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Yael: Time to go again to the A Moment of Science mailbag. A listener writes: Dear A Moment of Science, I recently read about how drinking as many as seven cups of coffee per day can make me hallucinate. Is this true? I'm a pretty heavy coffee drinker, so I'd like to know.
雅艾尔：又到了《科学时刻》读信时间。一位听众写到：亲爱的《科学时刻》栏目组，近期我读到一篇文章，讲关于每天喝七杯咖啡如何让人产生幻觉。这是真的吗？我是一个重度咖啡饮者，所以我很好奇。
Don: Interesting question. For those that don't know, here's some background. Researchers at the University of Durham, in England surveyed two-hundred students about their daily consumption of coffee, energy drinks, and other caffeine products. They asked, among other things, if the students ever experienced hallucinations. The results appeared to show that students who consumed the equivalent of seven cups of instant coffee were three times more likely to have heard a disembodied voice than students who consumed less caffeine. Heavy caffeine users were also more likely to sense the presence of dead people and see things that weren't there.
唐：有趣的问题。先为那些不了解的人来讲讲背景知识。英国杜伦大学的研究者们调查了200名学生，统计出他们每日消费咖啡、能量饮料还有其它含有咖啡因产品的情况。他们问学生是否在其它情形下曾产生过幻觉。调查结果显示，摄入大约7杯速溶咖啡的学生，相比那些摄入较少咖啡因的学生更有可能听见一种非实体的声音，这种可能性是后者的三倍。重度咖啡饮者更有可能感觉到鬼魂的存在，看见正常人看不见的东西。
Yael: As for why caffeine may induce hallucinations, the researchers could only speculate. But they think it might have to do with cortisol—a hormone released during stress. Caffeine is known to make the body produce even more cortisol during stress.
雅艾尔：至于咖啡因为什么会让人产生幻觉，研究者只能作出推断。他们认为也许与皮质醇有关，皮质醇是一种激素，人在压力之下会释放皮质醇。众所周知，在压力之下，摄入咖啡因会使人体分泌更多皮质醇。
Don: But none of this is solid proof that caffeine triggers hallucinations. First, it's possible that people already prone to hallucinations turn to caffeine as a way to self-medicate. Also, the study depended on the subject's self-reporting. The only way to really find out if caffeine has anything to do with hallucination is to do a random controlled study, where several groups of subjects consume varying amounts of caffeine and are monitored in a controlled setting.
唐：但这都不足以说明咖啡因能引起幻觉。首先，可能是有幻觉倾向的人把咖啡因当做一种自我疗法的方式。同时这项研究依赖于主观报告。找到咖啡因是否与幻觉有联系的唯一方式就是进行随机调查，让几组受试者摄入不同份量的咖啡因，并在可控的环境里进行监测。
Yael: Still, the study is an interesting first step toward learning more about how what we put in our bodies affects the ways we think and behave.
雅艾尔：不过，这项研究在了解身体会如何影响人的思维和行为方式上，迈出了有趣的第一步。
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