"Starting in the 1960s, it became apparent to psychologists that the size of the pupil is related to more than just the amount of light entering the eyes.
「從20世紀60年代起,心理學家們就認為,瞳孔的大小不僅僅與進入眼睛的光線多少有關,而現在這個想法已經很明確了。
Pupil size also reflects internal mental processes," wrote the researchers. "For instance, in a simple memory span task, pupil size precisely tracks changes in memory load, dilating with each new item held in memory and constricting as each item is subsequently recalled."
瞳孔的大小還會反映內在心理過程,」研究人員寫道,「比如,在簡單的記憶廣度任務中,瞳孔大小可以精確追蹤記憶負荷變化,每存入一個新項,瞳孔就會擴大,隨後每想起一項,瞳孔就會收縮。」
So could this mean that people with generally larger pupils have more active minds? It's certainly possible, but as any serious scientist will tell you, correlation does not necessarily equal causation.
那麼,這是不是意味著瞳孔大的人思維就更活躍呢?當然是有這個可能的,不過,正如嚴謹的科學家們所說,相關性不一定等於因果關係。
The researchers suggested another possibility: that both intelligence and pupil size might be influenced by some other shared factor.
研究人員還提出了另一種可能:智力和瞳孔大小可能都受某一共同因素影響。
「Neuroscience research has shown a close association of pupil size with activity in the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system. [In the brain, norepinephrine] modulates the gain of target neurons to be more sensitive to incoming signals (both excitatory and inhibitory)… this modulation of neural gain has an effect on the strength of functional connectivity throughout the brain,」 they wrote.
研究人員還寫道,「神經系統科學研究發現,瞳孔大小與藍斑-去甲腎上腺素系統的活動密切相關。大腦中,去甲腎上腺素調節目標神經元的增益,從而提高其對傳入的興奮信號或抑制信號的敏感度……這種神經增益的調節對整個大腦的功能連接強度都有影響。」
In other words, it's possible that the key factor here is higher norepinephrine signaling.
換言之,關鍵因素是去甲腎上腺素信號的增強。
It would make sense that more intelligent people should be more sensitive to excitatory and inhibitory signals in the neural system. If higher norepinephrine levels are also correlated with larger pupil size, then the connection makes sense.
那這樣就講得通了,聰明人對神經系統中的興奮信號和抑制信號更敏感。如果去甲腎上腺素水平上升也與瞳孔擴大有關,那麼瞳孔大的人更聰明這個結論就言之有理了。
Of course, the study will need to be expanded to make sure the correlation does, in fact, exist.
當然,該關聯是否真的存在,還需要進一步的研究來確認。
And it should also be noted that there are many other factors that relate to IQ than pupil size or norepinephrine signaling, so these factors hardly make for a conclusive intelligence test.
此外還需注意的是,除瞳孔大小以及去甲腎上腺素信號之外,智商還受很多其他因素的影響,所以僅用這兩者來測驗智力是難以令人信服的。
Still, it's an interesting twist on the old notion that the eyes are the windows to the soul.
不過,這一發現仍然為「眼睛是心靈的窗戶」這個古老觀念帶來了有趣的轉折。
百度人工翻譯活動2016年12月20日隨機中獎的用戶為
suosuo7749
恭喜這位寶寶
我們的工作人員會儘快聯繫您
獎品實拍如下
龍貓移動電源