囧研究：为什么分手后我们会伤心欲绝

Breaking up is hard to do. Whether you’re doing the dumping or getting dumped, chances are you feel pretty upset. And there’s a scientific explanation for this.

分手确实是件难事。无论是你甩了对方，还是对方甩了你，你都可能感到非常悲伤。对此，科学家已经做出解释啦。

Neuroscientist Dr. Lucy Brown told Bustle¹ about her famed 2010 experiment, in which her team looked at the brains of the recently jilted with the help of an MRI machine. Participants were shown photos of both a platonic² pal³ and a recent ex, and the brains’ responses to each photo were then compared.

神经学家露西.布朗带领自己的科研团队在2010年做出了一项试验，她们通过一台MRI 仪对一组新近分手的人进行了脑部检查，参加者都查看了两组照片，一组是情深意笃的情侣，一组是自己的前任，研究者接着对他们观察两组照片的反应进行了对比。

Brown found that a photo of an ex activated⁴ the same brain regions that are stimulated⁵ when someone’s going through cocaine⁶ withdrawal⁷. In other words, she concluded, love is a drug and it’s really hard to quit. When a relationship is over, there’s still a part of the brain that keeps love alive.

 布朗发现，当研究者看到前任的照片会刺激脑中的某个区域，这一区域与人吸食可卡因时所刺激的区域相同。换言之，布朗认为，爱情就像毒药一样，让人很难戒掉。当一段恋情结束的时候，人脑中仍有一部分脑部技能让爱情一丝残存。

“When we look at the picture of the person [we broke up with], there’s pain, but the main thing is you’re still in love with them. That’s really at a non-verbal level of the brain,” said Brown.

“当我们看到自己曾经爱过的人的照片时，会感到疼痛，但主要原因是，你仍然爱着他们。这种疼痛来自你脑中的非语言区域。”

This can be helpful to know: When you’re feeling awful post-breakup, you’re not being “crazy,” you’re simply being human.

“了解到这一点会对我们有所帮助：但你为分手感到难过万分时，这并不意味着你疯了，而只是因为你是一个普普通通的人类。”

1 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

2 platonic   

adj.精神的；柏拉图（哲学）的

参考例句：

• Their friendship is based on platonic love.他们的友情是基于柏拉图式的爱情。
• Can Platonic love really exist in real life?柏拉图式的爱情，在现实世界里到底可能吗？

3 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

4 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。

5 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

6 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

7 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。