研究：吃鸡蛋让人变慷慨

If you are looking for a loan, serving your bank manager breakfast might just do the trick.

如果你准备申请贷款，不妨为银行经理准备早餐，问题即可迎刃而解。

A compound found in eggs makes people much more generous, new research suggests.

最新研究表明，鸡蛋中含有的化合物可以让人变得更慷慨。

Scientists say that tryptophan, an amino acid found in some foods, can change our behavior.

科学家指出，一些食物中所含名为色氨酸的一种氨基酸能够改变我们的行为。

In experiments they found that consuming a small portion of tryptophan - the equivalent of that found in three eggs - doubled the sum volunteers gave to charity.

通过实验他们发现，摄入少量色氨酸(相当于三颗鸡蛋中该物质的含量)就会使志愿者的捐款数目增加一倍。

Eggs and other foods such as fish and milk are rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that is converted in the body into the feel-good chemical serotonin.

鸡蛋和鱼，奶等食物均富含色氨酸，色氨酸在人体内会转化成让人感到快乐的化学物质血清素。

The substance is also marketed as a food supplement called TRP.

这种物质也做为一种叫做TRP的食品添加剂在市场上发售。

Psychologists from Leiden University in the Netherlands, writing in the Frontiers in Psychology journal, said: ‘For the first time, we investigated whether the administration of a compound contained in food such as fish, eggs, soy, and milk can promote charitable donating. ‘Our study is the first demonstration that charitable donating can be enhanced by serotonin-related food supplements.’

荷兰莱顿大学的心理学家在发表于心理学期刊《前沿》中写道：“这是我们首次对鱼、蛋、豆、奶等食物中所含化合物的应用，是否会对人们的行善捐赠有所促进所进行的研究。我们的实验率先证明了含色氨酸的食物可以提高慈善捐款。”

The authors carried out an experiment on 32 men and women, in which half were given a powder containing 0.8 grams of TRP, and the others were given a harmless placebo powder.

作者对32名男女进行了实验，其中一半人服用一种含有0.8克的色氨酸粉末，另一半人则食用了无害的安慰剂粉末。

Each participant was given £7.50 ($11.25) for taking part in the research and asked whether they were willing to donate part of their financial reward to charity.

每位参与者都因参加研究 获得7.5英镑的酬金，且他们被询问是否愿意把所得部分酬金捐给慈善机构。

Four boxes for Unicef, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and World Wildlife Fund were left on a table.

桌面上摆放着来自联合国儿童基金会、大赦国际、绿色和平组织和世界野生动物基金会四个慈善机构的募款箱。

When the psychologists counted the takings, they found that those given the TRP powder donated an average of 75p ($1.15), while those who received the placebo donated half as much.

事后心理学家统计箱内募款时，发现服用了TRP的受试者平均捐款为75便士，而食用安慰剂的人则只捐出了一半的数额。

Just how a food supplement could have such an effect is not clear, but the scientists suggest the involvement of oxytocin, the so-called ‘cuddle’ hormone produced by women during breastfeeding and lovemaking.

虽然食品添加剂如何能产生这样效果的原因尚未可知，但科学家指出这可能与催产素有关，女性在哺乳和性交期间会产生这种所谓的“拥抱”荷尔蒙。

The researchers point to the closeness of the areas of the brain associated with serotonin and oxytocin.

研究人员指出大脑跟血清素和催产素关联的临近区域。

They wrote: ‘It may be likely that the willingness to donate money to a charity is modulated by the effect that serotonin exerts on oxytocin levels.‘Our results support the materialist approach that “you are what you eat”.

他们写道：“捐款的意愿可能受血清素对催产素水平影响调控。”我们的研究结果验证了唯物主义者的说法‘吃什么东西就会产生什么行为’。

‘The idea [is] that the food one eats has a bearing on one’s state of mind. The food we eat may thus act as a cognitive enhancer that modulates the way we deal with the “social” world.'

这种观点认为，人们吃的食物影响到大脑的状态。食物就这样扮演了认知促进者，调控了人们应对‘社交’世界的方式。”

Commenting on the research, Dr Adam Perkins, neurobiologist at King’s College London, said the study could be useful in prisons to encourage harmony among inmates.

伦敦国王学院的神经生物学家亚当·柏金思（ Adam Perkins）对实验点评称，该研究可运用于监狱，使身陷囹圄的犯人相处得更加和谐。

He said: ‘These results are interesting because they raise the possibility that dietary supplements containing TRP could be used to assist with boosting charitable attitudes and behavior in the population.’

他说：“研究结果非常有趣，因为增加含有色氨酸的食物添加剂，为极大地促进人们行善的意愿和行动提供了可能。”

Vocabulary

tryptophan: 色氨酸
amino acid: 氨基酸
serotonin: 血清素
psychologist: 心理学家
placebo: 安慰剂
oxytocin: 催产素
materialist: 唯物主义者