據(jù)《自然》13日?qǐng)?bào)道，一項(xiàng)新的研究顯示,，笑聲的確是可以傳染的,。研究人員已經(jīng)證實(shí)，笑聲會(huì)“胳肢”聽者大腦的同一個(gè)區(qū)域——微笑的時(shí)候處于活躍狀態(tài),。聽者大腦的反應(yīng)會(huì)幫助面部肌肉展現(xiàn)發(fā)自內(nèi)心的笑容,。研究報(bào)告聯(lián)合執(zhí)筆人、英國(guó)倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院神經(jīng)科學(xué)家索菲·斯科特(Sophie Scott)表示：“事實(shí)可能確實(shí)如此,，正如諺語所說的那樣：‘你笑,，人人陪你笑。’”
研究人員分別向志愿者播放兩組不同的聲音,，一組令人愉快——例如笑聲和歡呼聲,；一組令人討厭——例如尖叫和嘔吐聲。在此之后,，他們利用功能磁共振成像(MRI)技術(shù)對(duì)志愿者的大腦進(jìn)行監(jiān)視,。結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)，所有這些聲音都觸發(fā)了大腦運(yùn)動(dòng)前皮層的神經(jīng)反應(yīng),。(運(yùn)動(dòng)前皮層是“部署”多組臉部肌肉作出相應(yīng)反應(yīng)的一個(gè)大腦區(qū)域,。)當(dāng)參與者確實(shí)微笑或者大笑的時(shí)候，這一神經(jīng)活動(dòng)便向初級(jí)運(yùn)動(dòng)皮層區(qū)“蔓延”,。
研究小組報(bào)告說,，運(yùn)動(dòng)前皮層對(duì)令人愉快的聲音的神經(jīng)反應(yīng)強(qiáng)度平均是令人討厭的聲音的兩倍。這一發(fā)現(xiàn)說明,，愉快聲音對(duì)刺激肌肉作出反應(yīng)的大腦區(qū)域的影響更大,，也就是說，愉快的聲音比討厭的聲音更具“傳染性”,。此項(xiàng)研究報(bào)告刊登在本周出版的《神經(jīng)科學(xué)雜志》上,。
斯科特表示，這些研究發(fā)現(xiàn)是有重要意義的,，因?yàn)樗鼈兲崾救藗?，人類大腦中的“笑聲觸發(fā)裝置”是“非常基本的或者說無意識(shí)的”,。也就是說,，人們聽到愉快的聲音時(shí)基本上是無法控制微笑或者大笑的沖動(dòng)的。一個(gè)明顯的例子就是：正在開一個(gè)令人厭煩的會(huì)議的人費(fèi)力地抑制著他們想笑的欲望,，一旦有一個(gè)人發(fā)出吱吱聲,，整個(gè)會(huì)議立即會(huì)變成笑聲的海洋。
斯科特說,，人類是已知的容易受身邊人的行為或情緒“傳染”動(dòng)物,。朋友經(jīng)常是從使用相同的詞眼、擺出類似的姿勢(shì)和模仿類似的手勢(shì)開始的,。好與壞的情緒的“傳染性”已是人所共知的事情,。
斯科特表示，大腦的神經(jīng)反應(yīng)——對(duì)于聽到愉快聲音的人來說,，這種反應(yīng)是無意識(shí)的,，而且是預(yù)先準(zhǔn)備好的——可以幫助人們?cè)谏缃恢薪⑾嗷ビ绊懀瑺I(yíng)造彼此之間牢固的關(guān)系,。她解釋說：“在群體環(huán)境中,，我們經(jīng)常遇到積極的情緒，比如笑聲或者歡呼聲,。”
斯科特等人的研究與先前的一些研究不謀而合,，此前的研究人員已用實(shí)例說明了簡(jiǎn)單的刺激與更為復(fù)雜的情緒之間的關(guān)系,。強(qiáng)迫微笑實(shí)際上可以提高一個(gè)人的情緒。對(duì)大腦一些區(qū)域的刺激也至少讓一個(gè)病人發(fā)笑,。
斯科特表示,，作為一名擁有一個(gè)5月大兒子的母親，自己擁有很多有關(guān)這個(gè)觸發(fā)裝置的第一手資料,。她說,，家里任何一個(gè)人的笑聲都可能帶動(dòng)其他所有人笑起來。最有意思的是,，斯科特對(duì)兒子笑,，兒子也會(huì)對(duì)她笑，但打哈欠就沒有這種待遇了,。斯科特的研究小組并未在研究中使用有關(guān)打哈欠的聲音和圖片,，但她同樣對(duì)打哈欠是否也會(huì)傳染產(chǎn)生了興趣。
英文原文：
Laugh And The Whole World Laughs With You -- Why The Brain Just Can't Help Itself
Cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew's description of Ian Botham's freak dismissal, falling over his own stumps - "He couldn't quite get his leg over" - was all it took to send himself and the late Brian Johnston into paroxysms of laughter. Laughter is truly contagious, and now, scientists studying how our brain responds to emotive sounds believe they understand why.
Researchers at UCL (University College London) and Imperial College London have shown that positive sounds such as laughter or a triumphant "woo hoo!" trigger a response in the listener's brain. This response occurs in the area of the brain that is activated when we smile, as though preparing our facial muscles to laugh. The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, Action Medical Research and the Barnwood House Trust, is published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
"It seems that it's absolutely true that 'laugh and the whole world laughs with you'," says Dr Sophie Scott, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL. "We've known for some time now that when we are talking to someone, we often mirror their behaviour, copying the words they use and mimicking their gestures. Now we've shown that the same appears to apply to laughter, too - at least at the level of the brain."
The research team played a series sounds to volunteers whilst measuring their brain's response using an fMRI scanner. Some of the sounds were positive, such as laughter or triumph, whilst others were unpleasant, such as screaming or retching. All of the sounds triggered a response in the volunteer's brain in the premotor cortical region, which prepares the muscles in the face to respond accordingly, though the response was greater for positive sounds, suggesting that these were more contagious than negative sounds. The researchers believe this explains why we respond to laughter or cheering with an involuntary smile.
"We usually encounter positive emotions, such as laughter or cheering, in group situations, whether watching a comedy programme with family or a football game with friends," says Dr Scott. "This response in the brain, automatically priming us to smile or laugh, provides a way of mirroring the behaviour of others, something which helps us interact socially. It could play an important role in building strong bonds between individuals in a group."
So, if you want Christmas with the extended family to go swimmingly, maybe you should switch off Eastenders and dig out your Only Fools and Horses DVDs.
