Annie Murphy Paul: What we learn before we're born

翻译人员: Chunxiang Qian 校对人员: Zhang XinYue

My subject today is learning.

我今天要谈的是学习

And in that spirit, I want to spring on you all a pop quiz.

对此我想给各位做个小测验

Ready?

准备好了吗？

When does learning begin?

我们从什么时候开始学习？

Now as you ponder that question,

当你考虑这个问题的时候

maybe you're thinking about the first day of preschool

大概会想学前班或者幼儿园的

or kindergarten,

头一天

the first time that kids are in a classroom with a teacher.

那是孩子在教室见到老师的第一天

Or maybe you've called to mind the toddler phase

也许你会想到小孩初习走路和说话时

when children are learning how to walk and talk

的样子

and use a fork.

和学习用叉子的时候

Maybe you've encountered the Zero-to-Three movement,

也许你会想到0－3岁运动

which asserts that the most important years for learning

那段被认为是最重要的学习阶段

are the earliest ones.

这是最早开始学习的时候

And so your answer to my question would be:

那么你的答案可能是：

Learning begins at birth.

从出生就开始学习

Well today I want to present to you

今天我要讲的观点就是

an idea that may be surprising

也许这很出人意料

and may even seem implausible,

并且似乎不太有说服力

but which is supported by the latest evidence

但是根据最新的

from psychology and biology.

心理学和生物学研究

And that is that some of the most important learning we ever do

我们最重要的学习有一部分

happens before we're born,

在我们出生前就开始了

while we're still in the womb.

那时我们还在子宫里

Now I'm a science reporter.

我是一名科学记者

I write books and magazine articles.

写书和给杂志供稿

And I'm also a mother.

我也是一名母亲

And those two roles came together for me

这两个角色

in a book that I wrote called "Origins."

在我写的一本叫《源头》的书上合为一体

"Origins" is a report from the front lines

《源头》是一本关于

of an exciting new field

一个令人振奋的新领域－胚胎起源论的

called fetal origins.

纪实报道

Fetal origins is a scientific discipline

胚胎起源论是一个科学分支

that emerged just about two decades ago,

出现于大约二十年前

and it's based on the theory

其理论基础是

that our health and well-being throughout our lives

我们的终身健康和幸福

is crucially affected

极大地取决于

by the nine months we spend in the womb.

在子宫中的九个月

Now this theory was of more than just intellectual interest to me.

我对这个理论不仅是知识上的兴趣

I was myself pregnant

当我研究这本书的时候

while I was doing the research for the book.

我怀孕了

And one of the most fascinating insights

我从研究中了解到的

I took from this work

最新奇的观点是

is that we're all learning about the world

我们对世界的认知

even before we enter it.

在没有来到这个世界之前就开始了

When we hold our babies for the first time,

当我们怀孕的时候

we might imagine that they're clean slates,

也许以为他们只是白纸一张

unmarked by life,

没有标记的生命

when in fact, they've already been shaped by us

但事实上他们已经开始接受

and by the particular world we live in.

来自我们和我们生活的世界的影响

Today I want to share with you some of the amazing things

今天我想与各位分享一些有趣的事实

that scientists are discovering

是关于科学家发现的

about what fetuses learn

胎儿在母亲子宫里的

while they're still in their mothers' bellies.

学习到的东西

First of all,

首先

they learn the sound of their mothers' voices.

他们会认知母亲的声音

Because sounds from the outside world

因为外界的声音

have to travel through the mother's abdominal tissue

会穿过母亲的身体

and through the amniotic fluid that surrounds the fetus,

和包裹着胎儿的羊水

the voices fetuses hear,

胎儿从妊娠四个月开始

starting around the fourth month of gestation,

就能够听见的声音

are muted and muffled.

是微弱低沉的

One researcher says

一个研究者说

that they probably sound a lot like the the voice of Charlie Brown's teacher

那声音听起来就象那部老卡通片《花生米》里

in the old "Peanuts" cartoon.

查里･布朗的老师的声音

But the pregnant woman's own voice

但是母亲的声音

reverberates through her body,

经过自己身体的反射

reaching the fetus much more readily.

可以很容易地到达胎儿

And because the fetus is with her all the time,

并且因为一直相处

it hears her voice a lot.

胎儿能一直听到母亲声音

Once the baby's born, it recognizes her voice

一旦出生，宝宝就能识别出母亲的声音

and it prefers listening to her voice

并且比起别人的声音

over anyone else's.

宝宝更喜欢母亲的

How can we know this?

我们是怎么知道这一切的呢？

Newborn babies can't do much,

新生儿不能做太多事情

but one thing they're really good at is sucking.

但是他们很擅长吮吸

Researchers take advantage of this fact

研究者利用这一点

by rigging up two rubber nipples,

把两个橡胶乳头固定在一起

so that if a baby sucks on one,

如果婴儿吮吸其中一个

it hears a recording of its mother's voice

就用耳机播放

on a pair of headphones,

他母亲的录音

and if it sucks on the other nipple,

如果吮吸另一个

it hears a recording of a female stranger's voice.

就播放一个陌生女性的声音

Babies quickly show their preference

婴儿很快表现出他们的偏好

by choosing the first one.

他们选择第一个乳头

Scientists also take advantage of the fact

科学家也发现

that babies will slow down their sucking

当婴儿被其他事物吸引的时候

when something interests them

吮吸的速度就会慢下来

and resume their fast sucking

或者当他们无聊了

when they get bored.

也会放慢吮吸

This is how researchers discovered

研究者通过这一点发现

that, after women repeatedly read aloud

如果母亲在孕期高声地

a section of Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat" while they were pregnant,

念一章苏斯博士的《帽子里的猫》

their newborn babies recognized that passage

他们的新生儿在出生后

when they hear it outside the womb.

仍然能识别这一段

My favorite experiment of this kind

我最喜欢的一个实验是

is the one that showed that the babies

如果母亲在孕期

of women who watched a certain soap opera

每天看同一个肥皂剧

every day during pregnancy

婴儿就能够

recognized the theme song of that show

在出生后识别出这个电视剧的

once they were born.

主题曲

So fetuses are even learning

婴儿甚至能够学习

about the particular language that's spoken

出生环境中

in the world that they'll be born into.

使用的语言

A study published last year

去年发表的一个研究

found that from birth, from the moment of birth,

说道从出生那一刻开始

babies cry in the accent

婴儿就会用

of their mother's native language.

母亲母语的口音啼哭

French babies cry on a rising note

法国婴儿哭起来升调

while German babies end on a falling note,

而德国婴儿哭起来降调

imitating the melodic contours

就象模拟他们各自语言的

of those languages.

音律轮廓

Now why would this kind of fetal learning

那么这些发现

be useful?

都有什么用呢？

It may have evolved to aid the baby's survival.

这些是进化中帮助婴儿生存的技能

From the moment of birth,

从出生那一刻起

the baby responds most to the voice

婴儿就对最关怀他的人

of the person who is most likely to care for it --

也就是母亲的声音

its mother.

反应最强

It even makes its cries

甚至按照母亲语言的

sound like the mother's language,

腔调啼哭

which may further endear the baby to the mother,

这会让母婴关系更亲密

and which may give the baby a head start

也帮助婴儿

in the critical task

开始重要的

of learning how to understand and speak

母语理解

its native language.

和学习

But it's not just sounds

婴儿在子宫里

that fetuses are learning about in utero.

学习不仅是声音

It's also tastes and smells.

也学习味道和气味

By seven months of gestation,

妊娠七个月的时候

the fetus' taste buds are fully developed,

胎儿的味蕾已经完全发育

and its olfactory receptors, which allow it to smell,

嗅觉器官的神经末梢

are functioning.

也能工作了

The flavors of the food a pregnant woman eats

孕妇摄取食物的味道

find their way into the amniotic fluid,

通过羊水

which is continuously swallowed

被胎儿

by the fetus.

吞食

Babies seem to remember and prefer these tastes

婴儿似乎能够在出生后仍然记住这些味道

once they're out in the world.

并对其产生偏好

In one experiment, a group of pregnant women

在一个实验中，一组孕妇

was asked to drink a lot of carrot juice

被要求在晚期妊娠中

during their third trimester of pregnancy,

喝下许多胡萝卜汁

while another group of pregnant women

而另一组孕妇则

drank only water.

只饮水

Six months later, the women's infants

六个月后

were offered cereal mixed with carrot juice,

他们喂食新生儿含胡萝卜汁的麦片粥

and their facial expressions were observed while they ate it.

并观察他们的面部表情

The offspring of the carrot juice drinking women

喝过胡萝卜汁母亲的孩子

ate more carrot-flavored cereal,

会吃更多的胡萝卜汁味的麦片粥

and from the looks of it,

他们看起来

they seemed to enjoy it more.

更喜欢这个味道

A sort of French version of this experiment

法国也有一个类似的试验

was carried out in Dijon, France

是在法国第戎进行的

where researchers found

研究者发现

that mothers who consumed food and drink

母亲在孕期摄取的食物和饮料

flavored with licorice-flavored anise during pregnancy

是甘草茴香味的话

showed a preference for anise

婴儿从出生起

on their first day of life,

就偏好茴香味

and again, when they were tested later,

其后第四天的测试中

on their fourth day of life.

也是这样

Babies whose mothers did not eat anise during pregnancy

但是母亲没有在妊娠期食用茴香的婴儿

showed a reaction that translated roughly as "yuck."

则表现出“恶心”的表情

What this means

也就是说

is that fetuses are effectively being taught by their mothers

婴儿强烈地受到母亲影响

about what is safe and good to eat.

哪些食物是安全好吃的

Fetuses are also being taught

婴儿也被教授

about the particular culture that they'll be joining

他们出生地的文化

through one of culture's most powerful expressions,

文化的一个重要内容

which is food.

就是食物

They're being introduced to the characteristic flavors and spices

他们甚至在出生之前就尝试到这个文化的食物

of their culture's cuisine

具有的特定的

even before birth.

味道和香料

Now it turns out that fetuses are learning even bigger lessons.

不过胎儿学习的东西还有更多的

But before I get to that,

首先

I want to address something that you may be wondering about.

我想解释下你可能疑惑的地方

The notion of fetal learning

胎儿学习这个概念

may conjure up for you attempts to enrich the fetus --

可能会让你有胎教的想法－

like playing Mozart through headphones

就像把耳机放在大肚子上

placed on a pregnant belly.

放莫扎特

But actually, the nine-month-long process

但是九个月的妊娠过程

of molding and shaping that goes on in the womb

子宫里的变化和发展

is a lot more visceral and consequential than that.

是更接近器官性的间接发生的一种关系

Much of what a pregnant woman encounters in her daily life --

一个孕妇每天的生活中－

the air she breathes,

她呼吸的空气

the food and drink she consumes,

摄取的食物和饮料

the chemicals she's exposed to,

接触到的化学物质

even the emotions she feels --

甚至是她的情绪－

are shared in some fashion with her fetus.

都会影响到胎儿

They make up a mix of influences

这些影响混合在一起

as individual and idiosyncratic

既是各自对婴儿的外界影响

as the woman herself.

也是母亲自己对婴儿的影响

The fetus incorporates these offerings

婴儿接受到

into its own body,

这些影响

makes them part of its flesh and blood.

成为他们自身的一部分

And often it does something more.

并产生更多的影响

It treats these maternal contributions

母亲传递这些内容对他们

as information,

是信息

as what I like to call biological postcards

我将其称为来自外界的

from the world outside.

生物名信片

So what a fetus is learning about in utero

所以婴儿在子宫里学到的

is not Mozart's "Magic Flute"

不是莫扎特的魔笛

but answers to questions much more critical to its survival.

而是对他们更重要的生存问题的解答

Will it be born into a world of abundance

他出生的世界会资源充足

or scarcity?

还是贫乏？

Will it be safe and protected,

他能受到保护吗

or will it face constant dangers and threats?

还是得面对危险和威胁？

Will it live a long, fruitful life

他能生活得长久富足吗

or a short, harried one?

还是短暂折磨的生活？

The pregnant woman's diet and stress level in particular

孕妇的食物和压力水平

provide important clues to prevailing conditions

就象标杆一样给出了

like a finger lifted to the wind.

她所处环境的线索

The resulting tuning and tweaking

对婴儿大脑和其他器官

of a fetus' brain and other organs

影响的结果是

are part of what give us humans

人类所处环境多样性的

our enormous flexibility,

部分结果

our ability to thrive

我们在各种各样环境中

in a huge variety of environments,

生存的能力

from the country to the city,

从乡村到城市

from the tundra to the desert.

从苔原到沙漠

To conclude, I want to tell you two stories

总而言之我想说两个

about how mothers teach their children about the world

母亲是怎样在孩子尚未出生之前

even before they're born.

教他们认识世界的

In the autumn of 1944,

1944年秋天

the darkest days of World War II,

二战进行最惨烈的期间

German troops blockaded Western Holland,

德国军队封锁了荷兰西部

turning away all shipments of food.

截下所有运送食物的车辆

The opening of the Nazi's siege

纳粹围攻开始后

was followed by one of the harshest winters in decades --

是十年间最难熬的一个冬天

so cold the water in the canals froze solid.

运河全都冻住了

Soon food became scarce,

食物紧缺

with many Dutch surviving on just 500 calories a day --

很多荷兰人每天只摄取500卡路里－

a quarter of what they consumed before the war.

只有战前的四分之一

As weeks of deprivation stretched into months,

这样挣扎了几个月

some resorted to eating tulip bulbs.

一些人开始吃郁金香的球茎

By the beginning of May,

五月初

the nation's carefully rationed food reserve

国家苦心经营的粮食配给

was completely exhausted.

终于告罄

The specter of mass starvation loomed.

大片的饥荒开始蔓延

And then on May 5th, 1945,

后来1945年五月五号

the siege came to a sudden end

包围突然结束

when Holland was liberated

荷兰被盟军

by the Allies.

解放

The "Hunger Winter," as it came to be known,

这个“饥荒的冬天”里

killed some 10,000 people

大概有10,000丧生

and weakened thousands more.

上千人虚弱不堪

But there was another population that was affected --

同时还有个群体也受到了影响－

the 40,000 fetuses

40,000名在围攻期间

in utero during the siege.

还在母腹中的胎儿

Some of the effects of malnutrition during pregnancy

妊娠期间的营养不良

were immediately apparent

导致后来出现的

in higher rates of stillbirths,

极高的死胎

birth defects, low birth weights

出生缺陷 新生儿体重不足

and infant mortality.

和新生儿死亡

But others wouldn't be discovered for many years.

但还有一些影响很多年后才显现出来

Decades after the "Hunger Winter,"

“饥荒的冬天”数十年后

researchers documented

研究者纪录了

that people whose mothers were pregnant during the siege

在包围期间怀孕的母亲产下的孩子

have more obesity, more diabetes

在其后的生活中比起其他

and more heart disease in later life

在正常怀孕状况产下的孩子

than individuals who were gestated under normal conditions.

有更高的肥胖症，糖尿病和心脏病症状

These individuals' prenatal experience of starvation

这些人在胎儿期经历了饥荒

seems to have changed their bodies

从而在诸多方面身体

in myriad ways.

受到了影响

They have higher blood pressure,

他们的血压更高

poorer cholesterol profiles

高胆固醇

and reduced glucose tolerance --

低葡萄糖耐量－

a precursor of diabetes.

糖尿病的前兆

Why would undernutrition in the womb

为什么母体中经历的营养不良

result in disease later?

会引发这些疾病？

One explanation

一个解释是

is that fetuses are making the best of a bad situation.

婴儿会在恶劣环境下最大化生存可能

When food is scarce,

当食物紧缺

they divert nutrients towards the really critical organ, the brain,

他们把营养留给最重要的器官－大脑

and away from other organs

而减少其他器官诸如

like the heart and liver.

心脏和肝脏的供给

This keeps the fetus alive in the short-term,

这能让胎儿在短期内生存

but the bill comes due later on in life

但是影响在后来的生活中显现

when those other organs, deprived early on,

当这些早期无法获得足够营养的器官

become more susceptible to disease.

就变的更容易受到疾病影响

But that may not be all that's going on.

但是这还不能说明全部状况

It seems that fetuses are taking cues

似乎婴儿在从

from the intrauterine environment

他们的子宫环境中获取信息

and tailoring their physiology accordingly.

从而去适应

They're preparing themselves

他们准备好自身

for the kind of world they will encounter

来面对母体外的

on the other side of the womb.

世界

The fetus adjusts its metabolism

胎儿调整自身的新成代谢

and other physiological processes

和其他生理机能

in anticipation of the environment that awaits it.

来应对将到来的世界

And the basis of the fetus' prediction

而胎儿对此判断的依据

is what its mother eats.

就是母亲的食物

The meals a pregnant woman consumes

一个孕妇的食物

constitute a kind of story,

形成了一个故事

a fairy tale of abundance

一个富饶的童话

or a grim chronicle of deprivation.

或者一个严酷挣扎的编年史

This story imparts information

婴儿从故事中获取

that the fetus uses

信息

to organize its body and its systems --

并据此组织自身系统－

an adaptation to prevailing circumstances

这是对外部环境的适应

that facilitates its future survival.

来保证自己的生存

Faced with severely limited resources,

面对有限的资源

a smaller-sized child with reduced energy requirements

个头小的孩子能减少能源需求

will, in fact, have a better chance

从而增加长到成年的

of living to adulthood.

几率

The real trouble comes

真正的问题是

when pregnant women are, in a sense, unreliable narrators,

当怀孕的母亲是个不可靠的引导者

when fetuses are led

婴儿就会被引导了

to expect a world of scarcity

去预期一个匮乏的环境

and are born instead into a world of plenty.

但是出生到一个丰足的环境里

This is what happened to the children of the Dutch "Hunger Winter."

这就是荷兰“饥荒的冬天”环境出生的孩子

And their higher rates of obesity,

他们的高肥胖率

diabetes and heart disease

糖尿病和心脏病

are the result.

就是这样的结果

Bodies that were built to hang onto every calorie

他们的身体准备寻找每一个卡路里

found themselves swimming in the superfluous calories

但是发现战后的西方饮食中

of the post-war Western diet.

是卡路里的海洋

The world they had learned about while in utero

他们在子宫里对外界的认知

was not the same

跟他们实际出生的世界

as the world into which they were born.

是不一样的

Here's another story.

还有一个故事

At 8:46 a.m. on September 11th, 2001,

2001年9月11日早上八点四十六分

there were tens of thousands of people

纽约的世贸中心

in the vicinity of the World Trade Center

周边地区

in New York --

有上万人－

commuters spilling off trains,

乘地铁上班的人

waitresses setting tables for the morning rush,

因为早晨高峰期忙碌的服务生

brokers already working the phones on Wall Street.

在华尔街开始工作的股票经纪人

1,700 of these people were pregnant women.

这些人里有1,700人是孕妇

When the planes struck and the towers collapsed,

当飞机撞向双子塔

many of these women experienced the same horrors

很多女性经历了恐惧感

inflicted on other survivors of the disaster --

很多其他灾难幸存者也经历过的－

the overwhelming chaos and confusion,

这种无比巨大的混乱不堪

the rolling clouds

滚滚升起的浓烟

of potentially toxic dust and debris,

裹着可能有毒的烟尘和残骸

the heart-pounding fear for their lives.

还有死亡的恐惧

About a year after 9/11,

911事件一年后

researchers examined a group of women

研究者调查了一组

who were pregnant

是在经历世贸中心袭击事件

when they were exposed to the World Trade Center attack.

怀孕的女性

In the babies of those women

这些女性

who developed post-traumatic stress syndrome, or PTSD,

在精神创伤后表现出了创伤后应激障碍

following their ordeal,

PTSD

researchers discovered a biological marker

研究者发现了她们孩子身上有对PTSD敏感的

of susceptibility to PTSD --

生物学标志

an effect that was most pronounced

母亲在晚期妊娠期间经历的

in infants whose mothers experienced the catastrophe

孩子表现出最显著的这种

in their third trimester.

特征

In other words,

也就是说

the mothers with post-traumatic stress syndrome

有创伤后应激障碍的母亲

had passed on a vulnerability to the condition

把对环境的脆弱性

to their children while they were still in utero.

也传递给了还在子宫中的孩子

Now consider this:

那么

post-traumatic stress syndrome

创伤后应激障碍

appears to be a reaction to stress gone very wrong,

是一种对压力的过度反应

causing its victims tremendous unnecessary suffering.

导致受害者遭受不必要的痛苦

But there's another way of thinking about PTSD.

但是也可以从另一个角度看PTSD

What looks like pathology to us

从病理学角度的一个解释

may actually be a useful adaptation

也许在某种情况下

in some circumstances.

这是一种有用的适应

In a particularly dangerous environment,

在一个危险的环境中

the characteristic manifestations of PTSD --

PTSD的特征表现－

a hyper-awareness of one's surroundings,

对环境极度敏感

a quick-trigger response to danger --

对危险快速反应

could save someone's life.

能救一个人的命

The notion that the prenatal transmission of PTSD risk is adaptive

产前PTSD母婴遗传的概念

is still speculative,

仍然在研究中

but I find it rather poignant.

但我发现重要的是

It would mean that, even before birth,

这意味着在出生之前

mothers are warning their children

母亲就在警告孩子

that it's a wild world out there,

世界很危险

telling them, "Be careful."

告诉他们“要小心”

Let me be clear.

整理一下

Fetal origins research is not about blaming women

胚胎起源论不是责备母亲

for what happens during pregnancy.

发生在孕期的事情

It's about discovering how best to promote

而在于发现怎样才能提高

the health and well-being of the next generation.

下一代的身心健康

That important effort must include a focus

这个努力与

on what fetuses learn

胎儿在

during the nine months they spend in the womb.

子宫的九个月是分不开的

Learning is one of life's most essential activities,

学习是生命最重要的活动之一

and it begins much earlier

并且比我们想像的

than we ever imagined.

早就开始了

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

（掌声）