Sticks and stones may break your bones – but words can hurt you too, a study suggests.

棍子和石頭會傷到骨頭，但一項調(diào)查顯示，純粹的單詞也會傷到人。

Scientists found that reading a list of words associated with agonising experiences triggers a reaction in the part of the brain that handles pain. Although there is no immediate physical response, scientists suspect that hearing such words before experiencing pain could make the sensation worse, as the brain is primed to expect it.

科學家發(fā)現(xiàn)讀一系列有關疼痛含義的詞語會激活人腦中處理疼痛反應的區(qū)域。雖然沒有即時的生理反應出現(xiàn)，但科學家認為在真正經(jīng)歷疼痛之前，先聽到這些單詞，會讓疼痛更加嚴重，因為大腦相關區(qū)域已經(jīng)在讀單詞時預熱過了。

For instance, if a dentist talks about ‘drilling’ before he starts doing it, he could actually intensify your discomfort.

舉個例子，如果一個牙醫(yī)在給你看牙之前，讀到了“鉆、鑿”這樣的單詞，他下手會更狠。

Professor Thomas Weiss, who led the study, said: ‘These findings show that words alone are capable of activating our pain matrix.

指導這項調(diào)查的Thomas Weiss教授說：“這些發(fā)現(xiàn)表明，單詞本身就能激活我們的疼痛反應機制?！?/div>

"Our results suggest as well that verbal stimuli have a more important meaning than we have thought so far."

“語言刺激比我們想象中的更有效果?！?/div>

Some of the words – such as ‘tormenting’, ‘crampy’ and ‘excruciating’ – were chosen because they are associated with pain

一些諸如“折磨、痙攣和痛苦”這樣的詞被選中做測試，因為它們都與疼痛有關。

But others – such as ‘terrifying’, ‘horrible’, and ‘disgusting’ were selected to evoke negative emotions without being directly linked to pain.

其他詞語，如“可怕、恐怖”以及“惡心”雖然不直接與疼痛相關，但能引起人們的反感。

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