如果你昨晚做了一個不愉快的夢，這可能起到積極的作用。因為研究表明，睡眠中感到害怕有助于在清醒時控制恐懼。

Our dreams – why we have them and what's in them – has long been a subject of fascination. Now, a new study, published in the journal Human Brain Mapping, demonstrates that dreams help us react better to frightening situations in our waking lives. 

長久以來，我們的夢——為什么做夢以及夢里有什么一直是一個令人著迷的話題。現在，一項發表在《人腦圖譜》期刊上的新研究表明，夢能幫我們在清醒狀態下更好地應對可怕的情況。

Scientists from Geneva placed electrodes on 18 subjects whom they woke several times during the night. The researchers wanted to track brain activity during dreams, especially fearful ones. They found that regions of the brain react to fear in the same way while asleep and when awake.

來自日內瓦的科學家們在18名受試者身上放置了電極，并在夜間多次叫醒他們。研究人員想跟蹤并記錄他們在夢中，特別是在做可怕的夢時的腦部活動。他們發現，大腦的部分區域在睡眠中和清醒時應對恐懼的方式相同。

The researchers next gave a dream diary to 89 participants for a week. At the end of the week, they were placed in a magnetic resonance imaging machine or MRI and shown emotionally negative images, such as assaults or distressful situations, as well as neutral images. Dr Lampros Perogamvros said he was surprised by the outcomes. 

接下來，研究人員將一本夢境日記發給了89名實驗參與者，讓他們進行為期一周的記錄。在這周結束時，他們讓參與者躺在磁共振成像機內，向他們展示了一些消極情緒的圖像，比如襲擊或痛苦的場面，以及無明顯情緒傾向的圖像。蘭普洛斯·佩洛甘姆洛斯博士對該研究結果表示驚訝。

These results reinforce a neuroscientific theory about dreams, that we simulate frightening situations while dreaming in order to better react to them once we're awake. Dr Perogamvros is also interested in nightmares, but he cautions they might not have the same beneficial role as fearful dreams. He says, unlike bad dreams, in which the level of fear is moderate, nightmares are characterised by an excessive level of fear that disrupts sleep and has a negative impact on the individual once awake.

這些結果進一步證實了一個關于夢的神經科學理論：我們在做夢時會模擬令人害怕的場景，以確保醒來后能更好地應對這類情況。佩洛甘姆洛斯博士對噩夢也很感興趣，但他提醒人們，噩夢可能起不到與可怕的夢境相同的積極作用。他說，與恐懼度適中的可怕夢境不同的是，噩夢的特點是恐懼度過高，這種恐懼會擾亂睡眠并對清醒狀態下的人產生負面影響。

詞匯表

fascination 著迷，入迷
react 應對、作出反應
waking 醒著的，清醒的
electrodes 電極
woke 叫醒了
brain activity 大腦活動
fearful 可怕的
asleep 睡著的
awake 醒著的
assaults 襲擊，攻擊
distressful 痛苦的
neutral 中性的
neuroscientific 神經科學的
simulate 模擬，模仿
nightmares 噩夢
moderate 適度的，適中的
disrupts 擾亂，打擾

2. 閱讀理解：請在讀完上文后，回答下列問題。

1. True or false? The researchers especially wanted to track brain activity during dreams that made people feel frightened.

2. What does the new study mentioned in the text demonstrate?

3. Where did the researchers place the participants a week after they had given them a dream diary?

4. According to Dr Lampros Perogamvros, do nightmares also help us control our fear in reality?

3. 答案

1. True or false? The researchers especially wanted to track brain activity during dreams that made people feel frightened.
True. The researchers wanted to track brain activity during dreams, especially fearful ones.

2. What does the new study mentioned in the text demonstrate?
The new study, published in the journal Human Brain Mapping, demonstrates that dreams help us react better to frightening situations in our waking lives.

3. Where did the researchers place the participants a week after they had given them a dream diary?
They placed the participants in a magnetic resonance imaging machine or MRI.

4. According to Dr Lampros Perogamvros, do nightmares also help us control our fear in reality?
No. He cautions they may not have the same beneficial role as fearful dreams. According to him, nightmares are characterised by an excessive level of fear that disrupts sleep and has a negative impact on the individual once awake.