TED演讲:什么是疼痛(2)

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　　chemicals released when you're in pain or during extreme exercise, creating the runner's high. 这些是你疼痛或剧烈运动时释放的化学物质，它使运动员保持高水平。

　　These chemical systems help regulate and reduce pain. 这些化学系统帮助调节并减轻疼痛。

　　All these networks and pathways work together to create your pain experience, 所有这些网络和通路互相作用使你产生疼痛的体验，

　　to prevent further tissue damage, and help you to cope with pain. 减轻肌肉伤害，并帮助你处理疼痛。

　　This system is similar for everyone, 每个人的系统都类似，

　　but the sensitivity and efficacy of these brain circuits determines how much you feel and cope with pain. 不过大脑循环的敏感度和效率决定了你对疼痛的感受和处理疼痛的方式。

　　This is why some people have greater pain than others 这就是为什么有些人觉得比别人疼，

　　and why some develop chronic³ pain that does not respond to treatment, while others respond well. 为什么一些人有长期病痛却并没有因治疗好转，而其他人却好了。

　　Variability in pain sensitivities is not so different than all kinds of variability in responses to other stimuli⁴. 疼痛感受与对刺激的各种反应的差异性没多大差别。

　　Like how some people love roller coasters, but other people suffer from terrible motion sickness. 比如一些人酷爱过山车，其他人就觉得那种剧烈移动很难受。

　　Why does it matter that there is variability in our pain brain circuits? 为什么我们疼痛脑路的差异那么重要呢？

　　Well, there are many treatments for pain, targeting different systems. 首先，针对不同的系统，有许多疼痛的治疗手段。

　　For mild pain, non-prescription medications can act on cells where the pain signals start. 对于轻微的痛苦，非处方药可以作用于导致疼痛的细胞。

　　Other stronger pain medicines and anesthetics work 其他更强的疼痛药和麻醉剂可作用于

　　by reducing the activity in pain-sensing circuits or boosting our coping system, or endorphins. 减轻疼痛感知回路活动或者增强处理系统或脑内啡。

　　Some people can cope with pain using methods that involve distraction⁵, relaxation⁶, meditation⁷, yoga, 一些人可以用某些方法对付疼痛，比如转移注意力、休息、冥想、瑜伽，

　　or strategies that can be taught, like cognitive⁸ behavioral therapy. 或一些可以学到的策略，如认知行为治疗。

　　For some people who suffer from severe chronic pain, 对于一些遭受严重慢性疼痛的人，

　　that is pain that doesn't go away months after their injury should have healed, none of the regular treatments work. 即那种在痊愈几个月后都不会减轻的疼痛，常规治疗不起作用。

　　Traditionally, medical science has been about testing treatments on large groups 一般来说，药物研究是测试大量人群的结果，

　　to determine what would help a majority of patients. 以此判断它是否能帮助大部分患者。

　　But this has usually left out some who didn't benefit from the treatment or experienced side effects. 不过确实有些人没有从治疗中受益或感受到副作用。

　　Now, new treatments that directly stimulate⁹ or block certain pain-sensing attention or modulation networks are being developed,  现在，新的治疗手段如直接刺激或阻断特定的疼痛意识或调整网络已经被研究出来，

　　along with ways to tailor them to individual patients, 它针对于特定的病人，

　　using tools like magnetic resonance¹⁰ imaging to map brain pathways. 使用像磁共振成像工具来绘制脑路。

　　Figuring out how your brain responds to pain is the key to finding the best treatment for you. 研究大脑如何处理疼痛是找到最好治疗办法的关键。

　　That's true personalized medicine. 这才是真的私人治疗。

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