经济学人下载:纽约人的精神状态

Dr Meyer-Lindenberg and his team conducted several subsequent experiments to check their findings. They asked participants to complete more maths tests—and also tests in which they mentally rotated an object—while investigators chided them about their performance. The results matched those of the first test. They also studied another group of volunteers, who were given stress-free tasks to complete. These experiments showed no activity in either the amygdalas or the pACC, suggesting that the earlier results were indeed the result of social stress rather than mental exertion.

迈耶-林登贝格博士和他的研究组随后进行了几个实验以证他们的结论。他们要求参与者完成更多的数学测验，还有些测试需要参与者在心里转动物体。所有这些都是在研究者斥责参与者表现的情况下进行的。结果和第一次测试的一样。他们也测试了另一组志愿者，让他们完成一些无压力任务。这些实验表明杏仁核或扣带皮层部位没有活动，这表明之前的结果的确是社会压力的结果，而不是心力疲惫的结果。

As is usually the case in studies of this sort, the sample size was small (and therefore not as robust as might be desirable) and the result showed an association, rather than a definite, causal relationship. That association is, nevertheless, interesting. Living in cities brings many benefits, but Dr Meyer-Lindenberg’s work suggests that Shelley and his fellow Romantics had at least half a point.

这类研究常是如此，样本量小（因此没有我们想要的那个可靠），研究结论表明的仅是一种联系，而不是一个确定的，因果关系。不过，这种联系是令人感兴趣的。生活在城市得到很多好处，但是迈耶-林登贝格博士的研究表明雪莱和他的浪漫主义追随者至少有一半是对的。