小大脑
边学英语边看脑科学的你超酷 der！
咬指甲、抽烟、吃宵夜…….
坏习惯怎么也改不掉。
有的坏习惯你甚至都还没意识到呢。
你以为你非得每天下午出门买块小曲奇来吃才行吗？其实你渴望的是交流啊。
…….
我们都苦于各自林林总总、大大小小、奇奇怪怪（？，欢迎评论区分享哦）的坏习惯，然而这些坏习惯是如此的根深蒂固，怎么也改不掉。
今天我们就来一起看看脑科学怎么说的吧~
本期视频如何改掉坏习惯？
视频字幕
We all have habits we like to break whether it’s biting your fingernails, smoking or eating late at night but why are these habits so hard to break？
我们总有那么一些想要戒掉的习惯，例如咬指甲、抽烟、吃夜宵，但我们却很难真正杜绝这些坏习惯，那么，这些坏习惯为何如此根深蒂固呢？
Perhaps you think your day is made up of deliberate conscious decisions but in reality, a University of Duke study found that 45% of your everyday behaviours are actions that you repeat everyday and tend to do in the same location. These are your habits.
也许在你看来，你日常生活中的每一步行动，都是深思熟虑的结果，但杜克大学的一项研究发现，在你的日常活动中，实际上有45%的行为是你每天都会重复，并且倾向于在同一地点进行的。这些惯常的行为就是你的习惯。
Habits are attributed to one of the most primitive structures in your brain，the Basal Ganglia, the same region that helps control processes such as breathing and swallowing.
习惯形成于大脑中最原始的结构之一——基底神经节。这一区域也同样可以辅助大脑控制呼吸和吞咽等生理过程。
In an MIT experiment, a mouse sits behind a gate of a T-shaped maze where to its left is a piece od chocolate.
在麻省理工学院进行的一项实验中，研究人员在T形迷宫的门口放置一只老鼠，并在迷宫的最左边放置了一块巧克力。
When the door clicks, the mouse explores the maze sniffing and scratching up the walls. First it explores the right and then to the left, eventually finding the chocolate.
当迷宫的门伴随着声响打开了，老鼠就开始在迷宫中闻来闻去，在墙上刮挠着四处探索。老鼠左边嗅嗅右边嗅嗅，最终找到了巧克力。
A scan of the basal ganglia shows it’s working serious throughout the whole process.
通过大脑扫描，我们可以发现，在老鼠探索迷宫的过程中，基底神经节的活动十分剧烈。
However, after a week of training, the mouse runs immediately towards the chocolate once the gate clicks.
然而，经过一个星期的训练，只要迷宫门一打开老鼠就会径直跑向巧克力。
At this point there is very little brain activity once the gate clicks and the brain doesn’t fire up again until it reaches the chocolate.
老鼠一旦听到门伴着声响打开了，它的大脑活动就平静了下来，直到老鼠找到巧克力，它的大脑才重新活跃起来。
Our brain seeks to minimize effort and space and this kind of automatic brain behaviour is referred to as chunking. Chunking aims at creating a new habit pattern in cells of the brain. It’s like a task you do everyday that you no longer really have to think about, brushing your teeth or backing out of your driveway.
我们的大脑想要最小化一件事所花费的精力，和所占用的空间。大脑将人的行为自动化的过程就是大脑省力省空间的过程，我们将其称之为“组块”。组块的目的在于，令大脑细胞形成一种新的惯常的活动模式，这就相当于你不再需要去思考你每天都要做的事情，比如刷牙或者把车倒出车道等。
Skills that were once difficult to master but now become automatic.
一些技能曾经如此难以掌握，如今对我们来说，却是手到擒来、自然无比。
This process is a step loop.
大脑组块的过程是一个由三个步骤组成的回路。
Step 1 is the cue which for the mouse is click of the gate.
Step 2 is the routine run through the base.
And step 3 is the reward, in this case chocolate.
第1步是提示线索，对于老鼠来说就是门被打开的那一声响。
第2步是穿过迷宫这一例行程序。
第3步是奖励，在实验中是巧克力。
The cue and reward eventually intertwine creating anticipation and cravings —— another central of habit.
我们的大脑最终将提示和奖励连结在一起，产生了习惯的另一个核心——预期和渴望。
Because we go into automatic mode during routines, our brains stop fully participating in decision making.
因为我们在执行例行程序的时候就相当于进入了一个自动模式，所以我们的大脑不再全力地参与决策过程。
Our habits will automatically unfold every time there’s a cue.
每当提示线索一出现，它就会触发我们的习惯，接着我们就会自动执行习惯中的例行程序以获得奖励。
These habits can be so entrenched that the rewards don’t even have to be good.
这些习惯可能已经根深蒂固，以至于不再需要丰厚的奖励去刺激。
A study of habitual popcorn eaters at the movies found that they were minimally impacted by hunger or how much they liked the food and they ate the same amount of popcorn regardless of whether it was stale or fresh.
研究人员研究了那些习惯边看电影边吃爆米花的人，他们发现，饥饿程度的不同无法影响这些人吃爆米花的行为，他们有多么喜爱爆米花也不重要，而且无论爆米花是隔夜的还是新鲜的，他们都会吃同样数量的爆米花。
Our habits often overrule what we know is good for us, for example, a study of America’s TAKE 5 campaign to encourage citizens to eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day found the program was effective in educating the public, but an assessment found that it did not change American Intake where only 11% met the goal. It changed the people’s intentions but not their habits.
我们的习惯常常打败那些我们明明知道是有益的事情。例如，美国TAKE 5活动旨在鼓励公民每天吃5种水果和蔬菜，针对该活动的研究表明，这项活动有效地向公民传播了相关知识和道理，达到了很好的教育效果。但评估发现，认识的提高并没有改变美国民众对水果和蔬菜的摄入量，仅有11%的人达到活动定下的目标。这项活动改变了人们的意图而不是他们的习惯。
So what are you to do
那我们该如何改变我们的习惯呢
Charles Duhigg author of THE POWER OF HABIT gives an example of buying a cookie everyday around 3.15 pm at work.
《习惯的力量》的作者查尔斯·杜希格（Charles Duhigg）举了一个例子来说明：他习惯每个工作日下午3点15分左右去买一块小曲奇。
The cue is 3 o’clock but the reward is a bit more complicated as the cookie can be a bundle of many rewards.
“3点钟”这一时刻提醒大脑该进行惯常的行为活动了，但奖励则有点复杂，因为小曲奇可以带来各种各样的奖励。
It could be a relief from hunger or an energy boost, satiating a craving for something sweet, or it could be a nice break from work; or even an opportunity to talk to people.
它可以缓解饥饿、供应能量、满足对甜食的渴望，或者是，它提供了一个从工作中抽身的休息机会，它甚至可以代表一个与人交流的机会。
Duhigg want to break his cookie habit and after some trial and error, discovered that what he really craved is socialization that came from buying the cookie.
Duhigg希望戒掉他的“小曲奇”习惯，于是经过一些反复试验，他发现自己真正渴望的是由购买曲奇带来的社交活动。
So around 3, he would get up and find someone to gossip with for 10 minutes instead.
所以每天下午3点左右，他便会站起来，找个人闲聊10分钟。
By using the same cue and same reward of socialization, he was able to break the cookie habit.
通过运用相同的提示线索和社交奖励，他成功戒掉了曲奇。
But what about the habits that you don’t always notice like biting your nails？
至于那些你不能经常注意到的习惯，比如咬指甲呢？
Psychologists suggest that first you think about when you bite your nails. Are you nervous, or bored
心理学家建议，首先，你需要搞清楚你在什么情况下会咬指甲，是当你紧张的时候，还是无聊的时候？
In the case of boredom, nail biting offers a physical stimulation.
如果你习惯在无聊的时候咬指甲，那是因为咬指甲可以给身体带来刺激感。
So next you need to mark down every time in your day you feel bored and have the compulsion to bite you nails. Maybe that’s 5 times a day, maybe it’s 28.
那么接下来，你需要记录一下你感到无聊或产生咬指甲的冲动的频率。也许这个频率是一天5次，也许是28次。
But then you want to implement a competing response. Whenever you feel the desire to bite, you immediately put your hands in your pockets. Next, find a substitute that provides a quick physical stimulation like rubbing your arm or taping your knuckles on the desk.
但同时你需要做出一个对抗性的举动。每当你想咬指甲的时候，就立刻把手伸进口袋。接下来，接着做一个能快速刺激身体的替代动作，比如摩擦你的手臂或者用你的指节敲桌子等。
This allows for one habit to be replaced by another with similar reward but also used the same cue. So when you are ready to take on a bad habit, just remember: figure out what your body is actually craving, use the same cue and reward that serves the correct purpose, and be patient to help build that new habit.
由相同的提示线索触发、伴随着相似的奖励的新习惯，便能通过这种方式取代你想要改掉的旧习惯。所以，当你想打败一个坏习惯时，只要记住：弄清楚你的身体真正渴望的是什么，然后，以一种正确的方式使用同样的提示和奖励来达到你想要的目的，并耐心地等待新习惯的形成。
本文系网易新闻·网易号“各有态度”特色内容
翻译 | 刘晓彤
编辑 | Mandy
往期英语课堂：
第 7 期：如何应对压力和焦虑
第 5 期：如何保持长久动力，达成小目标
第 6 期：LSD和致幻药下的大脑
第 4 期：性高潮，人类最神奇的体验
第 3 期：如何高效学习
第 2 期：神奇的脑电波
第 1 期：人并不仅是男或女这么简单
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