大腦中有一部分總是說“是”

大腦中有一部分總是說“是”

Sometimes, you just can't say no to another spoonful of ice cream. And maybe one more after that. Why not? You deserve it. And since the tub is almost empty anyway, why not just finish the whole thing?

有時候，你就是不能對另一勺冰淇淋說不。之后可能還有一個。為什么不呢?這是你應(yīng)得的。既然胃里幾乎是空的，為什么不把整個蛋糕吃完呢?

There's no need to beat yourself up about it later — although you probably will. The truth is you were probably doomed from that very first spoonful.

以后沒必要再為此而自責(zé)了——盡管你可能會的。事實上，你可能從第一勺就注定要失敗。

Messing up the brownie 'design' seems like a good excuse to eat another one. The brain has other mechanisms at play that make it hard not to. (Photo: jan j. photography/Shutterstock)

That's because there may be a switch in the brain, and for whatever reason, it can get stuck in the "on" position.

這是因為大腦可能有一個開關(guān)，不管出于什么原因，它可能會卡在“開”的位置。

In a paper published this week in the journal Nature, researchers suggest that impulse control may come down to a very specific circuit in the brain. And that circuit always says yes.

在本周《自然》雜志上發(fā)表的一篇論文中，研究人員提出，沖動控制可能歸結(jié)于大腦中一個非常特殊的回路。這個部分總是說“是的”。

"We discovered the brain connections that keep impulsivity in check," Scott Kanoski, a neuroscientist at the University of Southern California explains in a news release. "The key to this system is a neuropeptide that we've been focusing on, melanin-concentrating hormone, in studies on appetite and eating."

“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)了控制沖動的大腦聯(lián)系，”南加州大學(xué)神經(jīng)科學(xué)家斯科特·卡諾斯基在新聞發(fā)布會上解釋說。“這個系統(tǒng)的關(guān)鍵是我們一直關(guān)注的一種神經(jīng)肽，黑色素集中激素，在食欲和飲食方面的研究。”

The upshot? There's a physical mechanism for impulsiveness — and understanding how it works could lead to major breakthroughs in the fight against everything from obesity to gambling to drug abuse.

結(jié)果呢?沖動是有生理機(jī)制的，了解它是如何運作的，可能會在對抗肥胖、賭博、吸毒等各種疾病的斗爭中取得重大突破。

Now, how to control it.

現(xiàn)在說說，如何控制它。

"By manipulating this circuit it is possible that one day we might be able to develop therapeutics for overeating that help people stick to a diet without reducing normal appetite or making delicious foods like donuts less delicious," adds lead author Emily Noble of the University of Georgia in Athens.

該研究的第一作者、雅典喬治亞大學(xué)的埃米莉•諾布爾補(bǔ)充說:“通過控制這一回路，我們有可能在將來某一天開發(fā)出治療暴飲暴食的方法，幫助人們在不降低正常食欲或減少甜甜圈等美味食品的美味程度的情況下堅持節(jié)食。”

It may not have a lot of real estate in the brain. but the hypothalamus carries a lot of weight on our decisions because of the hormones it releases. (Photo: Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock)

A second experiment offered the rats two dining options. Push Lever A and get an immediate small reward. Pushing Lever B meant waiting for around 40 seconds, but the food reward would be much bigger.

第二個實驗為老鼠提供了兩種食物選擇。推動A桿，立即得到一個小獎勵。推操縱桿B意味著要等大約40秒，但食物獎勵要大得多。

Guess which lever those impatient rats were most furiously fond of? That's right. They picked the now-now-now switch.

猜猜那些沒耐心的老鼠最喜歡哪根杠桿?這是正確的。他們選擇了now-now-now開關(guān)。

Through brain scans, the team zeroed in on a neural pathway that conducted MCH from the hypothalamus to the ventral hippocampus, the part of the brain where self-control likely resides.

通過腦部掃描，研究小組鎖定了一條神經(jīng)通路，這條通路將MCH從下丘腦傳導(dǎo)到海馬體的腹側(cè)，海馬體是大腦中自我控制能力可能存在的部分。

There's a part of the brain that always wants another serving, even if we don't need it. (Photo: Fabio Berti/Shutterstock)

Researchers can now see where that conversation between the brain's reward system and its impulse control center takes place. The next step will be to map it — and potentially influence the discussion. It may ultimately be possible to throttle down a food-eating frenzy. Or, as the researchers suggest, counteract the impulsive behaviors often seen with psychiatric diseases like schizophrenia and depression, and even Parkinson's disease.

研究人員現(xiàn)在可以看到大腦的獎勵系統(tǒng)和沖動控制中心之間的對話發(fā)生在哪里。下一步將是繪制地圖——并可能影響討論。也許最終有可能抑制暴飲暴食。或者，正如研究人員所建議的那樣，與精神疾病(如精神分裂癥和抑郁癥，甚至帕金森病)中常見的沖動行為相抵消。

"We are not quite in a place where we can target therapeutics to specific brain regions yet," Noble says. "But I think that day will come."

諾布爾說:“我們目前還不能針對特定的大腦區(qū)域進(jìn)行治療。”“但我認(rèn)為那一天會到來。”