看到惡心的東西為什么會嘔吐？

As children, my older brothers and I always sat at the same places around the dinner table. Unfortunately, they were seated right across from me, the puker. I have vivid memories of barfing onto my plate as my mom and dad briskly cleared dishes and grabbed paper towels, all without a break in conversation. It happened so often that one of my siblings learned to hold up his dinner plate and keep eating as the mess was cleaned.

我還是個孩子的時候，我和哥哥們在餐桌上有固定的座位。我還清楚地記得，當(dāng)我的父母用完餐后，他們便開始輕快地清理盤子和擦桌子。每到這時，我看到那些食物殘渣就想要嘔吐。但是這件事發(fā)生得如此頻繁，以至于我的一個哥哥學(xué)會了在父母清理食物殘渣時舉起餐盤繼續(xù)進(jìn)食。

As I aged, the incidences became less frequent, but remained a real possibility, triggered by gory movies, half-chewed food and anyone who dared to become sick around me. And I know I'm not alone. Why do we vomit when we see something gross?

隨著年齡的增長，我想要嘔吐的沖動變得不那么頻繁了，但并沒有完全消失。當(dāng)看到血腥的電影或者嚼了一半的食物時，我還是會想要嘔吐。當(dāng)然了，我知道并不只是我一個人這樣。但我還是不禁想問：為什么我們看到惡心的東西時想要嘔吐?

It could be the way our brains are wired. Scientists have discovered "mirror neurons" in the brain. Thanks to these neurons, we're able to empathize with others and their activities. In one study, functional MRI scans of participants showed that brain activity was similar whether subjects were imitating an emotion or observing an emotion. The brain's imitation and observation areas are so linked, we may feel like crying if we see someone else cry. Or, more to the point, vomit if we see someone else vomit .

這可能是因為我們大腦的連接方式。科學(xué)家們在我們的大腦中發(fā)現(xiàn)了“鏡像神經(jīng)元”，多虧了這些神經(jīng)元，我們才能夠同情他人的活動。在一項研究中，參與者的功能性核磁共振掃描顯示，不管參與者是在模仿情緒還是觀察情緒，其大腦活動是相似的。大腦的模仿區(qū)域和觀察區(qū)域的聯(lián)系是如此的緊密，以至于如果我們看到別人哭泣，我們可能也想流淚。更重要的是，如果我們看到別人嘔吐，我們也想要嘔吐。

The urge to vomit when we see something gross also could be a form of self-preservation. Let's say a prehistoric human ate a handful of poisonous red berries, believing them to be a delicious snack, and then became violently ill. In the future, simply seeing those berries will cause feelings of nausea and prompt a refusal to eat them. This conditioned reaction, in which your body creates a strong physical aversion, could save your life. Or go wrong.

當(dāng)我們看到惡心的東西時，想要嘔吐的沖動也可能是一種自我保護(hù)。比如，一個史前人類吃了一把有毒的紅色漿果，然后病得十分厲害。在以后的日子里，他只要看到這些漿果就會感到惡心，并拒絕食用它們。這種讓你的身體產(chǎn)生強(qiáng)烈厭惡的條件反應(yīng)，可以拯救你的生命。或者出錯。

Perhaps you ate eggs for breakfast and then went happily to work. For lunch, you opted for sushi and, by your mid-afternoon break, became violently ill. It's not the eggs' fault. You contracted food poisoning from day-old sushi. Even so, you spend the next few months avoiding sushi and eggs. The sushi makes sense, but what about the eggs? The sight of them makes you want to vomit, even though they weren't the real culprits. However, your brain believes the eggs made you ill and is mistakenly trying to protect you from them.

也許你早餐吃了雞蛋，然后高興地去工作了。而午餐時，你選擇了壽司。在午后休息時，你病得很厲害。這并不是雞蛋的錯，而是壽司讓你食物中毒了。即便如此，接下來的幾個月里你還是會同時避免吃壽司和雞蛋。不吃壽司確實是有道理的，但雞蛋是無辜的。然而，你的大腦認(rèn)為是雞蛋讓你生病了，并錯誤地試圖保護(hù)你免受它們的傷害。