You spend weeks studying for an important test. On the big day, you wait nervously as your teacher hands it out. You’re working your way through, when you’re asked to define ‘ataraxia.’ You know you’ve seen it before, but your mind goes blank. What just happened?
你花了數週的時間 準備一個重要的考試。 在這個大日子,你緊張地 等著你的老師發考卷, 當你開始考試時,你碰到一個問題 是要你定義「心神安寧」。 你知道你之前看過這個詞, 但你的腦中一片空白。 發生了什麼事?
The answer lies in the complex relationship between stress and memory. There are many types and degrees of stress and different kinds of memory, but we’re going to focus on how short-term stress impacts your memory for facts.
答案和壓力與記憶 之間的關係有關。 壓力有不同的類型和程度, 記憶也有不同種類, 但我們要把焦點放在短期的壓力 如何影響你對於事實的記憶。
To start, it helps to understand how this kind of memory works. Facts you read, hear, or study become memories through a process with three main steps. First comes acquisition: the moment you encounter a new piece of information. Each sensory experience activates a unique set of brain areas.
先了解一下這種記憶如何運作 是會有幫助的。 你讀到、聽到,或研究到的事實 會透過一個過程變成記憶, 這個過程有三個主要步驟。 一開始是「取得」: 也就是你接觸到 新資訊的那個時刻, 每一種感官經驗所啟動的 大腦區域都是獨一無二的。
In order to become lasting memories, these sensory experiences have to be consolidated by the hippocampus, influenced by the amygdala, which emphasizes experiences associated with strong emotions. The hippocampus then encodes memories, probably by strengthening the synaptic connections stimulated during the original sensory experience.
若要成為能持續下去的記憶, 這些感官經驗 就需要被海馬迴給強化, 會受到杏仁核的影響, 杏仁核所著重的是 和強烈情緒有關的經驗。 接著,海馬迴會把記憶編碼, 做法可能是將原始感官經驗過程中 所促成的突觸連結給強化。
Once a memory has been encoded, it can be remembered, or retrieved, later. Memories are stored all over the brain, and it’s likely the prefrontal cortex that signals for their retrieval.
一旦記憶被編碼了之後, 它就能被記住,之後也能再取用它。 記憶儲存在大腦各處, 要求取回記憶的訊息 可能是由前額葉皮質負責。
So how does stress affect each of these stages? In the first two stages, moderate stress can actually help experiences enter your memory. Your brain responds to stressful stimuli by releasing hormones known as corticosteroids, which activate a process of threat-detection and threat-response in the amygdala. The amygdala prompts your hippocampus to consolidate the stress-inducing experience into a memory. Meanwhile, the flood of corticosteroids from stress stimulates your hippocampus, also prompting memory consolidation.
所以,壓力如何影響每一個階段? 在前兩個階段, 中度的壓力其實可以 幫助經驗進入你的記憶。 對於有壓力的刺激, 你的大腦的反應會是 釋放出一種叫做 糖皮質激素的荷爾蒙, 它會啟動杏仁核中一個偵測威脅 並做出反應的過程。 杏仁核會提示海馬迴 強化造成壓力的經驗, 讓它進入記憶中。 同時,因為壓力所產生的 大量糖皮質激素 會刺激你的海馬迴, 亦會促進記憶強化。
But even though some stress can be helpful, extreme and chronic stress can have the opposite effect. Researchers have tested this by injecting rats directly with stress hormones. As they gradually increased the dose of corticosteroids, the rats’ performance on memory tests increased at first, but dropped off at higher doses. In humans, we see a similar positive effect with moderate stress. But that only appears when the stress is related to the memory task— so while time pressure might help you memorize a list, having a friend scare you will not. And the weeks, months, or even years of sustained corticosteroids that result from chronic stress can damage the hippocampus and decrease your ability to form new memories.
但,雖然有一點壓力是有幫助的, 極端和長期的壓力 可能會有相反效果。 研究者測試這個想法的方式,是將 壓力荷爾蒙直接注射到老鼠體內。 當他們漸漸增加 糖皮質激素的劑量時, 老鼠在記憶測驗上的表現 一開始是提升的, 但在更高劑量時就下降了。 在人類身上,有中度壓力時, 我們看到類似的正向影響。 但只有在壓力是與記憶工作任務 有關時才會有這個現象—— 所以,雖然時間壓力可能 可以協助你記住一張清單, 但要朋友來嚇你 造成的壓力就沒有幫助。 若長期壓力造成糖皮質激素 維持數週、數月,甚至數年之久, 海馬迴可能會受損, 你形成新記憶的能力 也可能會下降。
It would be nice if some stress also helped us remember facts, but unfortunately, the opposite is true. The act of remembering relies on the prefrontal cortex, which governs thought, attention, and reasoning. When corticosteroids stimulate the amygdala, the amygdala inhibits, or lessens the activity of, the prefrontal cortex. The reason for this inhibition is so the fight/flight/freeze response can overrule slower, more reasoned thought in a dangerous situation. But that can also have the unfortunate effect of making your mind go blank during a test. And then the act of trying to remember can itself be a stressor, leading to a vicious cycle of more corticosteroid release and an even smaller chance of remembering.
如果承受一些壓力能夠協助我們 記住事實,那是好事, 但,不幸的是,反之亦然。 「記住」這個動作 要仰賴前額葉皮質, 前額葉皮質掌管思想、 注意力,和推理。 當糖皮質激素刺激了杏仁核, 杏仁核就會抑制或減少 前額葉皮質的活動。 會發生抑制,是因為這麼一來, 戰鬥/逃跑/不動的反應 就能在危險的情境中壓過 比較緩慢、經過推論的思維。 但那也可能會有不利的影響, 讓你的大腦在考試時一片空白。 接著,「試圖記起來」這個行為 本身就可能會是個壓力源, 導致惡性循環, 釋放更多的糖皮質激素, 能記起來的機會就更小了。
So what can you do to turn stress to your advantage and stay calm and collected when it matters the most? First, if you know a stressful situation like a test is coming, try preparing in conditions similar to the stressful environment. Novelty can be a stressor. Completing practice questions under time pressure, or seated at a desk rather than on a couch, can make your stress response to these circumstances less sensitive during the test itself.
你要怎麼做,才能 把壓力轉成你的優勢, 並在最要緊的時刻 保持冷靜和鎮定? 首先,如果你知道一個很有壓力的 情境即將到來,比如考試要到了, 試著在和壓力環境 類似的條件之下做準備。 新奇性可能是個壓力源。 在時間壓力之下做完練習題, 或是坐在書桌前而不是沙發上, 都能讓你在真正考試時, 對這些情況的反應比較不敏感。
Exercise is another useful tool. Increasing your heart and breathing rate is linked to chemical changes in your brain that help reduce anxiety and increase your sense of well-being. Regular exercise is also widely thought to improve sleeping patterns, which comes in handy the night before a test.
另一項很有用的工具就是運動。 增加你的心跳率和呼吸率 會造成你的大腦中產生化學改變, 協助減少焦慮,並增加你的幸福感。 定時運動也被廣泛認為 可以改善睡眠模式, 考試的前一晚能派上用場。
And on the actual test day, try taking deep breaths to counteract your body’s flight/fight/freeze response. Deep breathing exercises have shown measurable reduction in test anxiety in groups ranging from third graders to nursing students.
到了考試的那一天, 試著深呼吸,來對抗你身體的 戰鬥/逃跑/不動反應。 研究顯示,深呼吸運動能 大大減少在考試時的焦慮, 研究對象範圍從三年級生 到護理學生都有。
So the next time you find your mind going blank at a critical moment, take a few deep breaths until you remember ataraxia: a state of calmness, free from anxiety.
所以,下次當你發現你的大腦 在關鍵時刻一片空白時, 做幾次深呼吸, 直到你記起「心神安寧」, 定義為:一種冷靜、 沒有焦慮的狀態。