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(huì)覺(jué)得有些迷糊，較懷孕之前健忘不少，而針對(duì)這樣的“孕傻”現(xiàn)象，醫(yī)學(xué)研究給出了有多重?cái)?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(xiàng)研究借助功能性磁共振成像，證實(shí)了孕婦的大腦會(huì)縮水，由此引發(fā)一場(chǎng)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(xiàng)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(duì)猜想該現(xiàn)象是由“神經(jīng)元剪切”導(dǎo)致的副作用?—?一般來(lái)說(shuō)，人類(lèi)會(huì)在三歲時(shí)經(jīng)歷第一次“神經(jīng)元剪切”，懷孕時(shí)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(cè)，孕婦的灰質(zhì)萎縮現(xiàn)象有點(diǎn)類(lèi)似于“清理內(nèi)存”，實(shí)際上會(huì)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(duì)于初為人母的女性來(lái)說(shuō)，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(chēng)，（灰質(zhì)）萎縮現(xiàn)象對(duì)于嚙齒動(dòng)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(shí)候，少點(diǎn)要比多點(diǎn)好。腦容量減小并不意味著功能的缺失?！?/div>

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(zhǎng)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(wèn)題的潛在致使因素，可謂眾說(shuō)紛紜。

（翻譯：Rory）

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