第三周阅读理解

玲至

日语1901 周玲至
How Your Brain Bonds With Fictional Characters

Scientists from Ohio State University have published a study that describes just what is going on in people's heads when they invest in fictional characters. According to lead author of the study Timothy Broom, "When they think about a favorite fictional character, it appears similar in one part of the brain as when they are thinking about themselves." It would seem what's going on is that we identify with these characters to the extent that we—at least somewhat—become them.
科学家发表了一篇关于人们在投入进一个小说角色时大脑的反应，他发现当人们想着他喜欢的小说角色时，一部分大脑的反应是和想着自己一样的，证明人们多多少少会模仿角色，把自己代入角色中。

The researchers used characters from HBO's "Game of Thrones". There were 19 participants in the study, all fans of the show.  

First, participants responded to questions asked in two well-regarded questionnaires: the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI) and the Transportability Scale. They were asked to rate their level of agreement with statements such as, "I really get involved in the feelings of the characters in a novel."  

Next, each participant's brain was scanned in a functional neuroimaging (fMRI) device as they were shown a series of names: their own, any of nine pre-selected personal friends, or a Thrones character. Beneath each name was a descriptor such as "smart," "trustworthy," "lonely," or "sad," and the individual was asked to state whether the attribute was applicable by saying "yes" or "no."  

The OSU team says they wanted to see what happens in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC). This brain region increases activity when someone thinks about themselves. To a lesser extent, the vMPFC also tends to become active when a person is thinking of a close friend.  
科学家邀请了十几位《权力的游戏》书迷参加实验，要求他们把给出的几个性格特征词汇和他们自己、朋友、书中角色联系起来，并用设备观察他们大脑的反应。结果发现当他们想到自己时大脑最为活跃。
The results reveal the vMPFC is most active when a person is thinking of themselves. There was less activity when thinking about a friend and even less when evaluating the fictional characters. However, the difference is much less apparent in those who score high in trait identification.  

Researchers find the brains of these individuals are particularly active when they evaluated the character they noted liking the most.  

Co-author of the study Dylan Wanger suggests that our identification with fictional characters may be a kind of pleasurable role-playing: "For some people, fiction is a chance to take on new identities, to see worlds though others' eyes and return from those experiences changed."
结果发现，人们在想到自己时大脑明显比想到朋友和角色时活跃，但是不包括具有鲜明性格特征的角色。而当人们想到他们最喜爱的角色时，大脑特别活跃。专家因此认为我们对小说角色的看待是一种角色扮演，通过角色的眼睛看世界并且从不同角色经历中得到反馈。