孤獨和單調(diào)會使大腦萎縮

孤獨和單調(diào)會使大腦萎縮

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枯萎。尤其是人類的四肢，比如腳趾和手指。但大腦也可能會經(jīng)歷萎縮，至少根據(jù)本周發(fā)表在《新英格蘭醫(yī)學雜志》上的一項研究是這樣。

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，美國和德國科學家監(jiān)測了9名在南極一個孤獨的研究站呆了14個月的人。在那次逗留結(jié)束時，研究對象被發(fā)現(xiàn)確實是頭暈。對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——大腦中對學習和記憶至關(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.

但科學家認為，并不是寒冷讓大腦萎縮，而是孤獨和孤立。雖然與稀疏公司在南極站生活和工作，測試對象沒有得到太多的刺激。

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.

我們知道孤獨會影響我們的健康。一些專家認為，它的毒性相當于每天吸15支煙。但這項研究表明，當大腦變得更加孤獨時，它實際上開始減輕體重——它自身的一些部位對社會化至關(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)歷中恢復過來。正如研究人員向《生活科學》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.

在其中一項測試中，研究人員測量了腦源性神經(jīng)營養(yǎng)因子(BDNF)的蛋白質(zhì)含量。大腦依靠這種蛋白質(zhì)來制造新的神經(jīng)元并建立神經(jīng)連接。在所有9個試驗對象中，BDNF都隨著他們在南極的經(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.

與健康對照組(9名在南極沒有虛度數(shù)月時光的人)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.

一個孤獨的大腦只會越來越孤獨，因為它基本上失去了建立新聯(lián)系的能力。極地冰蓋似乎是一個可怕的居住地——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.

這是一個正在經(jīng)歷孤獨流行病的社會的問題。

"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."

心理學教授Julianne Holt-Lunstad在一份與另一項研究相關(guān)的新聞稿中指出:“在社會上與他人保持聯(lián)系被廣泛認為是人類的基本需求——對幸福和生存都至關(guān)重要。”“然而，越來越多的美國人現(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。研究小組把重點放在了增強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)實來增強感官刺激。”

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。