Brain and Mind.docx

Brain and Mind.docx

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BrainandMind

Unit10

MindandBrain

Glossary

accrue累积，增加

adaptivesignificance适应值

affable友善的

afflict折磨

ail使苦恼

alleviate缓和

altruistic利他的

Alzheimer'sdisease阿尔茨海默病

antidepressant抗抑郁剂

astound使惊讶

atherosclerosis动脉粥样硬化

autonomicnervoussystem自主神经系统，植物性神经系统

balmofhurtminds治疗心灵创伤的良药

baseline基准的

brainchild独创的观念；脑力劳动的产物

broachingthesubjectofdepression谈及抑郁的话题

buffertheresilientpeopleagainstdepression使适应力强的人免受抑郁症的伤害

camaraderie友情

cardiovascular心血管的

carnivore食肉动物cholesterol胆固醇

clandestinely秘密地

clog阻塞

configuration组合，结构

constituent选民

convent女修道院

cortical有关脑皮层的

cull精选

degenerative退化的

despondent沮丧的

dodge避开

downstreameffect下游效应

downtime故障停机时间

edifying有益的

elapse消逝，时间过去

enigma迷

enzyme酶

evocative引起回忆或唤起感情的

exacerbate使加重

fatalfamilialinsomnia致死性家族失眠症

freeradical自由基

frivolous无聊的

hailedasahero被当成英雄受到欢迎

hallucinogenic引起幻觉的

hedonistic快乐主义者的

imbue灌输，渗透

beimbuedwith充满

inexorable不可阻挡的

infuse注入

infuseordinaryeventswithmeaning使普通的事情具有意义

innerwallsofarteries动脉血管内壁

insanity疯狂，精神失常

jovial快乐的，好交际的

ketamine氯胺酮（一具有镇痛作用的静脉全麻药）

knituptheraveledsleeveofcare绕起一团愁思；修捋烦乱的思绪

menopause更年期

metabolic新陈代谢的

microwire微丝（直径数微微米的金属丝）

monoamine一元胺

motoneuron运动神经元

neuron神经元

neurotransmitter神经递质

nucleicacid核酸

onerous繁重的

opossum负鼠

over-the-counterhormonaltherapy非处方激素疗法

peripheralvasoconstriction末梢血管收缩

physiological生理学的

platypus鸭嘴兽

precarious危险的

precocialanimals早熟动物

proverbial众所周知的

psychopharmacology心理药理学

psychotherapy精神疗法;心理疗法

puberty青春期ravage蹂躏

referral介绍，指引

REMsleep快速眼动睡眠

remission缓和

repercussion弹回

reptile爬行动物

resilience恢复力

rodent啮齿类

ruminate反刍

serenity平静

sluggish行动迟缓的

slumber睡眠

somnolent睡眠的

spinalcord脊髓

stigma污名

sullen愠怒的

takestockof估计，观察

tantalizingquestion撩人心扉的问题

tautology同义反复

taxonomy（生物）分类学，分类系统

thatsaid即便如此

thermoregulate温度调节

tranquilizer镇静剂

unravel阐明

TextI

TheValueofPositiveEmotions

Theemergingscienceofpositivepsychologyiscomingtounderstandwhyit’sgoodtofeelgood.

ByBarbaraL.Fredrickson

1Backinthe1930ssomeyoungCatholicnunswereaskedtowriteshort,personalessaysabouttheirlives.Theydescribededifyingeventsintheirchildhood,theschoolstheyattended,theirreligiousexperiencesandtheinfluencesthatledthemtotheconvent.Althoughtheessaysmayhavebeeninitiallyusedtoassesseachnun’scareerpath,thedocumentswereeventuallyarchivedandlargelyforgotten.Morethan60yearslaterthenuns’writingssurfacedagainwhenthreepsychologistsattheUniversityofKentuckyreviewedtheessaysaspartofalargerstudyonagingandAlzheimer’sdisease.DeborahDanner,DavidSnowdonandWallaceFriesenreadthenun’sbiographicalsketchesandscoredthemforpositiveemotionalcontent,recordinginstancesofhappiness,interest,loveandhope.Whattheyfoundwasremarkable:

Thenunswhoexpressedthemostpositiveemotionslivedupto10yearslongerthanthosewhoexpressedthefewest.Thisgaininlifeexpectancyisconsiderablylargerthanthegainachievedbythosewhoquitsmoking.

2Thenunstudyisnotanisolatedcase.Severalotherscientistshavefoundthatpeoplewhofeelgoodlivelonger.Butwhywouldthisbeso?

Someanswersareemergingfromthenewfieldofpositivepsychology.Thisbranchofpsychologicalsciencesurfacedaboutfiveyearsago,asthebrainchildofMartinE.P.Seligman,thenpresidentoftheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation（APA）.Likemanypsychologists,Seligmanhaddevotedmuchofhisresearchcareertostudyingmentalillness.Hecoinedthephraselearnedhelplessnesstodescribehowhopelessnessandothernegativethoughtscanspiraldownintoclinicaldepression.

3AtthestartofhistermasAPApresident,Seligmantookstockofthefieldofpsychology,notingitssignificantadvancesincuringills.In1947,noneofthemajormentalillnessesweretreatable,whereastoday16aretreatablebypsychotherapy,psychopharmacologyorboth.Althoughpsychologyhadbecomeproficientatrescuingpeoplefromvariousmentalillnesses,ithadvirtuallynoscientificallysoundtoolsforhelpingpeopletoreachtheirhigherground,tothriveandflourish.Seligmanaimedtocorrectthisimbalancewhenhecalledfora“positivepsychology.”WiththehelpofpsychologistMihalyCsikszentmihalyi—whooriginatedtheconceptof“flow”todescribepeakmotivationalexperiences—Seligmanculledthefieldforscientistswhoseworkmightbedescribedasinvestigating“thatwhichmakeslifeworthliving.”

4Thisishowmanyresearchpsychologists,myselfincluded,weredrawntopositivepsychology.Myownbackgroundisinthestudyofemotions.Formorethanadozenyears,I’vebeenstudyingthepositiveemotions—joy,contentment,gratitudeandlove—toshedlightontheiradaptivesignificance.Amongscientistswhostudyemotions,thisisararespecialty.Farmoreemotionresearchershavedevotedtheircareerstostudyingnegativeemotions,suchasanger,anxietyandsadness.Thestudyofoptimismandpositiveemotionswasseenbysomeasafrivolouspursuit.Butthepositivepsychologymovementischangingthat.Manypsychologistshavenowbeguntoexplorethelargelyunchartedterrainofhumanstrengthsandthesourcesofhappiness.

5Thenewdiscoveriesgeneratedbypositivepsychologyholdthepromiseofimprovingindividualandcollectivefunctioning,psychologicalwell-beingandphysicalhealth.Buttoharnessthepowerofpositivepsychology,weneedtounderstandhowandwhy“goodness”matters.Althoughthediscoverythatpeoplewhothinkpositivelyandfeelgoodactuallylivelongerisremarkable,itraisesmorequestionsthanitanswers.Exactlyhowdopositivethinkingandpleasantfeelingshelppeoplelivelonger?

Dopleasantthoughtsandfeelingshelppeoplelivebetteraswell?

Andwhyarepositiveemotionsauniversalpartofhumannature?

Myresearchtracesthepossiblepathwaysforthelife-enhancingeffectsofpositiveemotionsandattemptstounderstandwhyhumanbeingsevolvedtoexperiencethem.

WhySoNegative?

6Thereareprobablyanumberofreasonswhythepositiveemotionsreceivedlittleattentioninthepast.Thereis,ofcourse,thenaturaltendencytostudysomethingthatafflictsthewell-beingofhumanity—andtheexpressionandexperienceofnegativeemotionsareresponsibleformuchofwhatailsthisworld.Butitmayalsobethatthepositiveemotionsarealittlehardertostudy.Theyarecomparativelyfewandrelativelyundifferentiated—joy,amusementandserenityarenoteasilydistinguishedfromoneanother.Anger,fearandsadness,ontheotherhand,aredistinctlydifferentexperiences.

7Thislackofdifferentiationisevidentinhowwethinkabouttheemotions.ConsiderthatscientifictaxonomiesofbasicemotionstypicallyidentifyonepositiveemotionforeverythreeorfournegativeemotionsandthatthisimbalanceisalsoreflectedintherelativenumbersofemotionwordsintheEnglishlanguage.

8Variousphysicalcomponentsofemotionalexpressionsimilarlyrevealalackofdifferentiationforthepositiveemotions.Thenegativeemotionshavespecificfacialconfigurationsthatareimbuedwithuniversallyrecognizedsignalvalue.Wecanreadilyidentifyangry,sadorfearfulfaces.Incontrast,facialexpressionsforpositiveemotionshavenouniquesignalvalue:

Allsharethesamesmile—inwhichthecornersofthelipsareraisedandthemusclesarecontractedaroundtheeyes,whichraisesthecheeks.Asimilardistinctionisevidentintheresponseoftheautonomicnervoussystemtotheexpressionofemotions.About20yearsago,psychologistsPaulEkmanandWallaceFriesenattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanFrancisco,andRobertLevensonatIndianaUniversityshowedthatanger,fearandsadnesseacheliciteddistinctresponsesintheautonomicnervoussystem.Incontrast,thepositiveemotionsappearedtohavenodistinguishableautonomicresponses.

9Thestudyofpositiveemotionshasalsobeenhinderedbecausescientistsattemptedtounderstandthemwithmodelsthatworkedbestfornegativeemotions.Centraltomanytheoriesofemotionisthattheyare,bydefinition,associatedwithurgestoactinparticularways.Angercreatestheurgetoattack,feartheurgetoescapeanddisgusttheurgetoexpel.Ofcourse,notheoristarguesthatpeopleinvariablyactouttheseurges;rather,people’sideasaboutpossiblecoursesofactionnarrowinonthesespecificurges.Andtheseurgesarenotsimplythoughtsexistinginthemind.Theyembodyspecificphysiologicalchangesthatenabletheactionscalledforth.Inthecaseoffear,forexample,agreateramountofbloodflowstothelargemusclegroupstofacilitaterunning.

10Themodelsthatemphasizetheroleofthesespecificactiontendenciestypicallycasttheemotionsasevolvedadaptations.Thenegativeemotionshaveanintuitivelyobviousadaptivevalue:

inaninstant,theynarrowourthought-actionrepertoirestothosethatbestpromotedourancestors’survivalinlife-threateningsituations.Inthisview,negativeemotionsareefficientsolutionstorecurrentproblemsthatourancestorsfaced.

11Positiveemotions,ontheotherhand,aren’tsoeasilyexplained.Fromthisevolutionaryperspective,joy,serenityandgratitudedon’tseemasusefulasfear,angerordisgust.Thebodilychanges,urgestoactandthefacialexpressionsproducedbypositivenotionsaren’tasspecificorasobviouslyrelevanttosurvivalasthosemarkedbynegativeemotions.Ifpositiveemotionsdidn’tpromoteourancestors’survivalinlife-threateningsituations,thenwhatgoodwerethey?

Dotheyhaveanyadaptivevalueatall?

Perhapstheymerelysignaledtheabsenceofthreats.

TheBroaden-and-BuildTheory

12Wegainsomeinsightintotheadaptiveroleofpositive