The sound of people chewing, slurping, tapping, or humming can drive some people into a rage, and scientists have actually discovered the neurological wiring responsible for this strange condition.
有些人会被别人咀嚼、吸吮、轻拍或哼歌的声音弄疯,科学家们已经发现了导致这种奇怪症状的神经线路。

Called misophonia, it describes the unreasonable emotions that well up in some of us when we hear certain repetitive noises being produced by other humans. People with this condition experience annoyance or even anger at the clacking of a keyboard, the rustling of a chip packet, or the smacking of lips.
这种情况被称为“恐音症”,是指某些人在听到他人产生的某些重复性噪音时出现的不合理情绪。有这种症状的人听到键盘的咔哒声、薯条包装的沙沙声或吧唧嘴的声音时会烦躁,甚至愤怒。

While it's been recognised as a condition since 2000, research into the cause and prevalence of misophonia has been limited. There are no official criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and those who experience it often find it difficult to be taken seriously.
虽然这种症状在2000年就已经被认定为一种病了,但对恐音症病因和患病率的研究仍然不足。在《精神障碍诊断与统计手册》中还没有官方标准,而且患者发现很难引起重视。

But a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 2014 suggested that misophonia could affect as much as 20 percent of the population; a 2015 study in Australasian Psychiatry argued that it was associated with obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety, and could potentially be considered a disorder in its own right.
但2014年发表在《临床心理学期刊》的研究表明全球有20%的人患有恐音症。2015年发表在《澳大利亚精神病学》的研究称这种病与强迫症和焦虑有关,可能它本身就是一种紊乱。

While we all might feel a twinge of bother, having misophonia turns an annoying sound into an enraging experience, as it spreads through different parts of the brain associated with 'fight or flight' responses.
虽然我们可能都会感觉有点烦,但恐音症患者会把令人不适的声音转变成愤怒,因为他们与别人不同,这种声音会传播到他们大脑中与“战斗或逃跑”的反应有关的区域。

Research team lead Sukhbinder Kumar described the impact of their 2017 discovery: "For many people with misophonia, this will come as welcome news, as for the first time, we have demonstrated a difference in brain structure and function in sufferers."
研究团队的负责人Sukhbinder Kumar这样评价他们在2017年发现的影响:“对于很多恐音症患者来说,这将是一个好消息,因为我们第一次证实了患者的大脑结构和功能异于常人。”

Sadly for those with misophonia, the discovery doesn't come with an easy fix. It might help the rest of us sympathise, however, and consider chewing with our mouths closed.
坏消息是,研究没有找到简单的解决方法。但这项研究可能会让正常人产生同情心,在嚼东西时闭上嘴。

 

翻译:菲菲