M D M D D M
1. Women seem to experience more pain than men because women and men use different circuits in the brain to block pain.
2. Anne Murphy in the U.S. and Jeff Mogil in Canada did research on how men and women experience pain.
3. Most pain killers are tested on men, but they have different effects on men and women.
4. The painkiller Nalbuphine works well on women, but sometimes increases pain in men.
5. It is very expensive to develop new drugs.
6. With more research, better painkillers for women may be created.
1. Suffer more often from depression
A. women B. men
2. Produce less serotonin
3. Respond better to antidepressants that work on serotonin
4. Are more often diagnosed with problems affecting brain systems
A. women B. men A. women B. men A. women B. men
OK. To sum up , there’s still a lot to learn. We’re just beginning to find out how pain control and mental health are different in men and women. One thing that is still astonishing is that so many researchers failed to include females in their studies. This is especially strange when it comes to pain research. Women are the most common sufferers of pain and yet most basic pain research is carried out only on males. In many areas , there seem to be more and more reports that the results of earlier research are actually only true for males, thus making the earlier researchers
look rather foolish. Anyway , what’s important is that researchers are nowbeginning to take women into account. We may well see medicines better suited to female physiology in the future. In a few decades’ time , women and men with the same illnesses could be treated in different ways. And this may apply to more than just the brain. So it’s an exciting field to explore—and one that could make a real difference to people’s lives.
Another area where there are gender differences is mental health. Let’s take depression, for example. Women appear to suffer from depression twice as often as men, and their brains typically produce about half as much serotonin—a brain chemical linked to depression. Recently, Anna-Lena Nordstr?m from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, found that there seem to be significant differences in how male and female brains process serotonin. There are no firm conclusions yet, but this is of special interest for two reasons . First,
commonantidepressants like Prozac work on serotonin. Second, there is evidence that womenrespond better to these common antidepressants than those that work on neurotransmitters other than serotonin.
1. What is the speaker’s main point about learning?
2. Which sentence explains one of the speaker’s main points?
A. “This means that you learn details first, and then you piece them together to
understand the main idea.”
A. It is more difficult for some people than others. B. It affects only one hemisphere of the brain. C. It is connected to the physical brain. D. It cannot be scientifically measured.
B. “We’re going to talk more about learning styles later, and about how we can use our
individual learning styles to study effectively.”
C. “And usually, one hemisphere is stronger than the other—at least in humans.” D. “The brain is divided into two hemispheres that process information in different
ways.”
3. What is the main point the professor wants listeners to know?
4. How does the professor support the main point?
A. by explaining in detail how people read B. by linking study strategies to learning styles
C. by stressing the difficulty of some reading assignments D. by describing the physical structure
A. Different types of people process information in different ways. B. Humans use the same reading strategy to understand texts. C. Certain ways of studying are more useful than others. D. Some types of study skills are not very effective.
1. Today we know there are big differences between men's and women's brains. In the past, we thought the differences were not as big.
Today we know there are bigger differences between men's and women's brains than we thought in the past.
2. Women often suffer from depression. Men don't suffer from depression as often. Women suffer from depression more often than men .
3. With more research, we may be able to create effective painkillers for women. We don't have very effective painkillers for women now.
With more research, we may be able to create painkillers that are more effective for women than painkillers we have today.
4. There is evidence that women respond well to serotonin-based antidepressants. They don't respond well to antidepressants that don't work on serotonin.
There is evidence that women respond better to serotonin-based antidepressants than to antidepressants that don't work on serotonin.
5. Modern technology gives us detailed information about what is going on in the brain. The information from older methods of research was not as detailed.
Modern technology gives us more detailed information about what is going on in the brain thanolder methods of research.
6. The painkiller nalbuphine works well for women. It doesn't work well for men. The painkiller nalbuphine works better for women than for men .
7. Parts of the frontal lobe are proportionately large in women. They aren't as large in men. Parts of the frontal lobe are proportionately larger in women than in men .
8. Current brain research on males and females is useful. Past research on only males was not as useful
Current brain research on males and females is more useful than past research on only males.
1. Both PET and fMRI scans make images of brain activity.
A. true B. false
2. Before a PET scan, the person drinks a radioactive substance.
A. true B. false
3. The radioactive substance collects in the active areas in the person's brain.
A. true B. false
4. A PET scan can create a film showing brain activity.
A. true B. false
5. The colors in a PET scan image show different amounts of mental activity.
A. true B. false
6. More blood goes to areas where the brain is least active.
A. true B. false
7. Responses to a magnetic field are different when blood oxygen levels are high.
A. true
B. false
8. An fMRI machine can take an image every one to four minutes.
A. true B. false
1. Thesis: It's important to include women in medical research. Main Ideas:
A. Animal brains are different from human brains.
B. Men and women react differently to the same medication. C. Men's and women's brains are different.
2. Thesis: More study is needed to understand the differences between male and female brains. Main Ideas:
A. Most brain research in animals and humans is done only on male brains.
B. Differences between men and women often result from social pressures, which cause
them to behave in a certain way.
C. Scientists have found some differences in the structure of male and female brains, but
don't know what those differences mean.
3. Main Idea: Men and women react differently to the same medication. Supporting Details:
A. Antidepressants like Prozac that work on serotonin levels are more effective in women. B. The frontal lobe and limbic cortex are bigger in women's brains.
C. The painkiller nalbuphine is effective for women, but can increase pain in men.
4. Main Idea: Men’s and women’s brains are different. Supporting Details:
A. Men and women have different hormones which send different messages to the body. B. More boys than girls are diagnosed with brain system problems like autism and
schizophrenia.
C. The frontal lobe and limbic cortex are bigger in women's brains, while the parietal
cortex and amygdala are bigger in men.
5. Main Idea: Differences between men and women often result from social pressures, which cause them to behave in a certain way. Supporting Details:
A. Girls are often expected to be quiet and obedient, while boys are allowed to be noisier
and more adventuresome.
B. Men are generally taller and have larger muscles than women.
C. Studies have shown that teachers call on boys more often to give answers in class.