盖章于，贴印花于，压印于，邮票，验讫的标签，印花，图章，戳子，印
dump：倾倒，摆脱，扔弃，甩了，倾卸，倒垃圾，倾销商品
Audio
Website address
https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/new-brain-cells-get-time-stamped-09-01-30/
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