Women who are pregnant often report feeling a little fuzzy, a little?dim?and more forgetful than usual, but medical research has produced mixed data to support the so-called “baby brain”?phenomenon.
孕婦常會覺得有些迷糊，較懷孕之前健忘不少，而針對這樣的“孕傻”現(xiàn)象，醫(yī)學(xué)研究給出了有多重數(shù)據(jù)支持的解釋。

Now a study that used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) confirms that mothers lose brain volume when they’re pregnant, adding to the debate.
最近，一項研究借助功能性磁共振成像，證實了孕婦的大腦會縮水，由此引發(fā)一場熱議。

The authors of the new study, which was published in Nature Neuroscience,?suspect the reductions they’ve detected may be a side-effect of “synaptic?pruning,”?which also happens to humans at age three and again during?adolescence.
這項全新的研究被刊登在《自然神經(jīng)學(xué)》雜志上，其研究團(tuán)隊猜想該現(xiàn)象是由“神經(jīng)元剪切”導(dǎo)致的副作用?—?一般來說，人類會在三歲時經(jīng)歷第一次“神經(jīng)元剪切”，懷孕時經(jīng)歷第二次。

In pregnant women, they speculate, the gray matter shrinkage may function as a similar kind of decluttering, but one that would optimize a woman’s ability to sense what’s going on for other people, what their moods are, and when the emotional weather is shifting.
研究人員推測，孕婦的灰質(zhì)萎縮現(xiàn)象有點類似于“清理內(nèi)存”，實際上會有助于她們?nèi)ジ兄说臓顟B(tài)與情緒的變化。

This change would benefit a woman on the cusp of becoming a mother, as it would allow her to better anticipate and understand her baby’s needs.
而這種變化對于初為人母的女性來說，利大于弊?—?它能幫助女性更好地感知與理解自己孩子的需求。

The authors say that shrinking plays out different in rodents. A mother’s brain changes in ways that tweak her ability to forage and hunt for food.
研究人員稱，（灰質(zhì)）萎縮現(xiàn)象對于嚙齒動物而言意義非比尋常。而母親大腦的變化則是為了增強(qiáng)其覓食與哺食的能力。

“Sometimes less is more. Loss of volume does not necessarily translate to loss of function.”
“有些時候，少點要比多點好。腦容量減小并不意味著功能的缺失。”

Previous studies have suggested that pregnant women are better able to understand emotions?encoded in faces, especially during late-stage pregnancy, while other scientists believe pregnancy turns women into better organizers.
在此之前曾有研究提出，孕婦（特別是處于妊娠晚期的孕婦）更擅長察言觀色。但也有很多科學(xué)家認(rèn)為，妊娠增強(qiáng)了女性的組織能力。

The potential upsides to “baby brain”?keep adding up.
關(guān)于“孕傻”問題的潛在致使因素，可謂眾說紛紜。

（翻譯：Rory）

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