研究显示 晕车与大脑有关 是中毒的自然反应

 　　Traveling makes us feel sick because modern transport tricks the brain into thinking we have been poisoned, a neuroscientist has said.

　　一位神经系统科学家近日表示，现代交通工具会诱导大脑认为我们已经中毒，所以旅行常常使我们感到不舒服。

　　Being in a car, train, boat or plane causes conflicting signals in the brain which trigger a reaction similar to that which occurs when someone is poisoned.

　　乘坐汽车、火车、船舶或飞机的体验会在大脑中形成相互矛盾的信号，这会引发和人们中毒时相似的反应。

　　Dr Dean Burnett, of Cardiff University, said the feeling of nausea¹ is caused because the brain thinks the body needs to remove a toxin² through vomiting³.

　　卡迪夫大学的迪安·伯内特博士表示，大脑认为人体需要通过呕吐排毒，于是便造成了这种恶心感。

　　But in fact, the 'poisoning' effect is caused by the mixed messages from the muscles – which tell the brain the body is motionless – and the ears, which sense movement.

　　但事实上，这种“中毒”效应是由肌肉中的混合信息所引发的，肌肉向大脑传达身体静止的信息，而耳朵却察觉到身体在运动。

　　研究显示 晕车与大脑有关 是中毒的自然反应

　　Speaking on the US radio show Fresh Air, Dr Burnett said that the body had not yet evolved to cope with the sensation of being in vehicles, where the body is being moved without performing movements itself.

　　伯内特博士在美国广播电台节目《新鲜空气》中表示，在交通工具中人们的身体在被移动，而本身却未执行任何行动，人体还未进化到能够适应这种感觉。

　　He said: "When we're in a vehicle like a car or a train or a ship especially, you're not actually physically⁴ moving... Your muscles are saying 'we are stationary⁵'."

　　他说：“当我们乘坐尤其是汽车、火车或是轮船这样的交通工具时，你的身体事实上没有在运动，因此你的肌肉也认为'我们是静止的'。”

　　"If you are sitting in a ship, you're looking at a static environment, so there's no information for the eyes to say 'we are moving'. But the fluids in your ears, they obey the laws of physics. And they are sort of rocking around and sloshing because you are actually moving."

　　“如果你坐在船上，你是看着一个静态的环境，因此并没有传递给眼睛'我们正在运动'的信息。但是你耳朵里的液体遵循物理定律，你确实在移动，因此它们四处摇摆、晃动。

　　"So what's happening there is the brain's getting mixed messages. It's getting signals from the muscles and the eyes saying 'we are still' and signals from the balance sensors⁶ saying 'we're in motion'. Both of these cannot be correct. There's a sensory⁷ mismatch there."

　　“所以问题就是大脑得到了混合信息。肌肉和眼睛告诉它'我们是静止的'，而从平衡感知器官传来的信号又说'我们在运动'。这两者不可能同时正确，所以知觉就不相匹配。

　　"And in evolutionary⁸ terms, the only thing that can cause a sensory mismatch like that is a neurotoxin or poison. So the brain thinks, essentially⁹, it's been being poisoned. When it's been poisoned, the first thing it does is get rid of the poison, aka throwing up."

　　“从进化角度来看，唯一能够引起感知矛盾的就是神经毒素或中毒，因此大脑判断其根源在于中毒了。当中毒的时候，首先要做的就是排毒，也就是呕吐。”

　　He explained that reading in a car made the sensation of travel sickness worse, because the eyes were focused on a small, static space and gave the brain no information to explain that the body was moving. The feeling of sickness could be relieved by looking out of a car window because this showed the brain movement was taking place.

　　他进一步解释，在车上阅读会恶化晕车的症状，因为眼睛始终盯着一块小而静止的空间，让大脑无从解释为什么感到身体正在移动。看车窗外却能够缓解晕车的感觉，因为这告诉大脑人体正在运动当中。

　　Dr Burnett, who was discussing his new book 'Idiot Brain: what your head is really up to', said brain systems became more refined and efficient as people aged¹⁰ but that children were more susceptible¹¹ to travel sickness because their brains were still developing.

　　伯内特博士在新书《愚蠢的大脑：你的头究竟怎么了》中说道，随着人们岁数的增大，脑部系统变得越来越精炼和高效，而孩子们更容易晕车，因为他们的大脑仍在发育当中。

1 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

2 toxin   

n.毒素，毒质

参考例句：

• Experts have linked this condition to a build-up of toxins in the body.专家已把这一病症与体内毒素的积累联系起来。
• Tests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.检验表明水生有壳动物的毒素水平提高了。

3 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”

4 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。

5 stationary   

adj.固定的，静止不动的

参考例句：

• A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
• Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。

6 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

11 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。