【经济学人】孤独的后果（1）

2020-05-02 本文已影响0人 Claire_ZZ

Loneliness is bad for your health —— certainly as bad as being obese,and possibly as bad as being a moderate smoker.So,in these days of plague,when enforced solitude is the order of the day in many places,how to stop solitude turning into loneliness is a presssing medical question.

$\bullet$ moderate smoker 中毒吸烟者

$\bullet$ plague n.瘟疫；灾祸 vt.折磨；使苦恼

$\bullet$ solitude n.孤独；隐居；荒僻的地方

$\bullet$ pressing adj.紧迫的；恳切的 a pressing question 紧迫的问题

One part of the answer is to try to understand the physiology of the change.And that has,for the past few years,been the objective of Steven Cole of the University of California,Los Angeles.Dr Cole began his work with a study he published in 2015,in collaboration with John Cacippo of the University of Chicago.

$\bullet$ physiology n.生理学 anatomy and physiology 解剖生理学

$\bullet$ in collaboration with 与……合作

The pair led a team of psychologists,neuroscientists and immunologists who found that the pattern in people's blood of immune cells（白细胞就是免疫细胞） called myeloid cells is notably different in those who score as "very lonely" on loneliness tests compared with those who do not.

$\bullet$ neuroscientist n.神经科学家

$\bullet$ immunologist n.免疫学家

$\bullet$ myeloid adj.骨髓的；脊髓的 myeloid cells 骨髓细胞

$\bullet$ notably adv.显著地；尤其

Lonely people have unusually low numbers of a type of myeloid cell that generates what are known as interferon responses,which hamper viral replication.This makes them particularly vulnerable to viral infections.

$\bullet$ interferon n.干扰素 interferon responses 干扰素反映

$\bullet$ hamper vt.阻碍；束缚（区分：hinder阻碍拖延/obstruct阻碍交通） n.阻碍物；食篮

$\bullet$ viral replication 病毒复制

$\bullet$ vulnerable adj.易受伤的，脆弱的，敏感的（=exposed；sensitive/susceptible）

They also have an abundance of a second type of myeloid cell,one that promotes the activity of genes which drive inflammation —— and it has been known for years that those who feel lonely experience more inflammation than those who do not.

$\bullet$ inflammation n.发炎，红肿，炎症

These correlations are intriguing,but do not explain which comes first,the loneliness or the myeloid response.

$\bullet$ intriguing adj.奇妙的；令人感兴趣的；有迷惑力的

Dr Cole and Dr Cacioppo addressed that question by repeatedly measuring perceptions of social isolation in individual volunteers,while simultaneously tracking,from blood samples,their gene-expression patterns and other changes in their physiology.

$\bullet$ social isolation 社会孤独感

They found that, initially, volunteers' feelings of isolation coincided with an increase in their inflammation genes' activity and a concomitant increase in the circulation of immature immune cells, called monocytes, that are involved in inflammation- and which are also known to travel into the brain and promote anxiety.

$\bullet$ coincide vi.一致；符合；同时发生（with）

$\bullet$ con'comitant adj.伴随的，同时发生或出现的 n.伴随，共存；伴随发生的事；伴随物

They noted, too, increased levels in the brain of signalling molecules associated with both inflammation and behaviours such as social withdrawal, feelings of suspicion towards the outside world and a tendency to act more defensively by making decisions that involve few risks.

signalling molecules 信号分子

social withdrawal 社会退缩

That, of course, promotes further feelings of loneliness. Which, in turn, trigger a further myeloid response. And so on. It seems, therefore, that though loneliness starts with solitude, it can quickly take on a physiological life of its own.

Dr Cole thus worries that the enforced isolation, brought about by current circumstances, of those who are already living alone may create in many people a state of chronic loneliness that is difficult to escape from when things start returning to normal.

$\bullet$ enforced isolation 强制隔离

$\bullet$ chronic adj.长期的；慢性的；习惯性的

【经济学人】孤独的后果（1）

猜你喜欢

热点阅读