美国国家公共电台 NPR How The Brain Shapes Pain And Links Ouch With Emotion

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Hit your thumb with a hammer and you feel physical pain, but the pain is also emotional. That ouch feeling might trigger anger, sadness or even fear. The brain shapes our perception of pain, and learning to control that process may help people with chronic¹ pain. NPR's Jon Hamilton has the story.

JON HAMILTON, BYLINE²: When Sterling³ Witt was a teenager, he developed an ache that wouldn't go away.

STERLING WITT: This low-grade kind of menacing pain that ran through my spine⁴ and mostly my lower back and my upper right shoulder blade and then even into my neck a little bit.

HAMILTON: The cause was a severely⁵ curved spine. And back then, Witt's reaction to his pain was highly emotional.

WITT: I felt like I was being attacked by this invisible enemy. And it was nothing that I asked for. And I didn't even know how to battle it.

HAMILTON: To make things worse, Witt also struggled with depression and dyslexia. And he often felt like a social outcast. So he channeled his frustration⁶ into painting and composing songs.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PAIN")

WITT: (Singing) Pain, pain, pain is all I ever feel anymore.

I couldn't really read. I couldn't really write. And I wasn't really physically⁷ capable. So art and music was ways I could express myself, which was a liberating⁸ thing.

HAMILTON: And Witt, who lives south of Kansas City, discovered it could also be an escape from pain.

WITT: When I'm making art and music, I feel less pain. And while I'm doing those things, I'm so distracted from my pain that it's almost like I don't have it.

WITT: Scientists say that's just one way the brain can alter our perception of pain. Karen Davis is a senior scientist at the Krembil Brain Institute in Toronto.

KAREN DAVIS: At its core, pain is just something that hurts or makes you say ouch. And then everything else is the outcome of the pain - how it then impacts your emotions, your feelings, your behaviors.

HAMILTON: Davis says the ouch part of pain begins when something - heat, certain chemicals or a mechanical force - activates⁹ special nerve endings.

DAVIS: Once they're activated¹⁰, they trigger a whole cascade¹¹ of events with kind of a representation of that signal going through your nerves and into your spinal¹² cord and then all the way up to your brain.

HAMILTON: Then it gets more complicated. Davis says pain signals interact with brain areas involved in physical sensation, thinking and emotion.

DAVIS: There's quite a pattern of activity that permeates¹³ through the brain that leads to all the complexities¹⁴ of what we feel associated with that initial hurt.

HAMILTON: Davis says all that processing gives the brain the ability to emphasize or ignore pain signals. Say you're playing hockey and you just got slammed into the boards.

DAVIS: If you're concentrating on that, you're not going to be able to keep skating. Right? So you need to be able to tune¹⁵ out the pain and deal with it later.

HAMILTON: But why does the brain link pain with emotions? To find out, I asked Robyn Crook¹⁶, a biologist and brain scientist at San Francisco State University. Crook studies the evolution of pain, and she says its most obvious purpose is to prevent or minimize damage to the body. Touch a hot stove and pain tells you to move your hand away - fast. But Crook says evolution didn't stop there.

ROBYN CROOK: In some animals with more complex brains, there's also an emotional or suffering component¹⁷ to the experience.

HAMILTON: In dogs, for example, pain appears to cause emotional distress¹⁸ much the same way it does in people. And Crook says there must be a reason for that. One possibility, she says, involves memory.

CROOK: Having that emotional component linked to the sensory¹⁹ experience really is a great enhancer of memory. And so humans, for example, can remember, you know, a single painful experience, sometimes for their entire lives.

HAMILTON: So they never touch that hot stove again. And Crook says there may be another reason that people and other highly social animals have brains that connect pain and emotion.

CROOK: Experiencing pain yourself produces empathy for other group members or other family members that are in pain such that you can recruit them to help you when you're injured and that you will offer help to them because of the empathetic response to the emotional component of pain.

HAMILTON: That's a good thing. But Beth Darnall, a psychologist at Stanford University, says the link between pain and a person's psychological state can also be destructive.

BETH DARNALL: Mental health disorders²⁰ amplify²¹ pain. They engage regions of the brain that associate with pain processing. And they can also facilitate rumination²² in fearful focus on the pain.

HAMILTON: And Darnall says, when pain doesn't go away, it can cause disabling changes in the brain.

DARNALL: Pain is really a dangerous signal. But once pain becomes chronic, once it's ongoing²³, these pain signals no longer serve a useful purpose.

HAMILTON: And over time, they can lead to problems like depression, anxiety and stress. So Darnall has developed techniques that help patients control how the brain processes pain signals. For example, she has a system for teaching pain patients how to slow their breathing and relax their muscles.

DARNALL: This state of relaxation²⁴ is an antidote²⁵ to the hardwired pain responses that are automatically triggered by the experience of pain.

HAMILTON: Darnall says techniques like these can provide an alternative to pain drugs, including opioids They can also help pain drugs work better. But Darnall says patients are rarely offered psychological treatments for pain.

DARNALL: We have overemphasized pain as being a biomedical phenomenon that requires a biomedical intervention²⁶.

HAMILTON: Sterling Witt, the artist and musician, agrees. He's 40 now and has lived with back pain for more than two decades. But he doesn't take any pain medication. Instead, he stretches and exercises, watches his diet and works hard at staying optimistic.

WITT: I'm actually not convinced that I have to live with this for the rest of my life. I very well may, but at the same time, I live in that state of mind all the time, that there's hope.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I LOVE YOU MORE EVERYDAY")

WITT: (Singing) Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one more week until I get to see you. These are...

HAMILTON: Witt says it's a state of mind that keeps pain from hijacking²⁷ his emotions. Jon Hamilton, NPR News.

1 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

4 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 liberating   

解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
• They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中，他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

9 activates   

使活动，起动，触发( activate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Activates the window and displays it in its current size and position. 激活窗口，保持当前的大小及位置不变。
• Pulling out the alarm switch activates alarm and pushing it deactivates it. 闹钟的开和关是通过拔出和按入闹铃开关实现的。

10 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

11 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

12 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

13 permeates   

弥漫( permeate的第三人称单数 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透

参考例句：

• Studies show that water vapor quickly permeates plastic packaging material. 研究证明水蒸汽能迅速渗入塑料封装材料。
• Democracy permeates the whole country. 民主主义（的思想）普及全国。

14 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

15 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

16 crook   

v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)

参考例句：

• He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。
• She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

17 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

18 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

19 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

20 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》

21 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。

22 rumination   

n.反刍，沉思

参考例句：

• EA is the theory of rumination about human EA conception. 生态美学是对人类生态审美观念反思的理论。 来自互联网
• The rumination and distress catalyze the growth process, Dr. 这种反复思考和哀伤反而促进了成长的过程。 来自互联网

23 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

24 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

25 antidote   

n.解毒药，解毒剂

参考例句：

• There is no known antidote for this poison.这种毒药没有解药。
• Chinese physicians used it as an antidote for snake poison.中医师用它来解蛇毒。

26 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

27 hijacking   

n. 劫持, 抢劫 动词hijack的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I have been told about the hijacking . 我已听说了那次劫机事件。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• They are taking measures to guarantee against the occurrence of hijacking. 他们正采取措施防止劫机事件的发生。