懒人之所以懒，是因为他们的大脑和别人不一样

本文节选自《卫报》

【Para. 1】

原文：We all know people with very different levels of motivation. Some will go the extra mile in any endeavour. Others just can’t be bothered to put the effort in. We might think of them as lazy – happiest on the sofa, rather than planning their latest project. What’s behind this variation? Most of us would probably attribute it to a mixture of temperament, circumstances, upbringing or even values.

翻译：我们都认识动机水平截然不同的人。有些人在任何事情上都会全力以赴，另一些人则懒得付出努力。我们可能会认为他们很懒——最开心的事就是窝在沙发上，而不是规划自己的最新项目。这种差异背后的原因是什么呢？我们大多数人或许会将其归因于性情、环境、教养乃至价值观的综合作用。

【Para. 2】

原文：But research in neuroscience and in patients with brain disorders is challenging these assumptions by revealing the brain mechanisms that underlie motivation. When these systems become dysfunctional, people who were once highly motivated can become pathologically apathetic. Whereas previously they might have been curious, highly engaged and productive – at work, in their social lives and in their creative thinking – they can suddenly seem like the opposite.

翻译：但神经科学领域的研究以及针对脑部疾病患者的相关研究，正通过揭示动机背后的大脑机制，挑战这些固有假设。当这些大脑系统出现功能障碍时，曾经积极性高涨的人可能会变得病理性冷漠。他们原本在工作、社交生活和创造性思维中满怀好奇、高度投入且卓有成效，如今却可能突然判若两人。

【Para. 3】

原文：For example, in my clinic, I saw a young man called David who had been a high-flyer in his firm but suddenly lost interest in his job as well as the people around him. Previously, he’d been a productive and outgoing person who always seemed to take the initiative at work and in his social circle, but now David did very little and didn’t seem to care. As he put it, he “just couldn’t be arsed”. Eventually, he was fired from his job but reacted with complete indifference. He couldn’t even be bothered to register for unemployment benefit. Seeing that he was unable to pay his rent, David’s friends offered him a room in their house. They soon regretted it. He did nothing all day, waiting for his mates to come home to cook for him. His GP tried him on an antidepressant, but it had no effect.

翻译：比如，在我的诊所里，有一位名叫大卫的年轻人，他曾是公司的佼佼者，却突然对工作和身边的人都失去了兴趣。他原本做事高效、性格外向，在工作和社交圈中向来积极主动，但如今的大卫几乎什么都不做，也显得毫不在意。用他自己的话说，就是“懒得动弹”。最终他被公司解雇，对此却表现得完全无所谓，甚至连失业救济金都懒得去申领。看到他无力支付房租，朋友们让他住进了自己家，可没过多久他们就后悔了。大卫整天无所事事，就等着朋友们回家给他做饭。他的全科医生给他开了抗抑郁药，但服药后毫无效果。

【Para. 4】

原文：David wasn’t depressed, though. In fact he was quite happy. After looking deeper into his case, we discovered that the cause was actually two tiny strokes, one on each side of the brain. These were located in the basal ganglia, nuclei that are crucial for motivated behaviour. Research in animals and humans has shown that the basal ganglia connect our needs and wants to actions.

翻译：然而大卫并没有患上抑郁症，事实上他的心情还相当不错。在深入研究他的病例后，我们发现病因其实是两次轻微的中风，大脑两侧各发生了一次。中风的位置在基底神经节，这是一组对动机行为至关重要的核团。针对动物和人类的研究表明，基底神经节负责将我们的需求与欲望转化为实际行动。

【Para. 5】

原文：When the basal ganglia are dysfunctional, people don’t initiate actions even though they are able to do so if they are prompted. David, for example, could put the rubbish out or clean the house if he was asked. But left to his own devices he did nothing. Studies in people who develop apathy have shown that many of them just don’t find it sufficiently rewarding to take action. The cost of making the effort doesn’t seem worth the potential benefit.

翻译：当基底神经节功能失调时，人们不会主动采取行动，即便有人提醒，他们其实是有能力完成这些事的。比如大卫，别人叫他倒垃圾或打扫房间，他是可以做到的，但只要没人管他，他就会一动不动。针对冷漠人群的研究显示，很多人只是觉得采取行动带来的回报不够多，他们认为付出努力的代价，远远超过了可能获得的益处。

【Para. 6】

原文：In some patients, drugs that boost the dopamine system in the brain can restore motivation. Dopamine plays a key role in the reward system of the brain – but whereas previously neuroscientists thought it was a chemical associated with pleasure, recent research shows that it works by driving “want” – incentivising people to seek the outcomes they find rewarding. David was successfully treated in this way: his motivation levels went back up after taking a drug that stimulates dopamine receptors in the brain. Because of this, he was able to get a new job, become independent and even find a partner, something he would never have bothered to do when he was in his apathetic state.

翻译：对于部分患者而言，能够增强大脑多巴胺系统功能的药物可以帮助他们恢复动机。多巴胺在大脑的奖赏系统中扮演着关键角色——此前神经科学家认为它是一种与愉悦感相关的化学物质，但近期研究表明，多巴胺的作用是驱动人的“渴望”，激励人们去追寻那些他们认为有价值的结果。大卫就通过这种疗法成功康复：在服用了一种能够刺激大脑多巴胺受体的药物后，他的积极性显著回升。也正因为如此，他找到了新工作，重新变得独立，甚至还收获了爱情——这些都是他在冷漠状态下绝不会费心去做的事。

【Para. 7】

原文：The lessons from patients such as David can be applied to healthy people who experience apathy. At Oxford University, we scanned the brains of students with contrasting levels of motivation – from extremely motivated to severely apathetic. We found significant differences in how their brains looked. That’s not, in itself, surprising. There’s natural variation in all of the biological systems that make us who we are, with contributions from our different genetics and environment. Intriguingly, though, we saw that the brain regions involved in motivation were working harder in the more apathetic students when we asked them to make choices about whether a particular course of action was worth the effort.

翻译：从大卫这类患者身上得到的研究结论，也可以应用到那些存在冷漠情绪的健康人群中。在牛津大学，我们对一群动机水平差异悬殊的学生进行了脑部扫描，这些学生有的积极性极高，有的则极度冷漠。扫描结果显示，他们的大脑结构存在显著差异。这一发现本身并不出人意料，毕竟决定我们自身特质的所有生物系统，都会因遗传基因和生长环境的不同而产生自然变异。但有趣的是，当我们让这些学生判断某一行为是否值得付出努力时，那些更冷漠的学生，其大脑中与动机相关的区域运转得更为费力。

【Para. 8】

原文：Why might this be the case? We know that almost everyone is willing to work for large rewards. A recurrent finding in apathetic people is that, unlike their more motivated counterparts, they are unwilling to put in the effort when the reward seems small. In our study, we asked people to decide whether to perform a brief action – squeezing a hand-grip at different levels of effort – in exchange for small monetary rewards, represented on the screen by apples. Some choices were obvious: “one apple for maximum effort” (not worth it) or “15 apples for moderate effort” (definitely worth it). But there were less clearcut offers, such as “six apples for 80% effort”. Motivated people decided quickly. Apathetic people slowed down, hesitating far longer over the borderline cases. Their brains had to work more to reach a decision – and thinking hard is aversive, something we tend to avoid if we can.

翻译：为什么会出现这种情况呢？我们都知道，几乎每个人都愿意为丰厚的回报而努力。研究中反复发现，冷漠的人与积极性更高的人不同，当回报看起来微不足道时，他们就不愿付出任何努力。在我们的实验中，我们让受试者完成一个简单的动作——用不同的力度握握力器，以此换取小额金钱奖励，奖励在屏幕上以苹果的数量来表示。有些选择一目了然：“拼尽全力换1个苹果”（显然不值），或是“中等力度换15个苹果”（绝对划算）。但也有一些模糊的选项，比如“用80%的力气换6个苹果”。积极性高的人很快就能做出决定，而冷漠的人则会放慢节奏，在这些模棱两可的选项上犹豫许久。他们的大脑需要耗费更多精力才能得出结论——而费力思考本身是一件令人反感的事，只要有可能，我们都会尽量避免。

【Para. 9】

原文：So deciding whether something is worth the effort seems to tax apathetic people more, meaning they sidestep the decision altogether. When faced with a choice to actually do something, they’re biased towards simply saying “no”.

翻译：因此，判断一件事是否值得努力，对冷漠的人来说负担更重，这也导致他们会直接回避做出决定。当需要选择是否真的要采取行动时，他们会下意识地倾向于直接说“不”。

【Para. 10】

原文：What does this mean for the supposedly lazy among us, or their friends and loved ones, who might welcome a change of attitude? It’s likely that chiding or haranguing them – as though apathy were a moral choice – isn’t going to work. Instead, researchers are focusing on that reluctance to even think about how worthwhile an activity might be.

翻译：这对我们口中那些“懒人”，或是希望他们转变态度的亲友来说，意味着什么呢？如果把冷漠当成一种道德层面的选择，而去责骂或喋喋不休地指责他们，很可能是徒劳无功的。相反，研究人员正把关注点放在他们那种连思考“一件事是否值得做”都不情愿的心理状态上。

【Para. 11】

原文：One practical way to circumvent this is to make a plan for the day or week ahead. This provides a structured routine that reduces the burden of having to think repeatedly about whether each activity is worth the effort. You make the choices in advance, so that you aren’t waylaid by each one in the moment. Ideally, some of those activities should be personally meaningful and lead to a sense of accomplishment or pleasure. That can help to reinforce the value of engaging in them, making the reward seem larger – which in turn makes the decision easier to say yes to next time round.

翻译：规避这种心理的一个实用方法，就是提前规划好一天或一周的日程。这种结构化的日常安排，能够减少反复纠结“每件事是否值得做”的心理负担。你提前做出选择，就不会在当下被一个个选择绊住脚步。理想情况下，规划中的部分活动应该是对个人有意义的，能带来成就感或愉悦感。这有助于强化参与这些活动的价值感，让回报显得更为丰厚——而这反过来又会让你下次更容易做出“好的，我愿意做”的决定。

【Para. 12】

原文：In addition, several studies have shown that moving your body can have a positive impact on apathy. Aerobic exercise three times a week for 40-60 minutes, taking dance lessons, or even vigorous walking, can improve motivation, possibly through effects on the brain’s dopamine system. External prompts such as alarms on smartphones or visual reminders (for example, placing running shoes by the door to prompt a visit to the gym or a run) can also be effective in cueing actions.

翻译：此外，多项研究表明，运动对改善冷漠情绪有积极作用。每周进行三次、每次40到60分钟的有氧运动，参加舞蹈课程，甚至只是快走，都能提升人的积极性，这很可能是通过影响大脑的多巴胺系统实现的。一些外部提示也能有效触发行动，比如手机闹钟提醒，或是视觉提醒——比如把跑鞋放在门口，以此提醒自己去健身房锻炼或出门跑步。

【Para. 13】

原文：The ultimate goal of these types of intervention is to work with the brain, making use of what we’ve discovered about the roots of apathy – partly through understanding unusual cases like David’s. The key to changing everyday behaviour is to make the evaluation of costs (effort) and benefits (rewards) a habit that doesn’t seem too much like hard work. Even for the most apathetic among us, this holds out the hope of turning a kneejerk “no” into an ability to consider saying “yes”.

翻译：这类干预手段的最终目标，是顺应大脑的运作机制，利用我们对冷漠根源的研究发现——这其中部分成果就来自对大卫这类特殊病例的分析。改变日常行为的关键，是让评估“成本（付出的努力）”与“收益（获得的回报）”成为一种毫不费力的习惯。即便对于我们中最冷漠的人而言，这也带来了一线希望：让下意识的“不”，转变为主动思考后说“好”的能力。