美妇女大脑扁桃核损伤 不知害怕为何物

According to the AP on December 16, US scientists have discovered a woman, SM, with a rare brain disease that makes her afraid of nothing -- not a huge snake lurking near her children, not a knife to her throat, and certainly not a horror movie。

SM isn't some cold-blooded psychopath or a hero with a tight rein on her emotions. She's an ordinary mother of three with a specific psychological impairment, the result of a very rare genetic disease that damaged a brain structure called the amygdale。

Her case shows that the amygdale plays a key role in making people feel afraid in threatening situations, researchers say。

Other research shows SM scores normally on tests of intelligence, memory and language, and she experiences emotions other than fear. She lives independently。

据美联社12月16日报道，美国科学家近日发现美国一名妇女SM得来一种罕见的大脑疾病，导致她不会产生恐惧情绪。她不害怕靠近她孩子的巨蛇，也不怕架在她脖子上的匕首，更不害怕恐怖电影。

专家通过研究发现，SM并非冷血的精神病患者，也不是无畏的英雄。她是一位有三个小孩的普通母亲，患有特殊心理障碍疾病。专家研究结果表明这种疾病是一种罕见的遗传病，导致她的大脑组织扁桃体受到了破坏。

专家称，SM的病例说明，扁桃核在恐怖的环境里对产生恐惧情绪起着关键的作用。

其他研究显示，SM在智力、记忆力和语言测试等方面表现很正常。除了恐惧情绪外，其他情绪跟常人一样，另外，她的生活也很独立。