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

棍子和石头会伤到骨头，但一项调查显示，纯粹的单词也会伤到人。

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.

科学家发现读一系列有关疼痛含义的词语会激活人脑中处理疼痛反应的区域。虽然没有即时的生理反应出现，但科学家认为在真正经历疼痛之前，先听到这些单词，会让疼痛更加严重，因为大脑相关区域已经在读单词时预热过了。

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

举个例子，如果一个牙医在给你看牙之前，读到了“钻、凿”这样的单词，他下手会更狠。

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

指导这项调查的Thomas Weiss教授说：“这些发现表明，单词本身就能激活我们的疼痛反应机制。”

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

“语言刺激比我们想象中的更有效果。”

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

一些诸如“折磨、痉挛和痛苦”这样的词被选中做测试，因为它们都与疼痛有关。

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

其他词语，如“可怕、恐怖”以及“恶心”虽然不直接与疼痛相关，但能引起人们的反感。

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