孤獨(dú)和單調(diào)會(huì)使大腦萎縮

孤獨(dú)和單調(diào)會(huì)使大腦萎縮

A lot of things are known to shrivel up in cold conditions. Particularly human extremities like toes and fingers. But brains may also experience shrinkage, at least according to a study published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine.

我們知道很多東西在寒冷的條件下會(huì)枯萎。尤其是人類的四肢，比如腳趾和手指。但大腦也可能會(huì)經(jīng)歷萎縮，至少根據(jù)本周發(fā)表在《新英格蘭醫(yī)學(xué)雜志》上的一項(xiàng)研究是這樣。

14 months of isolation can do strange things to a brain, and may even hinder its ability to make new connections. (Photo: Veronika Zakharova/Shutterstock)

For their research, U.S. and German scientists monitored nine people who spent 14 months at a lonesome research station in the South Pole. At the end of that sojourn, the subjects were found to be literally light-headed. Before-and-after scans of their brains revealed that certain structures had significantly shrunk. In particular, the hippocampus — the cerebral cog critical for learning and memory — slimmed down substantially.

在他們的研究中，美國(guó)和德國(guó)科學(xué)家監(jiān)測(cè)了9名在南極一個(gè)孤獨(dú)的研究站呆了14個(gè)月的人。在那次逗留結(jié)束時(shí)，研究對(duì)象被發(fā)現(xiàn)確實(shí)是頭暈。對(duì)他們大腦的前后掃描顯示，某些結(jié)構(gòu)明顯縮小了。特別是，海馬體——大腦中對(duì)學(xué)習(xí)和記憶至關(guān)重要的部分——大幅萎縮。

But scientists suggest it's not so much the cold that shrinks brains, but rather loneliness and isolation. While living and working at the Antarctic station with sparse company, the test subjects didn't get much in the way of stimulation.

但科學(xué)家認(rèn)為，并不是寒冷讓大腦萎縮，而是孤獨(dú)和孤立。雖然與稀疏公司在南極站生活和工作，測(cè)試對(duì)象沒(méi)有得到太多的刺激。

We know that loneliness does a number on our health. Some experts suggest it's as toxic as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. But this study suggests the brain actually starts shedding weight — bits of itself that are critical to socialization — as it gets lonelier.

我們知道孤獨(dú)會(huì)影響我們的健康。一些專家認(rèn)為，它的毒性相當(dāng)于每天吸15支煙。但這項(xiàng)研究表明，當(dāng)大腦變得更加孤獨(dú)時(shí)，它實(shí)際上開始減輕體重——它自身的一些部位對(duì)社會(huì)化至關(guān)重要。

Even worse, it seems the brain has a hard time coming back from that experience. As the researchers explain to LiveScience, a brain that sheds weight from the hippocampus loses some of its ability to process emotions and interact with others.

更糟糕的是，大腦似乎很難從那次經(jīng)歷中恢復(fù)過(guò)來(lái)。正如研究人員向《生活科學(xué)》雜志所解釋的那樣，減輕海馬體重量的大腦失去了一些處理情緒和與他人互動(dòng)的能力。

For one of their tests, researchers measured the amount of protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. The brain relies on that protein to mint new neurons and create neural connections. In all nine of the test subjects, BDNF markedly declined as their Antarctic experience wore on.

在其中一項(xiàng)測(cè)試中，研究人員測(cè)量了腦源性神經(jīng)營(yíng)養(yǎng)因子(BDNF)的蛋白質(zhì)含量。大腦依靠這種蛋白質(zhì)來(lái)制造新的神經(jīng)元并建立神經(jīng)連接。在所有9個(gè)試驗(yàn)對(duì)象中，BDNF都隨著他們?cè)谀蠘O的經(jīng)歷而顯著下降。

Compared to a healthy control group — nine people who didn't wile away months in the Antarctic — the polar-bound participants showed a notable decline in both brain volume and BDNF protein.

與健康對(duì)照組(9名在南極沒(méi)有虛度數(shù)月時(shí)光的人)相比，前往極地的參與者的腦容量和BDNF蛋白都出現(xiàn)了顯著下降。

A lonely brain only gets lonelier, as it's essentially losing the ability to forge new bonds. It seems a polar ice sheet — even if it's just one of the mind — is a terrible place to live.

一個(gè)孤獨(dú)的大腦只會(huì)越來(lái)越孤獨(dú)，因?yàn)樗旧鲜チ私⑿侣?lián)系的能力。極地冰蓋似乎是一個(gè)可怕的居住地——即使它只是人類思想的一部分。

Doing the same thing over and over again may have a similar effect as living on a polar glacier. (Photo: Di Vanarte/Shutterstock)

As the new research suggests, it's not the cold, but rather the monotony that feasts on a brain. A brain that slogs through the same routine every day, while seeing the same faces over and over again, has trouble forging new meaningful connections and experiences.

新的研究表明，不是寒冷，而是大腦的單調(diào)。如果一個(gè)人的大腦每天都在做著同樣的事情，卻一次又一次地看到同樣的面孔，那么他就很難建立起新的有意義的聯(lián)系和經(jīng)歷。

And that's a problem in a society that's experiencing an epidemic of loneliness.

這是一個(gè)正在經(jīng)歷孤獨(dú)流行病的社會(huì)的問(wèn)題。

"Being connected to others socially is widely considered a fundamental human need — crucial to both well-being and survival," psychology professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad noted in a press release related to another study. "Yet an increasing portion of the U.S. population now experiences isolation regularly."

心理學(xué)教授Julianne Holt-Lunstad在一份與另一項(xiàng)研究相關(guān)的新聞稿中指出:“在社會(huì)上與他人保持聯(lián)系被廣泛認(rèn)為是人類的基本需求——對(duì)幸福和生存都至關(guān)重要。”“然而，越來(lái)越多的美國(guó)人現(xiàn)在經(jīng)常遭受隔離。”

But there is hope. The research team focused on ways to fortify the mind against shrinkage — things like "specific physical exercise routines and virtual reality to augment sensory stimulation," as they tell LiveScience.

但還是有希望的。研究小組把重點(diǎn)放在了增強(qiáng)大腦抵御萎縮的方法上——像他們告訴LiveScience的那樣，“具體的體育鍛煉和虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)來(lái)增強(qiáng)感官刺激。”

Or, of course, you could also try not spending too long at an Antarctic research station. Or even better, avoid making an Antarctic research station out of your life here in civilization.

當(dāng)然，你也可以試著不要在南極科考站呆太久。或者更好的是，不要把你在文明世界的生活變成南極科考站。

Either way, it makes sense to try to make some new friends.

不管怎樣，結(jié)交新朋友是有意義的。