為啥一到冬天起床就特別困難？真不是因?yàn)閼?/h1>2021-12-07 21:55:04  每日學(xué)英語(yǔ)

為啥一到冬天起床就特別困難?科學(xué)家說(shuō)這要怪你的大腦。

A study conducted by neurobiologists from Northwestern University made it possible to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.

美國(guó)西北大學(xué)神經(jīng)生物學(xué)家進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)研究或許能解釋導(dǎo)致這種現(xiàn)象的機(jī)理。

Their study on fruit flies, has found a thermometer circuit can transfer information about cold temps from their antennas right to the brain.

他們?cè)趯?duì)果蠅的研究中發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)溫度提示回路，可以將低溫信息從觸角傳輸?shù)酱竽X。

They show how, through this circuit, seasonally cold and dark conditions can inhibit neurons within the fly brain that promote activity and wakefulness, particularly in the morning.

研究顯示，通過(guò)該回路，季節(jié)性寒冷和黑暗環(huán)境可以抑制果蠅大腦中促進(jìn)活動(dòng)和清醒的神經(jīng)元，特別是在早晨。

“This helps explains why -- for both flies and humans -- it is so hard to wake up in the morning in winter,” said Marco Gallio, associate professor of neurobiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. “By studying behaviors in a fruit fly, we can better understand how and why temperature is so critical to regulating sleep.”

溫伯格文理學(xué)院神經(jīng)生物學(xué)副教授馬可·加利奧表示：“這有助于解釋為什么無(wú)論對(duì)蒼蠅還是人類(lèi)來(lái)說(shuō)，在冬天的早上醒來(lái)都很困難。通過(guò)研究果蠅的行為，我們可以更好地理解溫度對(duì)調(diào)節(jié)睡眠的重要性。”

The study, led by Gallio and conducted in Drosophila melanogaster, was published in the journal Current Biology.

這項(xiàng)研究由加利奧主導(dǎo)，研究對(duì)象為黑腹果蠅，研究成果發(fā)表在《當(dāng)代生物學(xué)》雜志上。

The paper describes for the first time “absolute cold” receptors residing in the fly antenna, which respond to temperature only below the fly’s “comfort zone” of approximately 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

這篇論文首次介紹了果蠅觸角中的“絕對(duì)寒冷”感覺(jué)神經(jīng)元，它們只對(duì)低于果蠅溫度舒適區(qū)的氣溫作出反應(yīng)。果蠅感到適宜的溫度接近25攝氏度。

Having identified those neurons, the researchers followed them all the way to their targets within the brain. They found the main recipients of this information are a small group of brain neurons that are part of a larger network that controls rhythms of activity and sleep. When the cold circuit they discovered is active, the target cells, which normally are activated by morning light, are shut down.

在識(shí)別出這些神經(jīng)元后，研究人員一直追蹤，發(fā)現(xiàn)了它們?cè)诖竽X中對(duì)應(yīng)的靶細(xì)胞。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)這些信息的主要接收者是一小群大腦神經(jīng)元細(xì)胞，它們是控制活動(dòng)和睡眠規(guī)律的大腦神經(jīng)網(wǎng)絡(luò)的一部分。當(dāng)溫度提示回路被激活時(shí)，通?？梢员怀抗饧せ畹倪@些靶細(xì)胞就會(huì)休息。

“Temperature sensing is one of the most fundamental sensory modalities,” said Gallio, whose group is one of only a few in the world that is systematically studying temperature sensing in fruit flies. “The principles we are finding in the fly brain -- the logic and organization -- may be the same all the way to humans. Whether fly or human, the sensory systems have to solve the same problems, so they often do it in the same ways.”

加里奧的研究團(tuán)隊(duì)是世界上為數(shù)不多的系統(tǒng)研究果蠅溫度感應(yīng)的團(tuán)隊(duì)之一，他表示：“溫度感應(yīng)是最基本的感覺(jué)方式之一。我們?cè)诠壌竽X中發(fā)現(xiàn)的原理——邏輯和組織結(jié)構(gòu)——可能對(duì)人類(lèi)來(lái)說(shuō)都是一樣的。無(wú)論蒼蠅還是人類(lèi)，感覺(jué)系統(tǒng)都必須處理同樣的問(wèn)題，因此它們的處理機(jī)制通常也是相似的。”