We begin today with a study from two Texas universities.

今天先看来自得克萨斯州两所大学的一项研究。

They took on the question of whether lifetime use of technology increases reliance on devices and, as a consequence, weakens cognitive abilities over time.

研究者们探讨了长期使用科技产品是否会增加对设备的依赖，进而逐渐削弱认知能力。

They studied what's called the digital dementia hypothesis, analyzing 57 studies published over the last two decades that included hundreds of thousands of adults who were on average 68 years old when the studies began.

他们研究了“数字痴呆假说”，分析了过去二十年发表的57项研究，这些研究涵盖了数十万成年人，研究开始时他们的平均年龄为68岁。

The Alzheimer's Association defines dementia as (quote) general term for loss of memory, language, problem solving, and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life (unquote).

阿尔茨海默病协会将痴呆症定义为“记忆力、语言能力、解决问题能力等其他思维能力丧失的统称，其严重程度足以干扰日常生活”。

They add that Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia.

他们补充说，阿尔茨海默病是痴呆症最常见的病因。

The findings of these studies were significant.

这些研究的结果意义重大。

None of the studies the researchers reviewed overall correlated an increased risk of cognitive impairment with technology use. In fact,

研究者分析的所有研究均未发现使用科技产品与认知障碍风险增加之间存在关联。事实上，

their studies found that technology use was actually associated with a 42% lower risk of cognitive impairment in the subjects involved in these studies.

他们的研究发现，使用科技产品实际上与受试者的认知障碍风险降低42%相关联。

But the researchers also concluded that these findings are not some sort of green light to just start scrolling mindlessly on your smartphone.

但研究人员也得出结论，这些发现并不意味着你可以毫无顾忌地开始刷手机。

And some of the study's limitations leave a number of questions about the relationships between technology use and brain health.

该研究的一些局限性使得仍有一些疑问未被解答，主要是关于使用科技产品与大脑健康之间有何关系。

For example, there weren't any details on whether people were using devices in ways that meaningfully exercise their brains or what kind of devices they used and for how long.

例如，人们是否以有效锻炼大脑的方式使用科技设备？人们使用的是何种设备？使用时长为多久？关于这些问题没有提供任何细节。

While technology use was generally linked with a lower risk of cognitive decline, the authors say the findings for social media use were inconsistent.

虽然使用科技产品通常与认知能力下降的风险降低有关，但作者指出，关于社交媒体使用情况的研究结果并不一致。

In all, for both younger and older generations, researchers say engaging with technology in moderation is the way to go,

总的来说，研究人员表示，无论是年轻人还是老年人，适度接触科技才是健康之道，

especially when technology helps us be neurologically active, bringing genuine connection, creativity, and intellectual stimulation to our lives.

尤其要让科技帮助我们保持神经活跃，为我们的生活带来真实的联系、创造力和智力刺激。