人們常用“憤怒得失去理智”來(lái)形容一個(gè)人發(fā)怒的樣子,，其實(shí)這時(shí)并不一定是其大腦中沒(méi)有理智，而可能是大腦中負(fù)責(zé)理智的部分缺乏一種信號(hào)物質(zhì)——血清素的幫助,，因此難以控制與憤怒相關(guān)的大腦部位活動(dòng),。
英國(guó)劍橋大學(xué)等機(jī)構(gòu)的研究人員在美國(guó)新一期《生物精神病學(xué)》（Biological Psychiatry）雜志上報(bào)告了這項(xiàng)研究成果。專(zhuān)家解釋說(shuō),，神經(jīng)細(xì)胞需借助血清素傳遞信息,，人體通常用食物中的色氨酸來(lái)合成血清素。研究人員請(qǐng)一些志愿者在不同日子里分別進(jìn)食富含或缺少色氨酸的食物,，隨后用一些圖片來(lái)激起他們大腦中的憤怒情緒,，用磁共振成像技術(shù)來(lái)觀察大腦內(nèi)部的反應(yīng)。
結(jié)果顯示,，在缺少色氨酸并因此導(dǎo)致血清素含量較低時(shí),，大腦的憤怒反應(yīng)更難被抑制,。而對(duì)大腦活動(dòng)的觀察發(fā)現(xiàn)，在血清素含量低的時(shí)候,，大腦中額葉部位和杏仁核部位之間的信號(hào)聯(lián)系就會(huì)減少,。杏仁核部位與憤怒情緒有關(guān)，而額葉部位發(fā)出的信號(hào)可以幫助控制這種憤怒,。因此,，在缺少作為“信使”的血清素時(shí),，“理智”的額葉就難以控制“憤怒”的杏仁核,。
研究人員莫利·克羅克特說(shuō)，以前研究者就知道血清素含量與憤怒情緒有關(guān),，但直到最近才有技術(shù)手段來(lái)探測(cè)大腦內(nèi)部的相關(guān)活動(dòng)特點(diǎn),，本次研究最終發(fā)現(xiàn)了血清素在負(fù)責(zé)理智和憤怒的大腦部位之間充當(dāng)信使的機(jī)制。
因此,，如果你是一個(gè)易于發(fā)怒的人,，不妨在日常生活中多吃一些富含色氨酸的食物，以增加大腦中血清素的含量,。通常蛋白質(zhì)含量較高的食物中都含有不少色氨酸,，如大豆、雞蛋和雞肉等,。(生物谷 Bioon.com)
doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.12.037
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The Importance of Serotonin for Orbitofrontal Function
Angela C. Roberts
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) receives a dense serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT) innervation from the dorsal raphe nucleus, with a smaller contribution from the median raphe nucleus. The reciprocal innervation from the OFC enables the OFC to regulate not only its own 5-HT input but the 5-HT input to the rest of the forebrain. This article reviews the evidence from studies in rodents and primates that implicate 5-HT in the OFC in the ability of animals to adapt their responding to changes in reward contingencies in the environment. A consensus is emerging that reductions in orbitofrontal 5-HT, whether the result of localized infusions of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT), peripheral treatment with parachloroamphetamine (PCA) or para-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA), or chronic cold stress impairs this ability. Genetic variation in the 5-HT transporter can also affect this ability. An explanation regarding insensitivity to reward loss is ruled out by the finding that marmosets with 5-HT reductions in the OFC display a decline of responding as rapid as that of control animals when reward is withheld during extinction of a two-pattern discrimination task. The failure of these same animals to explore alternative stimuli during extinction, along with the recent electrophysiological evidence that dorsal raphe nucleus neurons encode future motivational outcomes, implicates orbitofrontal 5-HT in the process by which animals either exploit current resources or explore alternative resources based on current reward expectations.
