Putting feelings into words makes sadness and anger less intense, U.S. brain researchers said on Wednesday, in a finding that explains why talking to a therapist(1) -- or even a sympathetic(2) bartender -- often makes people feel better.

They said talking about negative feelings activates a part of the brain responsible for impulse control.

"This region of the brain seems to be involved in putting on the brakes(3)," said University of California, Los Angeles researcher Matthew Lieberman.

He and colleagues scanned the brains of 30 people -- 18 women and 12 men between 18 and 36 -- who were shown pictures of faces expressing strong emotions.

They were asked to categorize(4) the feelings in words like sad or angry, or to choose between two gender-specific names like "Sally or Harry" that matched the face.

What they found is that when people attached a word like angry to an angry-looking face, the response in the amygdale(5) portion of the brain that handles fear, panic and other strong emotions decreased.

"This seems to dampen(6) down the response in these basic emotional circuits in the brain -- in this case the amygdala," Lieberman said in a telephone interview.

What lights up instead is the right ventrolateral(7) prefrontal(8) cortex(9), part of the brain that controls impulses.

"This is the only region of the entire brain that is more active when you choose an emotion word for the picture than when you choose a name for the picture," he said.

He said the same region of the brain has been found in prior studies to play a role in motor control.

"If you are driving along and you see a yellow light, you have to inhibit one response in order to step on the brake," he said. "This same region helps to inhibit emotional responses as well."

The researchers did not find significant differences along gender lines, but Lieberman said prior studies have hinted at some differences in the benefits men and women derive from talking about their feelings.

"Women may do more of this spontaneously(10), but when men are instructed to do it, they may get more benefit from it," he said.

周三，美國大腦科學(xué)家稱：將悲傷和憤怒轉(zhuǎn)化成語言人就會感覺好很多。此發(fā)現(xiàn)能解釋為什么當(dāng)人們和心理醫(yī)生、甚至是有共鳴的酒吧招待訴說心里話后心情會舒暢些。

科學(xué)家說談心能夠刺激大腦中負(fù)責(zé)控制沖動的部分。

加利福尼亞大學(xué)洛杉磯研究員Matthew Lieberman說：“大腦的這一部分似乎能夠停止某些腦部活動。”

他和同事們讓18到36歲間的18名女子和12名男子分別觀看面部照片，并用語言描述出這些面部情緒，同時對他們進(jìn)行腦部掃描。

受測者要用“難過”或者“生氣”這兩個詞來描述不同照片，或者用性別特點分明的“Sally”或“Harry”來描述。

科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)人們看著憤怒表情說“生氣”一詞時，他們腦中負(fù)責(zé)恐懼、驚慌和其他強(qiáng)烈情緒的扁桃體狀物質(zhì)的反應(yīng)便會降低。

Lieberman在電話采訪中說：“語言似乎能壓制大腦的這些基本情緒通路的反應(yīng)—在這里是指扁桃體狀物質(zhì)”。

相對的，大腦中負(fù)責(zé)沖動的右外腹前額皮層會變得活躍。

當(dāng)人們?yōu)閳D片選擇一個情緒詞匯時，右外腹前額皮層是唯一一個比選擇人名時活躍的腦部區(qū)域。

他說在此前的研究中發(fā)現(xiàn)，此區(qū)域還負(fù)責(zé)動作控制。

他說：“如果開車時看到黃燈，你必須作出反應(yīng)踩剎車。此區(qū)域同樣可以反應(yīng)阻止某些情緒”。

研究人員稱并為發(fā)現(xiàn)男女在此有區(qū)別，但是Lieberman說之前的研究曾顯示談心對于男女來說是不一樣的。

“女人本能地談心，男人則往往是被提示才會談心，但是一旦男人開始談，他們能比女人得到更多的釋放感”。