哭泣到底为我们带来了什么?对此,研究人员已有了些眉目,他们发现掌控人类哭泣的生理机制,足以让我们大吃一惊。对于哭泣,人类也许并不觉得有什么特别之处。婴儿出生后的第一件事就是放声大哭,向所有人宣告:“我来了!”我们的哭泣之所以特别,并不是因为哭喊声,而是因为充满感情的泪水。动物或许会呜咽、呻吟和嚎叫,但绝不会动情落泪,即便是与我们亲缘关系最近的灵长类动物也是如此。猿类与其他动物一样,也有泪管,但它的功能只是清洁眼部、浸润和呵护眼球。而对于人类来说,也许在远古的某个时期,在祖先的泪腺和掌管感觉与表达深层情感的大脑区域之间,进化出了神经元连接。 What did crying bring to us? In this regard, the researchers have made some surprises. They found that the physiological mechanisms that control the weeping of human beings are enough to surprise us. For crying, humans may not feel anything special. The first thing after a baby was born was to cry out loud and declare to all: “I’m coming!” Our crying is special not because of crying, but because of the tears of emotion. Animals may whimper, groan, and howl, but never cry, even the closest relatives of us primate. Apes, like other animals, have tear ducts, but their function is to clean the eyes, infiltrate and care for the eyeballs. And for humans, neuronal connections may evolve sometime in ancient times between the lacrimal gland of the ancestors and the brain area in charge of feeling and deep emotion.