One key to a longer life could be a quieter brain without too much neural activity, according to a new study that examined postmortem brain tissue from extremely long-lived people for clues about what made them different from people who died in their 60s and 70s.

一項新研究表明，長壽的一個關鍵因素可能是大腦比較平靜，且沒有太多的神經活動。該研究剖檢了壽命極長之人死后的腦組織，以尋找他們與六七十歲即去世之人的不同之處。

"Use it or lose it" has dominated thinking on how to protect the aging brain, and extensive research shows there are many benefits to remaining physically and mentally active as people get older.

關于如何保護衰老的大腦，“用進廢退”一直主宰著人們的想法。大量研究表明，隨著年齡的增長，保持身體和精神上的活躍有很多好處。

But the study, published in the journal Nature, suggests more isn't always better. Excessive activity - at least at the level of brain cells - could be harmful.

但發表在《自然》雜志上的這項研究表明，并不總是越多越好。至少過度的腦細胞活動可能是有害的。

"The completely shocking and puzzling thing about this new paper is ... [brain activity] is what you think of as keeping you cognitively normal. There's the idea that you want to keep your brain active in later life," said Michael McConnell, a neuroscientist at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, who was not involved in the study.

“這篇新論文最讓人震驚和困惑的是……（大腦活動）就是你所認為的能讓你保持正常認知的事物。而你希望在日后的生活中保持大腦活躍，”利伯爾大腦發育研究所神經學家邁克爾·麥康奈爾說道，他并沒有參與這項研究。

"The thing that is super unexpected is ... limiting neural activity is a good thing in healthy aging. It's very counterintuitive."

“非常令人意外的是……有限的神經活動有利于健康地衰老，但它卻是違反常理的。”

Researchers at Harvard Medical School analyzed brain tissue donated to human brain banks by people ranging in age from their 60s and 70s to centenarians who lived to be 100 or older.

哈佛大學醫學院的研究人員分析了60多歲、70多歲到100多歲的老人捐獻給人類大腦庫的腦組織。

They found people who died before their mid-80s had lower levels in their brains of a protein called REST that tamps down genes involved in sparking brain activity, compared to the very oldest people. REST had already been shown to be protective against Alzheimer's disease.

他們發現，與特別長壽的人相比，那些85歲之前就去世的人，他們大腦中名為REST的蛋白質含量較低，這種蛋白質能抑制激發大腦活動的基因，而REST已被證明可以預防老年癡呆癥。

One key to a longer life could be a quieter brain without too much neural activity, according to a new study that examined postmortem brain tissue from extremely long-lived people for clues about what made them different from people who died in their 60s and 70s.

一項新研究表明，長壽的一個關鍵因素可能是大腦比較平靜，且沒有太多的神經活動。該研究剖檢了壽命極長之人死后的腦組織，以尋找他們與六七十歲即去世之人的不同之處。

"Use it or lose it" has dominated thinking on how to protect the aging brain, and extensive research shows there are many benefits to remaining physically and mentally active as people get older.

關于如何保護衰老的大腦，“用進廢退”一直主宰著人們的想法。大量研究表明，隨著年齡的增長，保持身體和精神上的活躍有很多好處。

But the study, published in the journal Nature, suggests more isn't always better. Excessive activity - at least at the level of brain cells - could be harmful.

但發表在《自然》雜志上的這項研究表明，并不總是越多越好。至少過度的腦細胞活動可能是有害的。

"The completely shocking and puzzling thing about this new paper is ... [brain activity] is what you think of as keeping you cognitively normal. There's the idea that you want to keep your brain active in later life," said Michael McConnell, a neuroscientist at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, who was not involved in the study.

“這篇新論文最讓人震驚和困惑的是……（大腦活動）就是你所認為的能讓你保持正常認知的事物。而你希望在日后的生活中保持大腦活躍，”利伯爾大腦發育研究所神經學家邁克爾·麥康奈爾說道，他并沒有參與這項研究。

"The thing that is super unexpected is ... limiting neural activity is a good thing in healthy aging. It's very counterintuitive."

“非常令人意外的是……有限的神經活動有利于健康地衰老，但它卻是違反常理的。”

Researchers at Harvard Medical School analyzed brain tissue donated to human brain banks by people ranging in age from their 60s and 70s to centenarians who lived to be 100 or older.

哈佛大學醫學院的研究人員分析了60多歲、70多歲到100多歲的老人捐獻給人類大腦庫的腦組織。

They found people who died before their mid-80s had lower levels in their brains of a protein called REST that tamps down genes involved in sparking brain activity, compared to the very oldest people. REST had already been shown to be protective against Alzheimer's disease.

他們發現，與特別長壽的人相比，那些85歲之前就去世的人，他們大腦中名為REST的蛋白質含量較低，這種蛋白質能抑制激發大腦活動的基因，而REST已被證明可以預防老年癡呆癥。