Ever had the feeling that your partner has the power to read your mind? Well you may not be imagining it.
Scientists have found that some couples are so in tunethat their brains begin to work in sync.
In research that points to the existence of a 'sixth sense', the team found identical patterns of brain activity in volunteers who had become so close they were 'physiologically aligned'.
That means they had reached a state in which their nervous systems were ticking overin harmony, helping them to know each other's thoughts and emotions.
The extraordinary findings emerged from an analysis of brain activity in patients and counsellors in therapy sessions.
The researchers involved believe it also sheds light onthe behaviour of couples, close friends or family members. Psychologists have long known that some couples learn to think like each other – allowing them to 'know' what their partner is thinking or about to say.
But the new study goes further by looking into the activity of the nervous system.
Dr Trisha Stratford, of Sydney's University of Technology, studied the brains and heartbeats of 30 volunteers during counselling sessions.
She identified a crucial moment when the counsellor and patient's brains started to work in sync in an 'altered state'.
She said: 'When this happens we can read each other's brains and bodies at a deeper level – a sixth sense.'
During the 'altered state', the part of each person's brain that controls the nervous system began to beat together.
你有沒(méi)有過(guò)這樣的想法,覺(jué)得你的伴侶能夠看穿你的心思?其實(shí),的確是這樣的,你沒(méi)有在瞎想。
科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn),有的夫妻非常有默契,連腦子里在想什么都很一致。
在一項(xiàng)針對(duì)“第六感”是否存在的研究中,研究團(tuán)隊(duì)發(fā)現(xiàn)那些關(guān)系十分親密、連生理反應(yīng)都一致的志愿者,他們的大腦活動(dòng)模式完全相同。
這意味著他們的神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)能夠和諧運(yùn)作,這種狀態(tài)有助于他們了解彼此的想法和感情。
這些意外的發(fā)現(xiàn)是在對(duì)治療過(guò)程中病人和咨詢醫(yī)生的大腦活動(dòng)進(jìn)行分析后得出的。
參與研究的人員認(rèn)為這一發(fā)現(xiàn)有助于理解夫妻、好友或家庭成員的行為。心理學(xué)家們?cè)缇椭烙行┓蚱匏伎嫉姆绞綍?huì)變得和對(duì)方相近,這讓他們能夠“知道”伴侶在想什么或要說(shuō)什么話。
不過(guò)這項(xiàng)新研究對(duì)神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)的活動(dòng)進(jìn)行了更進(jìn)一步的研究。
悉尼科技大學(xué)的特麗莎 斯特拉福德博士研究了30個(gè)志愿者在咨詢過(guò)程中大腦和心跳的狀況。
她注意到在咨詢醫(yī)生和病人的大腦開(kāi)始同步運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻,大腦狀態(tài)會(huì)發(fā)生“變化”。
她說(shuō):“當(dāng)這一變化發(fā)生時(shí),我們就可以更深層次地讀懂對(duì)方的大腦和身體,這就是第六感。”
在這一“變化狀態(tài)”中,每個(gè)人大腦中控制神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)的那一部分就會(huì)開(kāi)始同步運(yùn)作。
Vocabulary:
in tune: 和諧,一致,融洽
in sync: moving or working at exactly the same time and speed as somebody./something else (同步)
align: to change something slightly so that it is in the correct relationship to something else(使一致)
tick over: to run smoothly and without problems(順利地運(yùn)作)
shed light on: 使(問(wèn)題等)較容易理解