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If you're not the one doing the whole pregnancy-and-labor thing,
如果你没经历过妊娠分娩，
the physical changes you go through when your kid is born might not be as dramatic.
那么孩子出生时，你的生理变化可能不那么戏剧化。
But it's still pretty obvious when you become a parent, more it might say that it's a parent.
但当你成为父母时，变化仍很明显。
You get those dark circles under your eyes from the constant lack of sleep.
你会因持续缺乏睡眠而黑眼圈，
Not to mention your style might change a little bit,
更不用提生活方式都可能会有点儿变化：
goodbye expensive duds, helllllllo spit up-stained T-shirts and sweatpants.
你要与昂贵的衣服说再见，与吐得污秽的T恤衫和宽松长运动裤打交道了。
You might even find yourself with a more cuddly physique, the classic "dad bod".
你甚至会发现自己有了一个更可爱的体格——典型的“爸爸肚”。
But the changes on the outside are just the beginning.
但外在变化只是开始。
Your insides change a lot, too, leading to what you might call dad brain, or even just parent brain:
你的内部也发生了许多变化，导致了所谓的“爸爸大脑”，甚至是“父母大脑”。
tweaks to your brain tissue and hormones that prepare you to take better care of your kids.
它会调整你的脑组织和荷尔蒙，让你准备更好地照顾孩子。
The changes that happen to parents who haven't just given birth have been harder to study
那些没生孩子的父母所发生的变化更难以研究，
because the animals we use in labs usually don't have both parents involved in childcare.
因为我们实验室使用的动物通常没有父母双亲参与照顾。
Instead, researchers are mostly limited to looking at what's happening in people's brains using newer technologies,
研究人员大多局限于使用新技术研究人们大脑中的情况，
like MRI, which measures activity in different areas of the brain based on blood flow.
比如核磁共振成像，它基于血液流动来测量大脑不同区域的活动。
And they've learned a lot in the last few years!
近年来他们取得了很大进展！
Before we get into that, though,
不过在我们开始话题之前，
it's worth noting that almost all of the research on this only looks at traditional families:
要注意几乎所有的研究都只着眼于传统家庭，
a mother and a father, both biologically related to the child,
即爸爸妈妈都与孩子有生理联系，
with the mother doing most of the caregiving.
并且妈妈做大部分照料工作。
So for some of this, we don't yet know how exactly it would apply to other types of families
基于这些原因，我们还不知道它如何适用于其他类型的家庭：
like parents who adopt, or same-sex couples,
比如那些收养孩子的父母，或者同性伴侣，
or even parents who do equal amounts of childcare!
甚至育儿工作平分的父母!
Which, like, maybe scientists should get on that.
也许科学家们应该对此进行研究。
But based on what they've learned so far,
但是根据他们目前了解到的，
it seems like a lot of the same brain-related changes
与大脑相关的许多变化
that happen in parents who just gave birth also happen in parents who didn't.
在生育孩子的父母和没生育孩子的父母中都相同。
For example, we know that some areas of the brain tend to get bigger after the child birth.
例如，我们知道，孩子出生后，父母大脑的某些区域会变大。
And a 2014 study in the journal Social Neuroscience found
2014年《社会神经科学》杂志的一项研究发现
similar patterns in the brains of new fathers from heterosexual couples.
异性夫妇的大脑与新爸爸的大脑相似。
Using MRIs, the researchers looked at 16 new dads' brains
利用核磁共振成像技术，研究人员观察了16位新爸爸的大脑，
and found that the size of certain areas increased in the first few months after their child was born.
发现孩子出生后的头几个月里，他们大脑的特定区域面积增加了。
The areas that grew were involved in things like planning parental behaviors,
增加的区域涉及到计划父母行为、
responding to infant cues, and feeling good about attachment and bonding.
回应婴儿暗示、以及对依恋和联系感觉良好等。
So it's not just new moms whose brains grow in places
因此，不仅仅是新妈妈们的某些大脑区域在增加，
that help you decide when your baby's next feeding should be, react to their cries,
这些区域包括帮助你决定宝宝下一次喂食的时间、如何应对他们的哭声
or feel all fuzzy when you're snuggling them
以及你拥抱他们时的模糊感觉。
But there were also some changes unique to the new dads, areas of the brain that shrank.
新爸爸们也有了一些独特变化，他们的大脑区域缩小了。
For example, they lost volume in places associated with daydreaming,
例如，与白日梦有关的大脑区域丢失了，
because yes, neuroscientists have actually mapped the "la la land" area of your brain.
没错，神经科学家已经绘制了你大脑的“爱乐之城”区域。
The team thinks this shrinkage might reflect the dads' increased vigilance in looking out for their helpless babies.
研究小组认为，这种收缩可能反映的是爸爸们在照顾无助婴儿时提高了警惕。
Researchers did not see the same thing in a similar study of new moms,
研究人员在对新妈妈们的类似研究中没有发现同样现象，
although that could be because pregnancy already changes the brain in a lot of ways,
尽管这可能是因为怀孕已经在很多方面改变了她们的大脑，
including shrinking in these areas.
包括这些区域的萎缩。
The new dads also lost gray matter in areas involved in stress and anxiety,
新爸爸们也在压力和焦虑区域失去了灰质，
which might reflect settling in to their role as a parent.
这可能反映了他们正在适应家长的角色。
That also didn't show up in new moms.
这种现象也没有出现在新妈妈们身上。
Then there are the hormones.
然后是荷尔蒙。
Studies have found that circulating levels of prolactin and oxytocin increase in new parents.
研究发现，新父母体内催乳素和催产素的含量增加了。
Prolactin gets its name because it promotes lactation,
催乳素因促进泌乳而得名，
so it makes sense that you'd have higher levels if you're breastfeeding.
所以如果你母乳喂养的话，催乳素会提高泌乳水平。
But prolactin levels increase even in parents who aren't breastfeeding,
但即使不是母乳喂养，父母的泌乳素水平也会提高，
because it's responsible for so much more than just milk.
因为它不仅仅是母乳。
It's considered the most versatile hormone in your body,
它被认为是你体内最多才多艺的激素，
and it regulates a lot of parental behaviors,
调节很多父母行为，
to the point that it's sometimes just straight-up called the parental hormone.
在这一点上，它有时被直接称为亲代激素。
Prolactin levels spike when parents interact with their kids,
当父母与孩子互动时，泌乳素水平会飙升，
and studies have found that higher levels correlate with a greater desire to calm a crying child.
研究发现，较高水平的泌乳素与安抚哭泣孩子的更大渴望有关。
Oxytocin also plays an important role in forming bonds, including those between parents and kids,
催产素在形成联系，包括亲子关系中也起着重要作用，
which is why you'll sometimes see it nicknamed the "love hormone".
这就是为什么你有时昵称它为“爱荷尔蒙”。
And some studies have found that when you spray doses of it into parents' noses,
一些研究发现，当你喷些催产素到父母鼻子上时，
they become more playful and affectionate with their kids.
他们变得更幽默，更爱孩子。
But these hormones don't necessarily do the same thing in both parents.
但是这些激素在双亲中的作用未必相同。
In studies of heterosexual couples,
在对异性夫妇的研究中发现，
increases in oxytocin and prolactin have been associated with affectionate behaviors in moms, like snuggling.
催产素和催乳素的增加与妈妈的亲昵行为有关，比如依偎。
In dads, on the other hand, they're associated with play behaviors,
另一方面，在爸爸们身上，它们与玩耍行为有关，
also a way to bond with the baby, but different from what's usually seen in moms.
这也是与婴儿建立联系的一种方式，但不同于通常在妈妈身上看到的。
While all this extra prolactin and oxytocin is running around, testosterone decreases.
当所有额外的催乳激素和催产素在运转时，睾酮会减少。
Testosterone is associated with sexual desire in both males and females,
睾酮与男性和女性的性欲有关，
and when it decreases, so does libido, at least temporarily.
当它减少时，性欲也会减少，至少暂时是这样。
So it's not just the lack of sleep that makes new parents less interested in sex.
因此，不仅仅是缺乏睡眠让新父母对性的兴趣降低了。
But overall, it's probably a good thing this happens,
但总的来说，这可能是好事，
since researchers have found that dads with lower testosterone levels are more responsive to their baby's cues.
因为研究人员发现，睾酮水平较低的父亲对宝宝的暗示反应更灵敏。
Maybe because they're not thinking so much about making new babies.
也许是因为他们不太想要生孩子。
So, it's not just pregnancy and labor that cause the physiological changes that come with being a new parent.
因此，不仅仅是怀孕分娩导致了新父母的生理变化。
Instead, neuroscientists think it's actually behaving like a parent that affects your brain and hormones.
神经科学家认为它的行为就像影响你大脑和荷尔蒙的父母。
It doesn't really matter whether you're a mom or a dad:
不管你是妈妈还是爸爸，
interacting with and caring for an infant reshapes your brain and your body
与婴儿的互动和照顾都会重塑你的大脑和身体，
in ways that help you be a better parent.
这样会帮助你成为更好的父母。
Even if it feels like you have absolutely no idea what you're doing at first,
即使你觉得你根本不知道自己先做什么，
evolution has prepared you for parenthood more than you think!
进化让你对为人父母的准备比你想象的要多！
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!
感谢您收看本期的心理科学秀！
If you're interested in learning more about weird baby feelings,
如果你有兴趣了解更多关于怪异婴儿的感受。
you can check out our video about why you sometimes want to squeeze cute things… like my baby.
可以查看我们的视频：为什么你有时想挤可爱的东西…比如我的孩子。
