经济学人110:纽约人的精神状态

 　　Mental well-being¹

　　心理健康

　　A New York state of mind

　　纽约人的精神状态

　　Urban brains behave differently from rural ones

　　城市人的大脑异于乡村

　　Jun 23rd 2011 | from the print edition

　　Shelley contemplates² urban decay

　　沉思城市衰落的雪莱

　　“HELL is a city much like London,” opined Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1819. Modern academics agree. Last year Dutch researchers showed that city dwellers³ have a 21% higher risk of developing anxiety disorders⁴ than do their calmer rural countrymen, and a 39% higher risk of developing mood disorders. But exactly how the inner workings of the urban and rural minds cause this difference has remained obscure—until now. A study just published in Nature by Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg of the University of Heidelberg and his colleagues has used a scanning technique called functional⁵ magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the brains of city dwellers and country bumpkins when they are under stress.

　　1819年，波比?雪莱认为“伦敦市更像一个地狱”。现代学者同意这个观点。荷兰研究人员研究表明，城市居民相对稳定的乡村同胞来说，得焦虑症的概率高出21%，得心理障碍疾病的概率高出39%。但是直到现在，城市思想和乡村思想是如何引起这方面差异的确切原因仍旧是不清楚的。最近海德尔堡大学的学者安德烈亚斯?迈耶-林登贝格和他的同事在《自然》杂志上发表了一个研究，该研究使用称为机能性磁共振图像的扫描技术测试了在压力下城市居民和乡村居民的大脑活动情况。

　　In Dr Meyer-Lindenberg’s first experiment, participants lying with their heads in a scanner took maths tests that they were doomed⁶ to fail (the researchers had designed success rates to be just 25-40%). To make the experience still more humiliating, the team provided negative feedback through headphones, all the while checking participants for indications of stress, such as high blood pressure.

　　在迈耶-林登贝格博士的第一个实验中，参与者躺着头枕在一个扫描器上接受他们注定要失败的数学测验（研究人员仅仅把成功率设为25%-40%）。为了使这活动更加具有羞辱性，研究人员通过耳机给予参与者消极的回答，并一直检测参与者表现出的压力反应，如高血压。

　　The urbanites’ general mental health did not differ from that of their provincial⁸ counterparts. However, their brains dealt with the stress imposed by the experimenters in different ways. These differences were noticeable in two regions: the amygdalas and the perigenual anterior⁹ cingulate cortex (pACC). The amygdalas are a pair of structures, one in each cerebral¹⁰ hemisphere, that are found deep inside the brain and are responsible for assessing threats and generating the emotion of fear. The pACC is part of the cerebral cortex (again, found in both hemispheres) that regulates the amygdalas.

　　都市人总体的心理健康状况与他们所在地区的其他人没有什么差别。但是，他们应对实验者给予压力的方法不同。这些差别主要在两地地方：杏仁核和扣带皮层部分。杏仁核有一对，大脑左右半球各一个，它在大脑深处，与判断威胁和产生害怕情绪有关。扣带皮层部位是大脑皮层的一部分（也在两个大脑半球），它对杏仁核进行调节。

　　People living in the countryside had the lowest levels of activity in their amygdalas. Those living in towns had higher levels. City dwellers had the highest. Not that surprising, to those of a Shelleyesque disposition¹¹. In the case of the pACC, however, what mattered was not where someone was living now, but where he or she was brought up. The more urban a person’s childhood, the more active his pACC, regardless of where he was dwelling¹² at the time of the experiment.

　　生活在乡村的人杏仁核活动水平最低。生活在城镇的人的杏仁核活动水平高些。城市居民杏仁核活动水平最高。对于雪莱式性情的人，这没有什么奇怪的。然而，在扣带皮层部位情况下，重要的不是一个人现在生活在哪，而是他或他在那长大。不管在实验的时候他住在哪，只要一个人的童年时期生活在城市的时间越长，他的扣带皮层部位就越活跃。

　　The amygdalas thus seem to respond to the here-and-now whereas the pACC is programmed early on, and does not react in the same, flexible way as the amygdalas. Second-to-second changes in its activity might, though, be expected to be correlated with changes in the amygdalas, because of its role in regulating them. fMRI allows such correlations¹³ to be measured.

　　虽然扣带皮层部位控制着杏仁核，但似乎杏仁核是此时此刻的及时回应，扣带皮层部位并没有像杏仁核那样做出相同，柔性的反应。扣带皮层部位接下来每秒钟活动的变化，也许与杏仁核的变化有关，因为扣带皮层部位控制着杏仁核。 fMRI 显示了这样的测量关系。

　　In the cases of those brought up in the countryside, regardless of where they now live, the correlations were as expected. For those brought up in cities, however, these correlations broke down. The regulatory mechanism¹⁴ of the native urbanite⁷, in other words, seems to be out of kilter. Further evidence, then, for Shelley’s point of view. Moreover, it is also known that the pACC-amygdala link is often out of kilter in schizophrenia, and that schizophrenia is more common among city dwellers than country folk. Dr Meyer-Lindenberg is careful not to claim that his results show the cause of this connection. But they might.

　　在乡村长大的人，不管他们现在住在那，这种相互关系都是不出所料的。然而对于在城市长大的人来说，这种相互关系已经不存在了。换句话说，土生土长的城市人的调控机制似乎脱离了平衡。这是证明雪莱观点的更近一步的证据。而且，众所周知，在精神分裂症病人中，扣带皮层-杏仁核的联系是脱离平衡的，和乡村居民相比，精神分裂症在城市居民中更普遍。迈耶-林登贝格博士很慎重，没有声称他的研究结果表明了这种关联是因果关系。但是，他们也许是因果关系。

　　Dr Meyer-Lindenberg and his team conducted several subsequent experiments to check their findings. They asked participants to complete more maths tests—and also tests in which they mentally rotated an object—while investigators¹⁵ chided them about their performance. The results matched those of the first test. They also studied another group of volunteers, who were given stress-free tasks to complete. These experiments showed no activity in either the amygdalas or the pACC, suggesting that the earlier results were indeed the result of social stress rather than mental exertion¹⁶.

　　迈耶-林登贝格博士和他的研究组随后进行了几个实验以证他们的结论。他们要求参与者完成更多的数学测验，还有些测试需要参与者在心里转动物体。所有这些都是在研究者斥责参与者表现的情况下进行的。结果和第一次测试的一样。他们也测试了另一组志愿者，让他们完成一些无压力任务。这些实验表明杏仁核或扣带皮层部位没有活动，这表明之前的结果的确是社会压力的结果，而不是心力疲惫的结果。

　　As is usually the case in studies of this sort, the sample size was small (and therefore not as robust¹⁷ as might be desirable) and the result showed an association, rather than a definite, causal relationship. That association is, nevertheless, interesting. Living in cities brings many benefits, but Dr Meyer-Lindenberg’s work suggests that Shelley and his fellow Romantics had at least half a point.

　　这类研究常是如此，样本量小（因此没有我们想要的那个可靠），研究结论表明的仅是一种联系，而不是一个确定的，因果关系。不过，这种联系是令人感兴趣的。生活在城市得到很多好处，但是迈耶-林登贝格博士的研究表明雪莱和他的浪漫主义追随者至少有一半是对的。

1 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

2 contemplates   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的第三人称单数 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• She contemplates leaving for the sake of the kids. 她考虑为了孩子而离开。
• Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them. 事物的美存在于细心观察它的人的头脑中。

3 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

6 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

7 urbanite   

n.都市人

参考例句：

• More and more urbanite begin to pay attention to mental health.越来越多的都市人，开始注重心理健康。
• A study of German college students suggests that urbanite brains are more susceptible to stress,particularly social stress,than those of country dwellers.由德国大学生组织实施的一项研究表明，都市人的大脑与农村居民相比，要更容易受到压力的影响，尤其是社会压力的影响。

8 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

9 anterior   

adj.较早的；在前的

参考例句：

• We've already finished the work anterior to the schedule.我们已经提前完成了工作。
• The anterior part of a fish contains the head and gills.鱼的前部包括头和鳃。

10 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

11 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

12 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

13 correlations   

相互的关系( correlation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One would expect strong and positive correlations between both complexes. 人们往往以为这两个综合体之间有紧密的正相关。
• The correlations are of unequal value. 这些对应联系的价值并不相同。

14 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

15 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 exertion   

n.尽力，努力

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡，她浑身发热。

17 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。