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If you're not the one doing the whole pregnancy-and-labor thing,
如果你沒經歷過妊娠分娩，
the physical changes you go through when your kid is born might not be as dramatic.
那么孩子出生時，你的生理變化可能不那么戲劇化。
But it's still pretty obvious when you become a parent, more it might say that it's a parent.
但當你成為父母時，變化仍很明顯。
You get those dark circles under your eyes from the constant lack of sleep.
你會因持續缺乏睡眠而黑眼圈，
Not to mention your style might change a little bit,
更不用提生活方式都可能會有點兒變化：
goodbye expensive duds, helllllllo spit up-stained T-shirts and sweatpants.
你要與昂貴的衣服說再見，與吐得污穢的T恤衫和寬松長運動褲打交道了。
You might even find yourself with a more cuddly physique, the classic "dad bod".
你甚至會發現自己有了一個更可愛的體格——典型的“爸爸肚”。
But the changes on the outside are just the beginning.
但外在變化只是開始。
Your insides change a lot, too, leading to what you might call dad brain, or even just parent brain:
你的內部也發生了許多變化，導致了所謂的“爸爸大腦”，甚至是“父母大腦”。
tweaks to your brain tissue and hormones that prepare you to take better care of your kids.
它會調整你的腦組織和荷爾蒙，讓你準備更好地照顧孩子。
The changes that happen to parents who haven't just given birth have been harder to study
那些沒生孩子的父母所發生的變化更難以研究，
because the animals we use in labs usually don't have both parents involved in childcare.
因為我們實驗室使用的動物通常沒有父母雙親參與照顧。
Instead, researchers are mostly limited to looking at what's happening in people's brains using newer technologies,
研究人員大多局限于使用新技術研究人們大腦中的情況，
like MRI, which measures activity in different areas of the brain based on blood flow.
比如核磁共振成像，它基于血液流動來測量大腦不同區域的活動。
And they've learned a lot in the last few years!
近年來他們取得了很大進展！
Before we get into that, though,
不過在我們開始話題之前，
it's worth noting that almost all of the research on this only looks at traditional families:
要注意幾乎所有的研究都只著眼于傳統家庭，
a mother and a father, both biologically related to the child,
即爸爸媽媽都與孩子有生理聯系，
with the mother doing most of the caregiving.
并且媽媽做大部分照料工作。
So for some of this, we don't yet know how exactly it would apply to other types of families
基于這些原因，我們還不知道它如何適用于其他類型的家庭：
like parents who adopt, or same-sex couples,
比如那些收養孩子的父母，或者同性伴侶，
or even parents who do equal amounts of childcare!
甚至育兒工作平分的父母!
Which, like, maybe scientists should get on that.
也許科學家們應該對此進行研究。
But based on what they've learned so far,
但是根據他們目前了解到的，
it seems like a lot of the same brain-related changes
與大腦相關的許多變化
that happen in parents who just gave birth also happen in parents who didn't.
在生育孩子的父母和沒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，我們知道，孩子出生后，父母大腦的某些區域會變大。
And a 2014 study in the journal Social Neuroscience found
2014年《社會神經科學》雜志的一項研究發現
similar patterns in the brains of new fathers from heterosexual couples.
異性夫婦的大腦與新爸爸的大腦相似。
Using MRIs, the researchers looked at 16 new dads' brains
利用核磁共振成像技術，研究人員觀察了16位新爸爸的大腦，
and found that the size of certain areas increased in the first few months after their child was born.
發現孩子出生后的頭幾個月里，他們大腦的特定區域面積增加了。
The areas that grew were involved in things like planning parental behaviors,
增加的區域涉及到計劃父母行為、
responding to infant cues, and feeling good about attachment and bonding.
回應嬰兒暗示、以及對依戀和聯系感覺良好等。
So it's not just new moms whose brains grow in places
因此，不僅僅是新媽媽們的某些大腦區域在增加，
that help you decide when your baby's next feeding should be, react to their cries,
這些區域包括幫助你決定寶寶下一次喂食的時間、如何應對他們的哭聲
or feel all fuzzy when you're snuggling them
以及你擁抱他們時的模糊感覺。
But there were also some changes unique to the new dads, areas of the brain that shrank.
新爸爸們也有了一些獨特變化，他們的大腦區域縮小了。
For example, they lost volume in places associated with daydreaming,
例如，與白日夢有關的大腦區域丟失了，
because yes, neuroscientists have actually mapped the "la la land" area of your brain.
沒錯，神經科學家已經繪制了你大腦的“愛樂之城”區域。
The team thinks this shrinkage might reflect the dads' increased vigilance in looking out for their helpless babies.
研究小組認為，這種收縮可能反映的是爸爸們在照顧無助嬰兒時提高了警惕。
Researchers did not see the same thing in a similar study of new moms,
研究人員在對新媽媽們的類似研究中沒有發現同樣現象，
although that could be because pregnancy already changes the brain in a lot of ways,
盡管這可能是因為懷孕已經在很多方面改變了她們的大腦，
including shrinking in these areas.
包括這些區域的萎縮。
The new dads also lost gray matter in areas involved in stress and anxiety,
新爸爸們也在壓力和焦慮區域失去了灰質，
which might reflect settling in to their role as a parent.
這可能反映了他們正在適應家長的角色。
That also didn't show up in new moms.
這種現象也沒有出現在新媽媽們身上。
Then there are the hormones.
然后是荷爾蒙。
Studies have found that circulating levels of prolactin and oxytocin increase in new parents.
研究發現，新父母體內催乳素和催產素的含量增加了。
Prolactin gets its name because it promotes lactation,
催乳素因促進泌乳而得名，
so it makes sense that you'd have higher levels if you're breastfeeding.
所以如果你母乳喂養的話，催乳素會提高泌乳水平。
But prolactin levels increase even in parents who aren't breastfeeding,
但即使不是母乳喂養，父母的泌乳素水平也會提高，
because it's responsible for so much more than just milk.
因為它不僅僅是母乳。
It's considered the most versatile hormone in your body,
它被認為是你體內最多才多藝的激素，
and it regulates a lot of parental behaviors,
調節很多父母行為，
to the point that it's sometimes just straight-up called the parental hormone.
在這一點上，它有時被直接稱為親代激素。
Prolactin levels spike when parents interact with their kids,
當父母與孩子互動時，泌乳素水平會飆升，
and studies have found that higher levels correlate with a greater desire to calm a crying child.
研究發現，較高水平的泌乳素與安撫哭泣孩子的更大渴望有關。
Oxytocin also plays an important role in forming bonds, including those between parents and kids,
催產素在形成聯系，包括親子關系中也起著重要作用，
which is why you'll sometimes see it nicknamed the "love hormone".
這就是為什么你有時昵稱它為“愛荷爾蒙”。
And some studies have found that when you spray doses of it into parents' noses,
一些研究發現，當你噴些催產素到父母鼻子上時，
they become more playful and affectionate with their kids.
他們變得更幽默，更愛孩子。
But these hormones don't necessarily do the same thing in both parents.
但是這些激素在雙親中的作用未必相同。
In studies of heterosexual couples,
在對異性夫婦的研究中發現，
increases in oxytocin and prolactin have been associated with affectionate behaviors in moms, like snuggling.
催產素和催乳素的增加與媽媽的親昵行為有關，比如依偎。
In dads, on the other hand, they're associated with play behaviors,
另一方面，在爸爸們身上，它們與玩耍行為有關，
also a way to bond with the baby, but different from what's usually seen in moms.
這也是與嬰兒建立聯系的一種方式，但不同于通常在媽媽身上看到的。
While all this extra prolactin and oxytocin is running around, testosterone decreases.
當所有額外的催乳激素和催產素在運轉時，睪酮會減少。
Testosterone is associated with sexual desire in both males and females,
睪酮與男性和女性的性欲有關，
and when it decreases, so does libido, at least temporarily.
當它減少時，性欲也會減少，至少暫時是這樣。
So it's not just the lack of sleep that makes new parents less interested in sex.
因此，不僅僅是缺乏睡眠讓新父母對性的興趣降低了。
But overall, it's probably a good thing this happens,
但總的來說，這可能是好事，
since researchers have found that dads with lower testosterone levels are more responsive to their baby's cues.
因為研究人員發現，睪酮水平較低的父親對寶寶的暗示反應更靈敏。
Maybe because they're not thinking so much about making new babies.
也許是因為他們不太想要生孩子。
So, it's not just pregnancy and labor that cause the physiological changes that come with being a new parent.
因此，不僅僅是懷孕分娩導致了新父母的生理變化。
Instead, neuroscientists think it's actually behaving like a parent that affects your brain and hormones.
神經科學家認為它的行為就像影響你大腦和荷爾蒙的父母。
It doesn't really matter whether you're a mom or a dad:
不管你是媽媽還是爸爸，
interacting with and caring for an infant reshapes your brain and your body
與嬰兒的互動和照顧都會重塑你的大腦和身體，
in ways that help you be a better parent.
這樣會幫助你成為更好的父母。
Even if it feels like you have absolutely no idea what you're doing at first,
即使你覺得你根本不知道自己先做什么，
evolution has prepared you for parenthood more than you think!
進化讓你對為人父母的準備比你想象的要多！
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!
感謝您收看本期的心理科學秀！
If you're interested in learning more about weird baby feelings,
如果你有興趣了解更多關于怪異嬰兒的感受。
you can check out our video about why you sometimes want to squeeze cute things… like my baby.
可以查看我們的視頻：為什么你有時想擠可愛的東西…比如我的孩子。
