【英语时差8，16】恋爱中的大脑

 Don: I'm trying to write a poem to my sweetheart. Can you think of a good metaphor¹ for love?

Yael: How about hunger or thirst?

D: I don't know about that. I was thinking something like love is a rose, except less cliché.

Y: You must be talking about a later stage of romantic love because that metaphor is entirely² off target when it's very early love that we're talking about.

D: And hunger or thirst IS on target for early love? Are you saying that our need for love is as basic as our needs for food and water?

Y: Something like that. When we're craving³ things like food, water, or drugs, or anticipating getting them, two areas deep within the brain, the ventral tegmental area and caudate nucleus⁴, are active. A neurochemical called dopamine is released from the ventral tegmental area into the caudate nucleus. Neuroscientists have produced brain scan images of the brains of people falling in love, when they're feeling the passion of a very new relationship that has yet to become comfortable and secure. What they found is that the brain in love looks a lot like the brain craving or anticipating things like food or drugs. The same areas of the brain are active. Interestingly, this region is located in a different area of the brain from the region associated with determining physical attractiveness.

D: You mean that our brain makes a distinction between simply finding someone attractive and being mad about them, as they say?

Y: Yes. That these emotions activate⁵ completely different parts of the brain suggests that romantic love doesn't just feel different than sexual attraction, but that our brains register these as two different urges.  

1 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

2 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

3 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

4 nucleus   

n.核，核心，原子核

参考例句：

• These young people formed the nucleus of the club.这些年轻人成了俱乐部的核心。
• These councils would form the nucleus of a future regime.这些委员会将成为一个未来政权的核心。

5 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。