TED | 恋爱中的大脑

| 简介

为什么我们对爱情设那么地渴望，甚至会为它而死？为了探明我们对于爱情最本质的需求，海伦·费舍尔和她的研究团队对恋爱中的和失恋的人们进行了MRI测试。

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| 中英对照演讲稿

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I and my colleagues Art Aron and Lucy Brown and others,

我和阿尔特·阿伦、露西·布朗还有其他同事

have put 37 people who are madly in love

对37位处在恋爱不同阶段的人的大脑

into a functional MRI brain scanner.

进行了核磁共振测试，

17 who were happily in love, 15 who had just been dumped,

其中17位正享受爱情带来的幸福，而15位则刚刚被甩。

and we're just starting our third experiment:

我们刚刚开始第三项实验：

studying people who report that they're still in love

研究那些在10到25年后

after 10 to 25 years of marriage.

仍然处在爱恋中的人们，

So, this is the short story of that research.

接下来是关于这项研究的一些介绍。

In the jungles of Guatemala, in Tikal, stands a temple.

在危地马拉的丛林深处的提卡尔，矗立着一座神庙。

It was built by the grandest Sun King,

它由史上最显贵的太阳王建造，

of the grandest city-state,

位于最壮丽的城邦，

of the grandest civilization of the Americas, the Mayas.

代表着美洲最伟大的古文明——玛雅。

His name was Jasaw Chan K'awiil.

这位君王，名曰Jasaw Chan K'awiil，

He stood over six feet tall.

他体型魁梧，

He lived into his 80s,

并活到了八十余岁，

and he was buried beneath this monument in 720 AD.

在公元720葬于提卡尔神庙。

And Mayan inscriptions proclaim

按照玛雅碑文的说法，

that he was deeply in love with his wife.

他深爱着他的妻子。

So, he built a temple in her honor, facing his.

他为妻子修建了一座神庙，正对着提卡尔神庙。

And every spring and autumn, exactly at the equinox,

每到春分或秋分，

the sun rises behind his temple,

太阳在提卡尔神庙后升起，

and perfectly bathes her temple with his shadow.

而他妻子的神庙便浸浴在拖长的影子中。

And as the sun sets behind her temple in the afternoon,

到了下午落日之时，

it perfectly bathes his temple with her shadow.

他妻子的神庙的影子也会完全遮罩在提卡尔神庙上。

After 1,300 years, these two lovers

直到1300年后的今天，

still touch and kiss from their tomb.

这对恋人的陵墓依旧互相拥抱、亲吻。

Around the world, people love.

世界各地的人都有不同的爱情。

They sing for love, they dance for love,

人们为爱情歌唱，人们因爱情起舞，

they compose poems and stories about love.

人们通过诗赋和故事来抒发爱情。

They tell myths and legends about love.

人们讲述关于爱情的神话和传说。

They pine for love, they live for love,

人们渴望爱情，因爱而生，

they kill for love, and they die for love.

人们为爱着迷，甚至为爱而死。

As Walt Whitman once said,

沃尔特·惠特曼曾说过：

he said, "Oh, I would stake all for you."

“我愿意为你赌上我的一切！”

Anthropologists have found evidence of romantic love in 170 societies.

人类学家在170个社会中发现了爱情存在的证据。

They've never found a society that did not have it.

爱情普遍地存在于每一个人类社会。

But love isn't always a happy experience.

但爱情并不总是愉快的经历。

In one study of college students,

在一项针对大学生的调查中，

they asked a lot of questions about love,

他们提出了很多关于爱情的问题，

but the two that stood out to me the most were,

其中的两个特别让我印象深刻，

"Have you ever been rejected by somebody who you really loved?"

一个是“你曾经被你真心爱着的人拒绝过吗？”

And the second question was,

而另一个则是

"Have you ever dumped somebody who really loved you?"

“你曾经拒绝过真心爱着你的人吗？”

And almost 95 percent of both men and women said yes to both.

对于这两个问题，有95%的人作出了肯定的答复。

Almost nobody gets out of love alive.

要活着走出爱情几乎是不可能的。

So, before I start telling you about the brain,

那么，在开始讲述关于大脑的事情前，

I want to read for you

我要读一段

what I think is the most powerful love poem on Earth.

在我看来最富深情的情诗。

There's other love poems that are, of course, just as good,

当然，很多情诗都很不错，

but I don't think this one can be surpassed.

但我认为它们都无法超越这首。

It was told by an anonymous Kwakiutl Indian of southern Alaska

在1896年的南阿拉斯加，一位不知名的夸扣特尔印第安人

to a missionary in 1896, and here it is.

把它讲述给了一名传教士。

I've never had the opportunity to say it before.

这是我第一次当众读它。

"Fire runs through my body with the pain of loving you.

“爱你之痛如熊熊烈焰穿透我的身体；

Pain runs through my body with the fires of my love for you.

对你如火一般的热恋让疼痛贯穿我的身体。

Pain like a boil about to burst with my love for you,

痛楚如沸水，饱含我对你的爱，

consumed by fire with my love for you.

爱的火焰将其蒸发殆尽。

I remember what you said to me.

我仍记得你对我说的话，

I am thinking of your love for me.

我想着你对我的爱，

I am torn by your love for me.

它将我的躯体撕裂。

Pain and more pain --

疼痛，更多的疼痛，

where are you going with my love?

你要把我的爱带至何处？

I am told you will go from here.

你对我说，你将从这里出发；

I am told you will leave me here.

你对我说，你将在这儿把我遗弃。

My body is numb with grief.

我因此悲痛，因此失去知觉。

Remember what I said, my love.

带上我的只言片语，我的爱人！

Goodbye, my love, goodbye."

再见，吾爱，再见！

Emily Dickinson once wrote,

艾米莉·狄金森曾写道，

"Parting is all we need to know of hell."

“人因离别而品尝地狱”

How many people have suffered

在人类百万余年的进化过程中，

in all the millions of years of human evolution?

有多少人曾遭受这样的痛苦？

How many people around the world

而此时此刻，

are dancing with elation at this very minute?

世界各地又有多少人在尽情跳舞？

Romantic love is one of the most powerful sensations on Earth.

爱情是世上最有力的感情。

So, several years ago, I decided to look into the brain

所以多年之前，我决定研究

and study this madness.

大脑中的这种狂热的情感。

Our first study of people who were happily in love

我们第一项对处在幸福爱恋中的人们的研究

has been widely publicized,

得到了很好地宣传，

so I'm only going to say a very little about it.

因此我只简短地介绍一下。

We found activity in a tiny, little factory near the base of the brain

我们发现在大脑底部附近有一块活跃的微小的区域

called the ventral tegmental area.

腹侧背盖区。

We found activity in some cells called the A10 cells,

其中活跃的细胞称为ApEn细胞。

cells that actually make dopamine, a natural stimulant,

实际上，这种细胞制造了多巴胺——一种天然的兴奋剂，

and spray it to many brain regions.

并将它散发到大脑的众多区域。

Indeed, this part, the VTA, is part of the brain's reward system.

准确地说来，这里腹侧背盖区是大脑奖励系统的一部分。

It's way below your cognitive thinking process.

它运作在潜意识中，

It's below your emotions.

也不受情绪控制。

It's part of what we call the reptilian core of the brain,

腹侧背盖区也是被我们称作爬虫类脑核的部分。

associated with wanting, with motivation,

它关系到欲求、动机、

with focus and with craving.

专注和渴望。

In fact, the same brain region where we found activity

事实上，这一片区域

becomes active also when you feel the rush of cocaine.

在可卡因瘾发作时也会活跃起来。

But romantic love is much more than a cocaine high --

但比起可卡因，爱情让它更加活跃——

at least you come down from cocaine.

至少你还能从可卡因中回过神来。

Romantic love is an obsession. It possesses you.

爱情萦绕于心，占据着你。

You lose your sense of self.

你失去自我意识，

You can't stop thinking about another human being.

不能自主地去想他

Somebody is camping in your head.

他一直盘踞在你脑中。

As an eighth-century Japanese poet said,

就如8世纪的一位日本诗人所说，

"My longing had no time when it ceases."

“我的渴求永不停止。”

Wild is love.

爱情是狂热的。

And the obsession can get worse when you've been rejected.

当你被抛弃之后，牵挂会更深。

So, right now, Lucy Brown and I, the neuroscientist on our project,

我和项目组中的神经系统学家露西·布朗

are looking at the data of the people

当下正在研究

who were put into the machine after they had just been dumped.

被抛弃的人们的核磁共振测试数据。

It was very difficult actually,

但说服他们

putting these people in the machine,

进行测验实在是困难，

because they were in such bad shape.

因为他们心情实在是太糟了。

So anyway, we found activity in three brain regions.

总之，我们在大脑中发现了三个与之有关的区域。

We found activity in the brain region,

我们在那块大脑区域，

in exactly the same brain region

也就是腹侧背盖区，

associated with intense romantic love.

找到了与热恋相关的大脑活动。

What a bad deal.

这是多么坏的事情啊！

You know, when you've been dumped,

当你被甩之后，

the one thing you love to do is just forget about this human being,

你会想着要忘掉他，

and then go on with your life --

并继续你的正常生活，

but no, you just love them harder.

但事与愿违，你只会更爱他了。

As the poet Terence, the Roman poet once said,

就像罗马诗人特伦斯曾说过的：

he said, "The less my hope, the hotter my love."

“我的祈求越少，我的爱情便越炽烈。”

And indeed, we now know why.

时至今日，我们知道这是为什么了。

Two thousand years later, we can explain this in the brain.

2000年后的今天，我们能够解释大脑中的这一过程。

That brain system -- the reward system

大脑中的奖赏系统

for wanting, for motivation, for craving, for focus --

与欲望、动机、渴望和专注有关，

becomes more active when you can't get what you want.

它在你不能得到你所要的时，反而变得更加活跃。

In this case, life's greatest prize:

倘若如此，生命中最大的奖赏即是：

an appropriate mating partner.

一个适当的约会对象。

We found activity in other brain regions also --

我们发现大脑中

in a brain region associated with calculating gains and losses.

计算得失的区域也与爱情有关。

You know, you're lying there, you're looking at the picture,

测试者躺在核磁共振仪中，

and you're in this machine,

看着昔日爱人的照片，

and you're calculating, you know, what went wrong.

然后开始回想到底是什么出错了。

How, you know, what have I lost?

我失去了什么？

As a matter of fact, Lucy and I have a little joke about this.

事实上，露西和我对此开过一些玩笑。

It comes from a David Mamet play,

在大卫·梅米特的一部剧中，

and there's two con artists in the play,

有两个行骗高手，

and the woman is conning the man,

其中女士在勾引男士，

and the man looks at the woman and says,

于是他看着那位女士说：

"Oh, you're a bad pony, I'm not going to bet on you."

“你真调皮，我是不会犯错的。”

And indeed, it's this part of the brain,

当你在计算得失时，

the core of the nucleus accumbens, actually, that is becoming active

大脑中的这部分——伏隔核的核心

as you're measuring your gains and losses.

变得活跃起来。

It's also the brain region that becomes active

当你要因为得到或失去

when you're willing to take enormous risks

而去冒巨大的风险时，

for huge gains and huge losses.

它也会变得活跃。

Last but not least, we found activity in a brain region

最后，我们还在一块区域中

associated with deep attachment to another individual.

发现了与深度依恋有关的大脑活动。

No wonder people suffer around the world,

难怪世界各地的人们都遭受着痛苦，

and we have so many crimes of passion.

难怪我们中这么多人被负心的情人伤害

When you've been rejected in love,

当你被爱抛弃时，

not only are you engulfed with feelings of romantic love,

你不仅被对爱情的渴望吞没，

but you're feeling deep attachment to this individual.

而且感到对他深深的依恋。

Moreover, this brain circuit for reward is working,

此外，大脑的奖赏回路开始工作，

and you're feeling intense energy, intense focus,

这使得你感到强烈的精力，强烈的专注，

intense motivation and the willingness to risk it all

强烈的干劲，和想要不顾一切地

to win life's greatest prize.

赢得生命中最高奖赏的愿望。

So, what have I learned from this experiment

那么，关于这次实验，

that I would like to tell the world?

我又有什么样的体会要分享给全世界呢？

Foremost, I have come to think

最重要的一点，我的结论是

that romantic love is a drive, a basic mating drive.

爱情是人类最基本的寻求配对的冲动。

Not the sex drive -- the sex drive gets you out there,

这不是性冲动——性冲动让你寻找

looking for a whole range of partners.

能够成为性伴侣的人。

Romantic love enables you to focus your mating energy

而爱情让你同时只对一个人产生配对的冲动，

on just one at a time, conserve your mating energy,

并节制地使用它，

and start the mating process with this single individual.

开始同他恋爱。

I think of all the poetry that I've read about romantic love,

我脑海中浮现出读过的所有关于爱情的诗篇，

what sums it up best is something that is said by Plato,

其中最适合概括这一点的是

over 2,000 years ago.

2000多年前的诗人柏拉图的一首诗，

He said, "The god of love lives in a state of need.

“爱神栖于爱欲之国。

It is a need. It is an urge.

爱是欲求，是冲动，

It is a homeostatic imbalance.

是恒久的失衡。

Like hunger and thirst, it's almost impossible to stamp out."

如饥似渴，不能熄灭。”

I've also come to believe that romantic love is an addiction:

我同样也相信爱情让人成瘾：

a perfectly wonderful addiction when it's going well,

爱若甜蜜，人们沉溺其中；

and a perfectly horrible addiction when it's going poorly.

爱若苦涩，人们深陷其中，难以自拔。

And indeed, it has all of the characteristics of addiction.

确然，爱情拥有成瘾的所有特征，

You focus on the person, you obsessively think about them,

你专注于他，执念于他，

you crave them, you distort reality,

渴望得到他，并扭曲现实，

your willingness to take enormous risks to win this person.

愿不顾一切以赢得他的爱。

And it's got the three main characteristics of addiction:

成瘾的三个主要特征也在爱情上得以体现：

tolerance, you need to see them more, and more, and more;

首先是耐受性——你总是想要得到更多以维持最初的感觉，

withdrawals; and last, relapse.

而后耐受性消退，最后又复发。

I've got a girlfriend who's just getting over a terrible love affair.

我的一位女朋友刚从一段痛苦的恋情中恢复过来，

It's been about eight months, she's beginning to feel better.

经过了八个月，她终于好多了。

And she was driving along in her car the other day,

这之后的一天，她正开着车，

and suddenly she heard a song on the car radio

收音机里的一首歌

that reminded her of this man.

让她又想起了那个男人。

And she -- not only did the instant craving come back,

于是，瞬时的渴望充满全身，

but she had to pull over

她控制不住情绪，把车停在路边，

from the side of the road and cry.

大哭了一场。

So, one thing I would like the medical community,

因此，我希望医学界、

and the legal community, and even the college community,

法学界和高教界

to see if they can understand, that indeed,

都关注到上述这一点：

romantic love is one of the most addictive substances on Earth.

爱情确实是世界上最让人成瘾的东西。

I would also like to tell the world that animals love.

我还想分享一下关于动物爱情的故事。

There's not an animal on this planet

世界上任何一种动物

that will copulate with anything that comes along.

都不会饥不择食地寻找活物进行交配。

Too old, too young, too scruffy, too stupid, and they won't do it.

太老的、太年轻的、太脏的或是太蠢笨的，它们都不会选择。

Unless you're stuck in a laboratory cage --

除非你把它们关在实验室的笼子里——

and you know, if you spend your entire life in a little box,

当然，如果你在笼子里度过一生，

you're not going to be as picky about who you have sex with --

也不会那么挑食了。

but I've looked in a hundred species,

在调查了一百个物种后，

and everywhere in the wild, animals have favorites.

我发现野外的每一个角落，每一只动物都有各自的心之归属。

As a matter of fact ethologists know this.

事实上，生态学家知道这些。

There are over eight words for what they call "animal favoritism:"

用四个词可以概括动物各自的偏爱：

selective proceptivity, mate choice, female choice, sexual choice.

选择性感知，配偶选择，雌性选择，性选择。

And indeed, there are now three academic articles

这儿有三篇学术文章

in which they've looked at this attraction,

涉及到了这种吸引力。

which may only last for a second,

虽然这种吸引力也许只维持一秒，

but it's a definite attraction,

但它确实是存在的。

and either this same brain region, this reward system,

而且牵涉到大脑中到腹侧背盖区和奖赏系统

or the chemicals of that reward system are involved.

（更确切的说是奖赏系统中的相关化学物质）。

In fact, I think animal attraction can be instant --

事实上，我相信动物间的吸引力是可以即刻产生的——

you can see an elephant instantly go for another elephant.

我们能看到，大象有时会突然被另一头大象吸引。

And I think that this is really the origin

我相信这就是我们所说的

of what you and I call "love at first sight."

“一见钟情”的源头。

People have often asked me whether

人们常问我是不是

what I know about love has spoiled it for me.

因为研究爱情太多而没了爱的兴致。

And I just simply say, "Hardly."

这基本是不可能的。

You can know every single ingredient in a piece of chocolate cake,

就如同在了解一块巧克力蛋糕中的所有成份后，

and then when you sit down and eat that cake,

我仍然能够品味

you can still feel that joy.

吃蛋糕的乐趣。

And certainly, I make all the same mistakes

我也同样会

that everybody else does too,

犯大家都会犯的错，

but it's really deepened my understanding

但这些经历加深了我的对爱情的理解，

and compassion, really, for all human life.

并让我对所有人都更有爱心。

As a matter of fact, in New York, I often catch myself

比如，我在纽约时，

looking in baby carriages and feeling a little sorry for the tot.

常看着婴儿车里的小孩，并感到一丝同情。

And in fact, sometimes I feel a little sorry

有时，当想到大脑是多么富有感情，

for the chicken on my dinner plate,

我会对餐桌上的鸡

when I think of how intense this brain system is.

抱有歉意。

Our newest experiment has been hatched

我们最近的实验

by my colleague, Art Aron --

由我的同事阿尔特·阿伦操作进行，

putting people who are reporting that they are still in love,

内容是对长期相处后仍能够保持相恋的情侣们

in a long-term relationship, into the functional MRI.

进行核磁共振测试。

We've put five people in so far,

至此，我们一共测试了5对这样的情侣，

and indeed, we found exactly the same thing. They're not lying.

并发现了他们共同的特点。

The brain areas

在他们相恋25年后，

associated with intense romantic love

他们大脑中与热恋相关的区域

still become active, 25 years later.

仍然保持活跃。

There are still many questions to be answered

关于爱情

and asked about romantic love.

还有很多未解开的迷。

The question that I'm working on right this minute --

现在我简短地说一下

and I'm only going to say it for a second, and then end --

我正研究问题：

is, why do you fall in love with one person, rather than another?

为什么你会爱上他，而不是别人？

I never would have even thought to think of this,

原本我并没有想要去思考这个问题，

but Match.com, the Internet-dating site,

但在三年前，一个约会网站Match.com找到我，

came to me three years ago and asked me that question.

并问了我这个问题。

And I said, I don't know.

我只能说“我不知道”。

I know what happens in the brain, when you do become in love,

我所知道的是人们恋爱时，大脑中到底发生了什么，

but I don't know why you fall in love with one person

但我却不知道

rather than another.

为什么他就是你命中注定的爱人。

And so, I've spent the last three years on this.

所以，这三年我都在思考这个问题。

And there are many reasons that you fall in love with one person

心理学家告诉我们

rather than another, that psychologists can tell you.

一定有很多原因使你爱上他，而不是另一个人。

And we tend to fall in love with somebody

我们会倾向于

from the same socioeconomic background,

在同等的社会、经济背景，

the same general level of intelligence,

同样智力水平，

the same general level of good looks,

同等的相貌，

the same religious values.

以及相同的宗教信仰中找到自己的爱人。

Your childhood certainly plays a role, but nobody knows how.

而童年的经历也会影响人们的爱情，但如何作用却无人知晓。

And that's about it, that's all they know.

就是这些，心理学家知道的只有这些。

No, they've never found the way two personalities

而且，他们不知道在良好的关系中，

fit together to make a good relationship.

双方的人格是如何配合的。

So, it began to occur to me

因此，我开始思考

that maybe your biology pulls you

为什么我们接近这一群人，而不是其他人，

towards some people rather than another.

这是不是有生物上的解释。

And I have concocted a questionnaire to see to what degree

为此，我做了一份问卷调查，

you express dopamine, serotonin, estrogen and testosterone.

以探明人们如何显现多巴胺、血清素、雌激素和睾丸激素的性状。

I think we've evolved four very broad personality types

我相信这四种物质在大脑中的不同配比

associated with the ratios of these four chemicals in the brain.

让人类演化出了四种非常普遍的人格类型。

And on this dating site that I have created,

所以我在Mating.com上创建了一个子站：Chemistry.com。

called Chemistry.com, I ask you first a series of questions

第一部分的问题

to see to what degree you express these chemicals,

用来确认上述四种物质在你的大脑中是如何显现性状的。

and I'm watching who chooses who to love.

最后网站记录下是谁选择了谁。

And 3.7 million people have taken the questionnaire in America.

总共有370万美国人和

About 600,000 people have taken it in 33 other countries.

60万来自其他33个国家的人做了这项测试。

I'm putting the data together now,

我正在对测试数据进行整理。

and at some point -- there will always be magic to love,

一定程度上，爱情总是神秘的，

but I think I will come closer to understanding

但我相信我会逐步接近问题的答案——

why it is you can walk into a room

当你走进一间房间时，

and everybody is from your background,

每一个人都是和你同样的背景，

your same general level of intelligence,

你们处在同样的智力水平上，

your same general level of good looks,

你们有同等的相貌，

and you don't feel pulled towards all of them.

但为什么你不会被所有这些人所吸引？

I think there's biology to that.

我认为这一定有生物学上的解释。

I think we're going to end up, in the next few years,

我想几年之内

to understand all kinds of brain mechanisms

我们就可以理解大脑

that pull us to one person rather than another.

是如何让我们找到我们唯一爱的人。

So, I will close with this. These are my older people.

那样，我就更接近答案了。这是我的父母。

Faulkner once said, "The past is not dead,

福克纳曾说过：“过去未曾消逝，

it's not even the past."

它们还留在心中。”

Indeed, we carry a lot of luggage

确实是这样，我们把从过去带来的大量的行李

from our yesteryear in the human brain.

堆放在大脑中。

And so, there's one thing

我心里总存在一种力量，

that makes me pursue my understanding of human nature,

让我想要理解人性，

and this reminds me of it.

而这也让我想到了这幅照片。

These are two women.

这是两个女人。

Women tend to get intimacy differently than men do.

女人们倾向于更亲昵的言行而不像男人们那样。

Women get intimacy from face-to-face talking.

女人们从面对面的交谈中获得了亲切感，

We swivel towards each other,

我们转向对方，

we do what we call the "anchoring gaze" and we talk.

并在交谈中注视着对方。

This is intimacy to women.

这就是女性相互理解的方式。

I think it comes from millions of years

我想这是源于长久的进化岁月中，

of holding that baby in front of your face,

女人总是把婴儿抱在面前，

cajoling it, reprimanding it, educating it with words.

哄他们、训诫他们、教导他们。

Men tend to get intimacy from side-by-side doing.

而男人们总是在侧坐的交谈中找到亲切感。

As soon as one guy looks up, the other guy will look away.

当一个人看着对方时，另一个人会望向别处。

I think it comes from millions of years

我想这源自远古时期，

of standing behind that -- sitting behind the bush,

男人们藏在灌木丛中，

looking straight ahead,

看着前方，

trying to hit that buffalo on the head with a rock.

并想着用手中的石块砸向野牛的头。

I think, for millions of years, men faced their enemies,

在数万年的人类历史中，男人们和朋友坐在一起，

they sat side by side with friends.

一起面对共同敌人。

So my final statement is: love is in us.

所以我的主张是：爱就在我们心中。

It's deeply embedded in the brain.

它深深地扎根在大脑中。

Our challenge is to understand each other. Thank you.

理解对方是我们所追求的目标。谢谢大家！

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我是@墨安

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