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Unexpected uncertainty can breed paranoia 出乎意料的不確定性會導致妄想癥 上海譯銳翻譯 2020-6-11 16:01 In times of unexpected uncertainty, such as the sudden appearance of a global pandemic, people may be more prone to paranoia, Yale University researchers suggest in a new study published in the journal eLife. 當出現突如其來的突發事件時,比如全球瘟疫突然爆發,人們可能更加容易產生妄想癥,耶魯大學研究員在發表于期刊eLife中的一篇論文中提出以上觀點。 "When our world changes unexpectedly, we want to blame that volatility on somebody, to make sense of it, and perhaps neutralize it,'' said Yale's Philip Corlett, associate professor of psychiatry and senior author of the study. "Historically in times of upheaval, such as the great fire of ancient Rome in 64 C.E. or the 9/11 terrorist attacks, paranoia and conspiratorial thinking increased." “當我們的世界發生一些意想不到的變化時,我們希望將這一劇變怪罪在某個人頭上,想把這些變化弄清楚,或也許希望能夠淡化它”,耶魯大學精神病學助教兼研究資深作者Philip Corlett表示?!皻v史上所出現的動蕩劇變,比如公元后64年古羅馬的大火或9/11恐怖襲擊,都會造成妄想癥和陰謀思維增加?!?/p> Paranoia is a key symptom of serious mental illness, marked by the belief that other people have malicious intentions. But it also manifests in varying degrees in the general population. For instance, one previous survey found that 20% of the population believed people were against them at some time during the past year; 8% believed that others were actively out to harm them. 妄想癥是嚴重精神障礙的一個主要癥狀,其特征是認為其他人懷有惡意。但是妄想癥在普通人身上也有所體現,只是程度不一。比如,在之前所做的一項問卷調查中,我們發現,有20%的人認為在過去的某段時間內,有人總是針對自己;有8%的人認為別人一心想要傷害自己。 The prevailing theory is that paranoia stems from an inability to accurately assess social threats. But Corlett and lead author Erin Reed of Yale hypothesized that paranoia is instead rooted in a more basic learning mechanism that is triggered by uncertainty, even in the absence of social threat. 比較普遍的一個理論是妄想癥起源于無法正確評估社會威脅。但是,耶魯大學的Corlett和首席作者Erin Reed則假設,妄想癥其實根源于某個更加基礎性的認知機制,這一認知機制由不確定性所觸發,即使是在沒有社會威脅的情況下。 "We think of the brain as a prediction machine; unexpected change, whether social or not, may constitute a type of threat -- it limits the brain's ability to make predictions," Reed said. "Paranoia may be a response to uncertainty in general, and social interactions can be particularly complex and difficult to predict." “我們將大腦看做是一個預測機器;意料之外的變化,無論是社會性的還是其他類型的,都可能造成一種威脅-它會對大腦預測的能力做出限制”,妄想癥可能是對普遍不確定性的反應,而社會交往則特別復雜且難以預測”。 In a series of experiments, they asked subjects with different degrees of paranoia to play a card game in which the best choices for success were changed secretly. People with little or no paranoia were slow to assume that the best choice had changed. However, those with paranoia expected even more volatility in the game. They changed their choices capriciously -- even after a win. The researchers then increased the levels of uncertainty by changing the chances of winning halfway through the game without telling the participants. This sudden change made even the low-paranoia participants behave like those with paranoia, learning less from the consequences of their choices. 在一系列實驗中,他們請具有不同程度妄想癥的受試對象玩一種紙牌游戲。在這個游戲中,獲勝的最佳選擇被秘密改變了。幾乎或完全沒有妄想癥的受試對象會在較長時間之后才會設想最佳選擇已經發生變化。但是,有妄想癥的人群則會預計游戲會存在反復無常。他們會突然改變自己的選擇-甚至是在贏牌后。研究人員隨后通過在游戲進行到一半時改變贏牌的幾率來增加游戲的不確定性。這一突如其來的變化使那些即使是妄想癥程度較低的人群也表現的和有妄想癥的人群一樣,并未從自己選擇的結果中獲得經驗。 In a related experiment, Yale collaborators Jane Taylor and Stephanie Groman trained rats, a relatively asocial species, to complete a similar task where best choices of success changed. Rats who were administered methamphetamine -- known to induce paranoia in humans -- behaved just like paranoid humans. They, too, anticipated high volatility and relied more on their expectations than learning from the task. 在一個相關的實驗中,耶魯大學合作伙伴Jane Taylor和Stephanie Groman對老鼠,一個相對不合群的物種進行了訓練。在實驗中,老鼠需要完成類似的任務,但是在要完成的任務中,最佳的選擇發生了變化。被注射甲基苯丙胺(一種可以導致人類出現妄想癥的成分)的老鼠的表現和有妄想癥的人群完全一樣。它們同樣傾向于認為事物反復無常并且更多的依賴于自己的期待而非從任務中學到的經驗。 Reed, Corlett and their team then used a mathematical model to compare choices made by rats and humans while performing these similar tasks. The results from the rats that received methamphetamine resembled those of humans with paranoia, researchers found. Reed、Corlett及其團隊在進行上述類似的任務時,使用數學模型對老鼠和人類所作出的選擇進行對比。被注射甲基苯丙胺的老鼠試驗結果和妄想癥人群的實驗結果非常相似。 "Our hope is that this work will facilitate a mechanistic explanation of paranoia, a first step in the development of new treatments that target those underlying mechanisms," Corlett said. Corlett認為,“我們希望這一研究從機理的角度進一步解釋妄想癥,這也是推出新治療方法的第一步。新的治療方法以妄想癥存在的潛在機理為目標?!?/p> "The benefit of seeing paranoia through a non-social lens is that we can study these mechanisms in simpler systems, without needing to recapitulate the richness of human social interaction," Reed said. Reed表示,從非社會性單價角度去看待妄想癥有一個好處,那就是我們能夠在更簡單的體系內研究這些機理且無需重述人類社交互動的豐富性。 文章來源:科學日報 編輯:質控部