为什么抱臂能帮助抑制疼痛

To the list of unusual antidotes for pain — including cursing, meditation and giving a massage — now add crossing your arms.

独特的疼痛解毒剂列表包括骂人，冥想和按摩，如今还增加了抱臂。

A new study published in the journal Pain found that when people crossed their arms, it reduced their perception of pain. The pain source was a "pinprick" sensation caused by the heat from a laser aimed at one of their hands.

发表在《疼痛》杂志上一项新的研究发现，当人们抱臂时，会减少他们的疼痛感。疼痛的来源是由对准手的激光的高温引起的“针刺”疼痛感。

The research involved two experiments — one that included eight participants and another that included 12. The first experiment measured participants' responses to the stimulation itself while their hands were either at their sides or crossed over each other. The second experiment looked at the brain regions activated.

研究人员进行两个实验——一个有8个参与者，另一个有12个参与者。第一个实验是随便让参与者的手放在两边或抱臂，测试他们对刺激的反应。第二个实验是观察活跃的脑区。

Researchers led by Giandomenico Iannetti of University College London found that when people's hands were crossed to other side of their bodies, it confused the brain by interrupting the processing of information incoming from multiple regions. Ianetti says the confusion results from a misalignment between the brain's external mapping of where it normally assumes the hands will be (on the appropriate side of the body) and its internal map of the physical source of the new pain information.

英国伦敦大学学院由Giandomenico Iannetti带领的研究人员发现，当人们双手交叉抱臂时，它会通过打断各个区域产生的信息处理，使大脑感到困惑。Ianetti称这种困惑是由大脑通常认为手所处位置的外部映射和来自身体新的疼痛的内部映射的协调引起的。

Although the information about the pain's location was accurately processed, the brain had trouble integration this information correctly with information about the nature of the sensation. "When you cross your arms these maps are not activated together anymore, leading to less effective brain processing of sensory stimuli, including pain, being perceived as weaker," he said in a statement.

尽管对关于疼痛位置的信息进行精确加工处理，但是大脑还是很难将这些信息和感觉的本质准确地整合在一起。“当你交叉抱臂时，这些映射不再集中活跃起来，导致感官刺激的大脑处理更没作用，包括认为疼痛较轻。”他在一个发言中说。

This idea is supported by earlier research showing that only children older than five make confused judgments about the order of sensations felt on their hands when they are crossed.

这种观点得到早期研究的支持，它表明的大于5岁的孩子，当他们抱臂时，会对他们手上的感觉的顺序判断感到困惑。

Practically, it's unlikely that this will result in significant pain relief for pain in areas other than the hands, and the ongoing duration of the relief is not known. However, the study adds to understanding of how the brain processes pain, which could help the development of new types of anesthetics.

实际上，抱臂不会减少除了手的其他部位的明显疼痛感，而且疼痛缓解的持续时间也不明确。然而，研究还了解了大脑如何对疼痛进行处理，帮助发明新的麻醉药。

And, perhaps it sheds light on the classic posture of adolescent defiance: standing with one's arms crossed, cursing. Both cursing and arm crossing could reduce emotional torment. After all, the "hurt" or "unpleasant" aspects of pain are processed by the same brain regions, whether the insult is psychological or comes from a physical injury or illness.

而且这可能阐明了青少年反抗的经典姿势：双手交叉站着，骂人。骂人和抱臂可以降低情感痛苦。毕竟，无论这种侮辱是心理的还是身体的受伤或疾病，“受伤”或“不愉快”方面的疼痛都是在同一个脑区进行处理的。