我们日常会做的十大怪事的科学解释(上)_美文

我们日常会做的十大怪事的科学解释(上)

9.Desire To Bite Cute Things 9.想咬一口萌物

Any time theres a baby around, someone invariably tells the baby (in the obligatory cutesy voice) that theyre gonna eat them up or bite their toes or eat some other body part. Similar conversations happen when puppies are around, and you may have even seen someone (or caught yourself) pretend-chomping on a puppys paw. Whats the deal with this? Why do we have the urge to jokingly munch on cute things? 无论什么时候只要有一个小宝宝在身边，就一定会有人以嗲嗲的命令式语气告诉他/她：我要吃了你或我要把你的鼻子咬下来，或者把身体某个其它的部位吃掉。类似的对话也会出现在身边有小狗的情况下，可能你曾经还发现有人（或你自己）假装想要咬掉小狗的爪子。这到底发生了什么呢？为什么我们会有想要大嚼萌物的渴望呢？ Scientists have two main theories for this phenomenon. The first idea is that somehow our pleasure-sensing wires are getting crossed in the brain. When people (women in particular) catch a whiff of a newborn baby, we get a rush of dopamine similar to what happens when eating delicious food. Its thought that we relate cuteness to this dopamine-inducing scent, which also reminds us of food. This overlap in senses unconsciously gives us the desire to put cute things in our mouths.The other explanation is that its a form of play biting, which is common in many mammals and is a behavior from our animalistic sides. Many animals nip, pseudo-bite, and wrestle in a friendly, playful manner. Its not entirely clear whether this is done to hone fighting skills, boost motor skills, or simply for fun, but the behavior usually happens between trusted allies. It takes a lot of trust to put your hand in someones mouth and let them bite down. So, if for nothing else, play biting is used to increase social bonds, and that could explain why we unconsciously do it when we feel the urge to get emotionally close to something cute. 科学家提出了两个理论来解释此现象。第一个观点是：在某种程度上，我们大脑中感知愉悦的系统发生了混乱。在人们（尤其是女性）闻到新生婴儿身上的气息时，大脑就会分泌多巴胺这种物质，这与人们享用美食时也分泌多巴胺的情况类似。科学家认为我们的大脑将可爱和让我们想到美食的香味联系起来，诱发了多巴胺的分泌。这种在感觉上的无意识重复令我们产生将萌物放入嘴中的欲望。另外一个解释是：这是啃咬嬉戏的一种形式，这种行为在许多哺乳动物中很常见，体现了我们兽性的一面。许多动物相互啃咬摔跤都是以一种友好玩耍的方式进行的。我们还不完全清楚动物这样做到底是为了磨练打架和运动的技能或者还只是为了好玩。但是这种行为通常只发生在相互信任的朋友之间。试想，将你的手放入某人的嘴里并让他/她一口咬下去，这得要取得多大的信任啊。所以，如果不是出于其他目的，啃咬嬉戏可以增进人与人之间的关系，这也是当我们与可爱的事物亲近时就会无意识地想要咬一口的原因。