科學家發現睡眠中聞氣味可治療恐懼大綱

US researchers suggest smells could be used to calm fears - while people sleep.

美國研究人員發現，在睡眠過程中，我們可以藉助氣味來緩解恐懼不安的心情。

People were trained to associate two images, linked to smells, with fear.

研究人員讓實驗者將兩種和氣味有關的影像與恐懼聯繫在一起。

During sleep they were exposed to one of those smells - and when they woke they were less frightened of the image linked to that smell.

在睡眠過程中，研究人員讓實驗者嗅到一種令人恐怖的氣味，而當他們睡醒的時候，對於那種氣味的恐懼感則會下降。

A UK expert praised the study and said it could help treat phobias and perhaps even post-traumatic stress disorders.

一位英國專家對此發現讚賞有加，並聲稱這將有助於幫助治療恐懼，以及事故後期殘留的精神混亂等病情。

People with phobias are already commonly treated with "gradual exposure" therapy while they are awake, where they are exposed to the thing they are frightened of in incremental degrees.

當前，恐慌症患者在意識清醒的狀態下接受“逐步暴露”治療，即逐步接受那些讓他們感到恐慌的事物。

This study suggests that the theory could be extended to therapy while they are in slow-wave, or deep, sleep.

此項研究可能幫助患者實現在短波、或深度睡眠間的治療。

This is the deepest period of sleep, where memories, particularly those linked to emotions, are thought to be processed.

在深度睡眠的過程中，大腦對記憶，特別是那些影響人的情緒的記憶，進行加工。

The researchers showed 15 healthy people pictures of two different faces. At the same time they were given a mild electric shock. They were also exposed to a specific smell, such as lemon, mint, new trainers, clove or wood.

研究人員向15名健康的人一邊展示不同的畫面，一邊釋放例如檸檬、薄荷、新跑鞋和丁香等味兒，同時對他們進行輕微的電擊。

Later, when they were awake, they were shown both faces - without the scents or shocks.

當這些人醒來後，再向他們展示之前的畫面。這一次，沒有氣味、也不實施電擊。

They showed less fear when shown the face linked to the scent they had smelt while asleep than when shown the other face.

實驗表明，與之相關氣味的作用下，人們對於圖片的恐懼相對減少。與之相對的，不曾聞到氣味的人對於圖片的恐懼明顯要多得多。

Their response was measured through the amount of sweat on the skin and fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) brain scans.

而人們的這種恐懼反應死通過對體表汗液和大腦皮層的功能感應反映圖像對比測得。

People were in slow-wave sleep for between five and 40 minutes, and the effect was strongest for those who slept for longest.

對於那些睡眠時間在5~40分鐘的人來說影響不大。睡眠時間越長，這種反差更明顯。

Dr Katherina Hauner, of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, who led the study, said: "It's a novel finding. We showed a small but significant decrease in fear.

這項研究的負責人，芝加哥西北大學博格藥品研究分院的凱瑟琳博士說：“這是一項嶄新的發現，我們發現，人們的恐懼情緒大大降低。”

"If it can be extended to pre-existing fear, the bigger picture is that, perhaps, the treatment of phobias can be enhanced during sleep."

“若將此項研究推廣，我們很有希望在患者睡眠中對其進行恐慌治療，”

She said phobias would be the most obvious area to pursue, as cues tended to be relatively simple, compared with the more complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

她還說，較之更復雜的病症，恐慌症病情簡單，從而很有可能成爲最有研究前途的領域。她表示，若想全面瞭解這項研究的影響還需作進一步的研究。

And she said much more research was needed to fully understand the effects this therapy could have."This was just one day. We really need to see if it can last weeks, months or years."

“當前的結果只是我們做一天的實驗得出的。我們還有待考證，這一結果在幾周，幾個月，甚至是幾年之後是否依舊正確。”

Jennifer Wild, consultant clinical psychologist at the King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, said: "The sleep study is excellent and has implications for treating phobias and stress disorders, such as post-traumatic stress, where there are a whole range of cues.

倫敦理工大學的醫療顧問生理學家波奇璀說：“這一睡眠研究很不錯，它將推動如事故後遺症造成的恐慌和精神壓力的治療，有很大的研究空間。”

"Many people who have survived traumatic events, such as fires or road traffic accidents, have a physiological fear response to triggers of their memories.

“對於很多在諸如火災、道路交通事故等不幸中倖存下來的人來說，記憶帶給他們不盡的後續傷痛。

"Triggers often include smells, such as smoke, petrol, antiseptic smells and alcohol. Infusing these smells during periods of slow-wave sleep could help to extinguish the fear response."

“而導致這些痛苦回憶的誘因有很多，包括濃煙、汽車燃油。防腐劑和酒精的氣味等。如若在他們熟睡之間釋放這類氣體，將緩解他們的恐慌。”

Dr Wild added that the theory could perhaps be extended by exposing people to subtle sounds linked to phobias or traumatic memories during their sleep.

沃爾德博士還指出，我們還可以就此延伸，研究在深度睡眠過程中，與記憶相關的別的因素，如氣體，是否對緩解人們的恐慌心理是否同樣奏效呢？