地平线系列：性格的真相（2013）

a unique set of memories and experiences,
每一个都附带了个体的
and each is accompanied by a biographical record
人生记录
about the individual.
这个特殊的储存库有个很大的优点
This is the great virtue of this particular bank,
迈克尔·米尼教授 麦吉尔大学
就是他们利用一种
is they use a process
被称为法医分♥析♥的方法
referred to as forensic phenotyping,
事实上他们会去
so what they’re doing in fact
追溯和采访家庭成员
is to go back and interview family members
尽可能多地挖掘大脑所有者
and to find out as much detail as possible
在世时的个体成长史细节
about the developmental history of the individuals
以及他们的病理程度
as well as their level of pathology.
迈克尔着手确定大脑中控制焦虑的
Michael set out to identify the precise areas in the brain
精确区域
where anxiety is controlled,
但大脑中平均有数十亿个细胞
but with billions of cells in an average brain,
这会是一个不可能完成的任务
it would have been an impossible task.
于是他转而求助于一群毛茸茸的雌性小动物
So he turned to a group of small, furry mothers to help,
大鼠
rats.
他开始研究母鼠照料的好坏
He started by looking at the long-term effect on baby rats
对幼鼠的长♥期♥影响
of good or bad maternal care.
那么大鼠中的母爱是什么样的呢
What does maternal love or affection look like in a rat, then?
基本上就是舔舐 我们认为这就是触觉刺♥激♥
It’s essentially licking, we think. It’s tactile stimulation.
这相当于当你抱着一个婴儿
It’s what you do when you hold an infant,
爱抚婴儿时 给予婴儿的刺♥激♥
when you caress an infant.
这是母亲和后代之间的身体接触
It’s physical contact between the mother and the offspring.
而个体的差异使我们很惊讶
What surprised us is the variation,
有些母鼠舔幼鼠的频率会是
that there are really some mothers who lick two, three times
其它母鼠的两到三倍
as frequently as do other mothers.
-你看 -大鼠宝宝
– So there you see. – Ah, OK, little baby rats.
大鼠宝宝 母鼠在照顾后代的过程中
Little baby rats. And what the mother’s doing in the course
所做的就是舔舐每一个幼崽
of her nursing of the offspring is to lick individual pups,
正如你看到的
which you can see right there.
结果表明 在母鼠抚养幼鼠过程中
And it turns out that the pups that are reared
受母鼠舔舐较多的幼鼠
by mothers who lick more frequently
长大后在应对压力时表现得更温和
grow up to develop more modest responses to stress.
迈克尔发现幼鼠受舔舐的次数
Michael found that the amount a baby rat was licked
会影响其在日后应对压力和焦虑时
influenced the activity of the gene that protects the rat
体内保护基因的活性
later in life against stress and anxiety.
这是一种明显的表观遗传效应
This was a clear epigenetic effect
与双胞胎身上发生的情况相似
and was similar to what happened to the twins.
幼鼠的大脑因为其生活经历
Something in the baby rat’s brain had been modified
发生了某些修改
by its life experience,
但这种变化是否也会影响下一代呢
but did this change also affect the next generation?
你有没有饲养过多代
Have you reared them through generations
来观察受母鼠舔舐较少的幼鼠
to see if the pups who were the offspring
做母亲后
of low-licking mothers
也会对下一代舔舐较少
themselves become low-licking mothers?
是的 雌鼠的梦魇成真
Yes, the great female rat nightmare comes true.
它们会与自己的母亲无异
They become their mothers.
所以基本可以确定
And so really what you have is a situation
这些差异能代代
in which you can transmit these differences
-相传下去 -好吧
-across multiple generations. -Right.
我必须承认
I must admit,
我以前从没考虑过神经质 焦虑的大鼠
I’d never thought about neurotic, anxious rats before.
你现在可以考虑了
You can start now!
令人吃惊的是 在大鼠的大脑中检测到了
And what’s striking is the changes in the rats’ genes
由母体关爱引起的基因改变
brought on by maternal care were detectable in their brains.
你在这里看到的是大鼠大脑的横截面
What you’re looking at here are sections of a rat brain,
特别引起我们兴趣的是海马体
and in particular what we’re interested in is the hippocampus.
海马体与压力 情绪和记忆
And the hippocampus is associated with stress,
相关联吗
emotion and memory?
太对了 和三者都有关
Exactly, all three.
我们必须找到海马体内部
So we now have to find the molecules within the hippocampus
控制压力反应的化学分子
that control the stress response,
我们找到了一个特定的化学分子
and we find a particular molecule
就是糖皮质激素受体
known as the glucocorticoid receptor.
事实证明 他们在大鼠脑内找到的
It turns out that the number of these crucial receptors
这些关键受体的数量
they found in a rat’s brain
可以通过他们母亲的行为进行预测
could be predicted by their mother’s behaviour.
更好的母鼠关爱会促生更多的受体
Better mothering led to more receptors.
之后你会发现
And what you find then
舔舐幼鼠较多的母鼠
is that the mothers who licked their offspring more,
其后代
produce offspring
对压力表现出更温和的反应
who then show more modest response to stress.
真令人满意
How very satisfying.
-那一定很让人兴奋 -是的 确实
– That must have been rather exciting… – It was, it was.
我发现这项研究令人惊叹 也让人略感不安
I find this work stunning and ever so slightly disturbing.
幼鼠感受到母爱的多少与其基因的改变
A clear link between the amount of maternal affection
以及大脑的解剖学变化
a baby rat receives with changes in its genes
显著相关
and in the anatomy of its brain.
但对人而言也是如此吗
But is this true of humans?
这就是迈克尔收集人类大脑的
This is where Michael’s collection
意义深远之处
of human brains proved invaluable.
他研究了极度焦虑者的大脑
He studied the brains of people who’d suffered from extreme anxiety,
他发现了与大鼠类似的变化
and he found the same changes as in the rats.
通过探究他们的童年记录 他还能分辨
By looking at their childhood records, he could also tell
这些人是否
if they had reported
接受了良好的母体关爱
receiving good or bad maternal care.
母体关爱确实是主要的影响因素
Maternal care is actually a major influence,
并且可能会显著地影响我们
and perhaps the pre-eminent influence in defining
对压力做出的反应
how we respond to stress.
所以不仅对大鼠如此 对我们自己也是如此
So it’s not only true for a rat, it’s true of our own species.
那么如果说我面对压力反应糟糕
So if I respond badly to stress events,
而我们在生活中总会遇到压力
and we all have stress events in our lives,
这可能是因为我大脑中的
it could be because I have low levels
糖皮质激素水平低吗
of glucocorticoid in my brain?
很可能是
It could very well be.
那么我严重的失眠症可能是
So the reason I’m a terrible insomniac could be,
我要把它归于我母亲舔我不够多吗
I could blame it on my mother not licking me enough?
你可以试试
You can try.
把双胞胎的研究和迈克尔的工作结合起来
When you put the research on twins together with Michael’s work,
就形成了一种非常强大的新方法
it adds up to a really powerful new way of being able to study
能研究是什么力量在塑造我们的性格
the forces that shape our personality.
性格并非我们生来就形成的
Personality is not just something we are born with,
而是会在一生中不断被塑造
but something that is subtly shaped
被改变的
and modified throughout our lives.
认识到我们是很有可塑性的
And that thought that we are quite flexible
这让我感到振奋
makes me feel cheerful.
也许冥想和认知偏差矫正
Maybe the meditation and the CBM
终于开始起作用了
are starting to work after all.
冥想对你周围的人也有益
Meditation benefits those around you as well.
我妻子克莱尔 肯定认为出了什么事
My wife, Clare, certainly seems to think something’s happened.
我知道你最近承受了很多压力
Given that you’ve been under quite a lot of stress recently,
而实际上你的睡眠似乎还改善了
actually, you seem to have been sleeping better.
而且你确实没有…
And you’ve certainly not…
我觉得你出奇平静地应对了压力
You’ve dealt with the stress, I think, amazingly calmly.
不知道这是不是冥想的功劳 但我觉得
Whether that’s meditation, I don’t know, but I think…
我觉得有帮助 真的感觉有用
..I think it’s helped. I do think it’s helped.
你怎么看
What do you think?
躲起来了
Hiding!
今天就要出结果了 但我一反常态地乐观
It’s results day and I’m feeling uncharacteristically optimistic.
这几周压力非常大
It’s been a really stressful few weeks
我的工作强度很大
and I have been working a great deal,
但睡眠却更好了
but I’ve been sleeping better
比这十年来都好 感觉很好
than I have for ten years and I’m feeling quite good.
但是机器会同意吗
But will the machines agree?
虽然我感觉改善了 但还需要切实的证据
Although I feel better, I also want some concrete proof.
我真的改变了我的大脑吗
Have I actually changed my brain?
迈克尔 欢迎回到实验室 你好吗
Hello, Michael, welcome back to the lab. How are you?
伊莱恩·福克斯教授 艾塞克斯大学
我要坐在这个位置上 我觉得
I’m going to stay in this position, I think.
我们又要给你抹胶水了