DOC《Animals Can Be Given False Memories》

Animals Can Be Given False Memories 为动物植入虚假记忆 Have you ever sworn that you left your phone in the car, only to find it in your pocket, or on your desk or, admit it, in the fridge.

Or maybe you just dreamed that you left it on the dashboard and the memory was so real you had to check there first. Well, it happens to the best of us. And, if you believe the latest research, it can happen to animals, too. 你是否曾信誓旦旦地称把手机落在车里了,最后却发现它其实就在你的口袋里或者桌子上,甚至是在冰箱上.又或者你做梦梦到把它落在仪表板里了,并且因为那记忆实在太真实,你不得不先去那检查一下.这种情况大多数人都有过.而最新的一项研究表明,这种情况也会发生在动物身上. Okay, critters don't misplace their electronic devices. But researchers are finding that memory can be as tricky for some beasties as it is for us. Take, for example, bees. These flying foragers are renowned for their ability to remember which flowers are best and where to find them. But it turns out bees can be bollixed. 当然,小动物们不会错放它们的电子产品.但研究人员发现,一些小动物的记忆可能像人类的一样狡猾.比如说蜜蜂这种飞行觅食者就有一个非常有名的能力:能够记住哪种花最好并且记得在哪里能找到这些花.但事实证明,蜜蜂是会被搞昏头的. Scientists trained bumblebees to expect a droplet of sugar water from two artificial flowers: one that was solid yellow, the other looking like an archery target of black and white rings. A few minutes later, the insects were allowed to choose between those two flowers and a third one that had yellow rings, a combo of the previous patterns. In this short-term test, the bees correctly showed a preference for the petals they'd seen had the sweet stuff. 科学家们训练大黄蜂,让它们感觉能从两种人造花上找到糖水滴:这两种花一种是黄色物体,另一种是看起来像箭靶子一样的黑白色"花环".几分钟后,他们让大黄蜂在这两种物体和另外一个"黄色花环"中做选择,其中"黄色花环"是前两样物体的结合物.在这个短期试验中,大黄蜂更倾向于选择前两种曾让它们采到"甜头"的物体. But when challenged a few days later, the bees got bamboozled. They began selecting the yellow-ringed flower, even though it had never given them anything. It was like their memories had merged―or so conclude the authors in their paper in the journal Current Biology. 但当实验持续了几天后,大黄蜂就被迷惑了.它们开始选择"黄色花环",尽管它们从未在它那里采食到过"甜头".就好像它们的记忆被融合了――而这也使研究员得出了该研究结论.这项研究刊发在《当代生物学》杂志上. Meanwhile, another team of researchers found they could manipulate the memories of mice while the animals slept. As rodents skitter from here to there, what are called "place cells" in their brains record their pathways and locations. These cells then replay these movements during sleep, helping the animals remember where they've been. 同时,另一组研究人员发现,他们能在小白鼠睡觉时操纵它们的记忆.随着这些小白鼠四处游荡,它们大脑中的"空间辨识细胞"会记录下它们走过的路及位置.这些细胞会在它们睡眠时回顾这些活动,帮助它们记忆自己曾到过哪些地方. In this study, researchers used electrodes to turn on cells in the sleeping animals' pleasure center at the same time as certain place cells lit up. This simultaneous sleepy time stimulation essentially forged an artificial memory, linking a particular location with good feelings. So when the mice woke up, they spent more time in the happy place of their dreams than anywhere else―even though nothing special actually happened there. This research is in the journal Nature Neuroscience. 在这项研究中,研究人员在小白鼠沉睡时,使用电极刺激其大脑里愉快中枢内的细胞,同时小鼠大脑内特定区域变得活跃起来.这种睡眠中的同步刺激基本上伪造成了一个人工记忆,它形成一个链接到特定地区的愉快的感觉.因此,当小白鼠醒来后,它们就会在梦中那个愉快之地逗留更久――即使它们从未在那里有过任何经历.这项研究刊发于《自然神经科学》杂志. Both studies suggest that we all may need to take our memories with a grain of salt. Or a dollop of nectar. Or a nice piece of cheese. 这两项研究都表明:也许当我们回顾记忆时,应该在其中夹杂一些如盐的辛酸或者如蜜的甘甜又或者是如一块漂亮奶酪般的美味. Have you ever sworn that you left your phonein the car, only to find it in your pocket, or on your desk or, admit it, in the fridge. Or maybe you just dreamed that you left it on the dashboard and the memory was so real you had to check there first. Well, it happens to the best of us. And, if you believe the latest research, it can happen to animals, too. Okay, critters don't misplace their electronic devices. But researchers are finding thatmemory can be as tricky for some beasties as it is for us. Take, for example, bees. These flying foragers are renowned for their ability to remember which flowers are best and where to find them. But it turns out bees can be bollixed. Scientists trained bumblebees to expect a droplet of sugar water from two artificial flowers: one that was solid yellow, the other looking like an archery target of black and white rings. A few minutes later, the insects were allowed to choose between those two flowers and a third one that had yellow rings, a combo of the previous patterns. In this short-term test, the bees correctly showed a preference for the petals they'd seen had the sweet stuff. But when challenged a few days later, the bees got bamboozled. They began selecting the yellow-ringed flower, even though it had never given them anything. It was like their memories had merged―or so conclude the authors in their paper in the journalCurrent Biology. [Kathryn L. Hunt and Lars Chittka, Merging of Long-Term Memories in an Insect] Meanwhile, another team of researchers found they could manipulate the memories of mice while the animals slept. As rodents skitter from here to there, what are called "place cells" in their brains record their pathways and locations. These cells then replay these movements during sleep, helping the animals remember where they've been. In this study, researchers used electrodes to turn on cells in the sleeping animals' pleasure center at the same time as certain place cells lit up. This simultaneous sleepytime stimulation essentially forged an artificial memory, linking a particular location with good feelings. So when the mice woke up, they spent more time in the happy place of their dreams than anywhere else―even though nothing special actually happened there. This research is in the journal Nature Neuroscience. [Gaetan de Lavilléon et al, Explicit memory creation during sleep demonstrates a causal role of place cells in navigation] Both studies suggest that we all may need to take our memories with a grain of salt. Or a dollop of nectar. Or a nice piece of cheese.