by Cathy Manson

In English the colour green is associated with jealousy， which is sometimes jokingly[開玩笑地] called “the green-eyed monster.” But its no joke when jealousy takes over your life. Researchers are only starting to understand how jealousy can go wrong[發(fā)生錯(cuò)誤] in the human brain.

Mild[輕微的，適度的] jealousy is a normal， healthy emotion； its part of what makes us tick. Who hasnt experienced sibling rivalry or felt left out when their partner spends time with other people？ Feeling jealous helps us value our loved ones and protect our important relationships[關(guān)系，感情].

But for a small number of us， extreme[極度的] jealousy can lead to[導(dǎo)致] obsessive behaviour like stalking. It can also cause depression， destroy relationships and even kill—morbidly jealous people can become violent or suicidal.

Now researchers in Italy believe theyve found the area of the brain responsible for obsessive jealousy， which is called Othellos注 syndrome[（醫(yī)）病征]， named after the Shakespeare character who kills his wife because of jealousy.

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex[大腦正中前額葉皮質(zhì)] is just above the forehead. This is the part of the brain which processes emotions， including thinking about those we love. But crucially[至關(guān)重要地]， we use this part of the brain to predict scenarios of losing our loved ones， and thinking about how we would feel if that happened.

Obsessively jealous people spend too much time dwelling on these scenarios. For them， losing their relationship starts to seem like the end of the world. Worryingly[焦慮得，煩惱地]， the researchers believe that， in some people， this process may become a habit， and jealousy becomes hardwired in the brain.

They want to investigate[研究，試驗(yàn)] medicines which could help treat people suffering from this devastating condition.

在英語里綠色和嫉妒有關(guān)，有時(shí)會(huì)被人戲謔地稱為“綠眼怪物”。但當(dāng)嫉妒掌控了你的生活時(shí)，可就不是開玩笑了。研究人員剛剛開始獲悉嫉妒是如何在人類大腦中發(fā)生錯(cuò)誤的。

輕微的嫉妒是一種正常、健康的情感，是影響我們性格行為的因素之一。誰沒經(jīng)歷過兄弟姐妹間的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)或是因伴侶和他人在一起而感覺被冷落呢？感到嫉妒有助我們珍惜所愛，并保護(hù)我們的重要關(guān)系。

但對(duì)于少數(shù)人來說，極端的嫉妒將導(dǎo)致強(qiáng)迫行為，比如跟蹤騷擾。它還會(huì)引發(fā)抑郁癥，摧毀感情甚至于殺害——病態(tài)地嫉妒他人的人可能會(huì)變得兇殘或自暴自棄。

如今，意大利研究人員認(rèn)為他們已經(jīng)找到大腦中負(fù)責(zé)強(qiáng)迫嫉妒的區(qū)域——這種嫉妒被稱作奧賽羅綜合征，以莎士比亞筆下因嫉妒而殺害妻子的角色命名。

大腦正中前額葉皮質(zhì)就在額頭上方，這是大腦中處理情感的部分，包括想念那些我們所愛之人。但關(guān)鍵是，我們運(yùn)用大腦中的這一部分來預(yù)測(cè)失去所愛的情景，并思考如若發(fā)生這樣的事，我們將作何感受。

強(qiáng)迫性嫉妒的人花費(fèi)了太多時(shí)間不停地想著這些情景。對(duì)他們來說，失去感情似乎就像世界末日。研究人員認(rèn)為令人擔(dān)憂的是，在一些人身上這種過程可能會(huì)變成習(xí)慣，而嫉妒則在大腦中扎根。

他們希望研究出藥物，幫助治療患上這種可怕病癥的人。

注：《奧賽羅》，莎士比亞的四大悲劇之一，另外三部分別為《哈姆雷特》、《麥克白》、《李爾王》。

Quiz小測(cè)驗(yàn)

Exercise：

1. When Im with my friends， they talk about work together. I feel left _______.

A. in B. out C. up D. down

2. Her ex[（俚）前任的配偶] phoned her constantly[經(jīng)常地，不斷地] and followed her. The _______ made her very scared.

A. sticking B. staking C. stoking D. stalking

3. I know I should try to stop _______ on it， but I just cant stop thinking about him.

A. dwelling B. living C. sitting D. staying

4. On the course， we think of things which might go wrong， and plan for those _______.

A. scanarios B. scenarios C. scenerios D. scenorios

5. Come on， cheer up. Its not the end of the _______！

A. world B. globe C. planet D. earth