近年来，孤独已经成为大家热议的话题，特别是对于年轻群体来说。那么，你知道孤独对于我们的大脑有巨大危害吗？一起来看看吧。
A lot of things are known to shrivel up in cold conditions. Particularly human extremities like toes and fingers. But brains may also experience shrinkage, at least according to a study published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine.
众所周知，很多东西在寒冷的条件下都会萎缩。特别是人的肢体末端，如脚趾和手指。而本周《新英格兰医学期刊》发表的一项研究表明，人的大脑也可能会萎缩。
For their research, U.S. and German scientists monitored nine people who spent 14 months at a lonesome research station in the South Pole. At the end of that sojourn, the subjects were found to be literally light-headed. Before-and-after scans of their brains revealed that certain structures had significantly shrunk. In particular, the hippocampus — the cerebral cog critical for learning and memory — slimmed down substantially.
在这项研究中，美国和德国的科学家监测了在南极的9个人，他们在人迹罕至的研究站呆了14个月。在最后的观测阶段，科学家发现这些研究对象出现了头晕目眩的症状。而其大脑的前后扫描图像显示某些结构发生了明显萎缩。特别是海马体（对学习和记忆至关重要的大脑区域）显著缩小。
But scientists suggest it's not so much the cold that shrinks brains, but rather loneliness and isolation. While living and working at the Antarctic station with sparse company, the test subjects didn't get much in the way of stimulation.
但是科学家们认为，大脑萎缩的原因与其说是寒冷，倒不如说是孤独寂寞。在少有陪伴的南极站生活和工作，测试对象的生活有些过于平淡乏味。
We know that loneliness does a number on our health. Some experts suggest it's as toxic as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. But this study suggests the brain actually starts shedding weight — bits of itself that are critical to socialization — as it gets lonelier.
我们都知道，孤独对健康有重要影响。一些专家认为，孤独产生的危害相当于每天抽15支烟。而这项研究表明，当人感觉孤独时，大脑就会开始减重——对于社交至关重要的区域会缩小。
Even worse, it seems the brain has a hard time coming back from that experience. As the researchers explain to LiveScience, a brain that sheds weight from the hippocampus loses some of its ability to process emotions and interact with others.
更糟糕的是，这种大脑萎缩似乎很难恢复。研究人员向美国生命科学网解释说，海马体缩小后，大脑会丧失部分处理情绪和与他人互动的能力。
For one of their tests, researchers measured the amount of protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. The brain relies on that protein to mint new neurons and create neural connections. In all nine of the test subjects, BDNF markedly declined as their Antarctic experience wore on.
在其中一项测试中，研究人员测量了实验对象的脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）蛋白质的含量。大脑依靠该蛋白质产生新的神经元并建立神经联系。随着南极实验的继续推进，这九名测试对象的BDNF含量全部明显下降。
Compared to a healthy control group — nine people who didn't wile away months in the Antarctic — the polar-bound participants showed a notable decline in both brain volume and BDNF protein.
与健康对照组（没有在南极消磨数月的九个人）相比，极地实验参与者的脑容量和BDNF蛋白质含量均显著下降。
A lonely brain only gets lonelier, as it's essentially losing the ability to forge new bonds. It seems a polar ice sheet — even if it's just one of the mind — is a terrible place to live.
孤独的大脑只会使人变得更加孤僻，因为它实际上丧失了建立新纽带的能力。看来极地冰原是个可怕的生活场所，即便这么一想都让人觉得可怕。
As the new research suggests, it's not the cold, but rather the monotony that feasts on a brain. A brain that slogs through the same routine every day, while seeing the same faces over and over again, has trouble forging new meaningful connections and experiences.
正如新的研究所显示的，使大脑萎缩的并不是寒冷，而是乏味单调。大脑每天都要重复相同的任务，一遍又一遍地面对相同的面孔，因此它们难以建立有意义的新联系，也无法获取有意思的新体验。
And that's a problem in a society that's experiencing an epidemic of loneliness.
在孤独症盛行的今天，这已经是一个社会问题了。
"Being connected to others socially is widely considered a fundamental human need — crucial to both well-being and survival," psychology professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad noted in a press release related to another study. "Yet an increasing portion of the U.S. population now experiences isolation regularly."
心理学教授朱利安·霍尔特·伦斯塔德（Julianne Holt-Lunstad）在与另一项研究有关的新闻发布会中提出：“大家普遍认可与他人建立社交联系是人类的基本需求，并且对人的健康和生存至关重要。然而，现在越来越多的美国人时常感到孤独。”
But there is hope. The research team focused on ways to fortify the mind against shrinkage — things like "specific physical exercise routines and virtual reality to augment sensory stimulation," as they tell LiveScience.
但是不必担心。研究人员告诉美国生命科学网，其小组专注于研究强化精神以防止大脑萎缩的方法，如“通过特定的体育锻炼和虚拟现实来增强感官刺激”。
Or, of course, you could also try not spending too long at an Antarctic research station. Or even better, avoid making an Antarctic research station out of your life here in civilization.
当然，或者您也可以尽量不要在南极研究站呆太长时间。更好的办法是，这辈子都不要去南极研究站。
Either way, it makes sense to try to make some new friends.
无论如何，结交新朋友总是有意义的。
亲爱的小伙伴们，了解到这个令人震惊的事实，让我们赶快行动起来吧！
本文为百度翻译原创内容
