Pupil Size Is a Marker of Intelligence
瞳孔大小是智力的标志
It has been said that "the eyes are the window to the soul, " but new research suggests that they may be a window to the brain as well.
有人说“眼睛是通向灵魂的窗户”，但新的研究表明，它们也可能是通向大脑的窗户。
There is a surprising correlation between baseline pupil size and several measures of cognitive ability
基线瞳孔大小与认知能力的几种测量值之间存在惊人的相关性。
Our pupils respond to more than just the light. They indicate arousal, interest or mental exhaustion. Pupil dilation is even used by the FBI to detect deception. Now work conducted in our laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology suggests that baseline pupil size is closely related to individual differences in intelligence. The larger the pupils, the higher the intelligence, as measured by tests of reasoning, attention and memory. In fact, across three studies, we found that the difference in baseline pupil size between people who scored the highest on the cognitive tests and those who scored the lowest was large enough to be detected by the unaided eye.
我们的瞳孔不仅对光有反应。它们还表示兴奋、兴趣或精神疲惫。
FBI甚至使用瞳孔扩张来检测欺骗行为。
现在我们在佐治亚理工学院的实验室进行的工作表明，
基线瞳孔大小与智力的个体差异密切相关。
根据推理、注意力和记忆力的测试，瞳孔越大，智力就越高。
事实上，在三项研究中，我们发现
在认知测试中得分最高的人和得分最低的人之间的
基线瞳孔大小差异很大这都可以用肉眼检测到。
We first uncovered this surprising relationship while studying differences in the amount of mental effort people used to complete memory tasks. We used pupil dilations as an indicator of effort, a technique psychologist Daniel Kahneman popularized in the 1960s and 1970s. When we discovered a relationship between baseline pupil size and intelligence, we weren't sure if it was real or what it meant.
我们在研究人们完成记忆任务所用的脑力劳动量的差异时，
首先发现了这种令人惊讶的关系。
我们使用（把）瞳孔扩张作为努力的指标，
技术心理学家 Daniel Kahneman 在 1960 年代和 1970 年代普及了（这个知识）
当我们发现基线瞳孔大小和智力之间存在关系时，
我们不确定它是否真实或意味着什么。
Intrigued, we conducted several large-scale studies in which we recruited more than 500 people aged 18 to 35 from the Atlanta community. We measured participants' pupil size using an eye tracker, a device that captures the reflection of light off the pupil and cornea using a high-powered camera and computer. We measured participants' pupils at rest while they stared at a blank computer screen for up to four minutes. All the while, the eye tracker was recording. Using the tracker, we then calculated each participant's average pupil size.
出于好奇，我们进行了几项大规模研究，
从亚特兰大社区招募了500多名年龄在18至35岁的人。
我们使用眼动仪（眼睛捕捉器）测量了参与者的瞳孔大小，
这是一种使用高功率相机和计算机捕捉瞳孔和角膜反射光的设备。
我们测量了参与者在休息时盯着空白电脑屏幕长达四分钟的瞳孔。
一直以来，眼动仪都在记录。
使用眼睛捕捉器，我们然后计算每个参与者的平均瞳孔大小。
（然后，我们使用眼睛捕捉器计算每个参与者的平均瞳孔大小）
In the next part of the experiment, participants completed a series of cognitive tests designed to measure "fluid intelligence, " the capacity to reason through new problems, "working memory capacity," the ability to remember information over a period of time, and "attention control," the ability to focus attention amid distractions and interference.
在实验的下一部分中，参与者完成了一系列认知测试，旨在衡量
“流动智力”、通过新问题进行推理的能力、“工作记忆能力”、在一段时间内记住信息的能力，
以及“ 注意力控制，“在分心和干扰中集中注意力的能力
To be clear, pupil size refers to the diameter of the black circular aperture in the center of the eye. It can range from around two to eight millimeters. The pupil is surrounded by the colorful area known as the iris, which is responsible for controlling the size of the pupil. Pupils constrict in response to bright light, among other things, so we kept the laboratory dim for all participants.
明确地说，瞳孔大小是指眼睛中央黑色圆孔的直径。
它的范围可以从大约两到八毫米。
瞳孔被称为虹膜的彩色区域包围，虹膜负责控制瞳孔的大小。
瞳孔在强光下会收缩，因此我们让所有参与者的实验室都保持昏暗。
As one example of an attention control test, participants had to resist glancing toward a bold, flickering asterisk on one side of a computer screen and instead rapidly look in the opposite direction to identify a letter. The letter would disappear within moments, so even a brief eye movement toward the flickering asterisk could result in missing it. Humans are primed to react to objects passing through their peripheral vision—it's what once allowed us to spot a predator or prey—but this task required participants to redirect their focus from the flicking asterisk to the letter.
作为注意力控制测试的一个例子，
参与者必须抵制瞥向（撇视）电脑屏幕一侧一个醒目、闪烁的星号，
而是迅速朝相反的方向看去识别一个字母。 这个字母会在瞬间（一会儿）就消失，
所以即使是对闪烁的星号的短暂视线移动也可能导致错过它。
人类已经准备好对通过其周边视觉的物体做出反应（的本能）
——这种（本能）曾经让我们能够发现捕食者或猎物——
但这项任务要求参与者将注意力从闪烁的星号转移到字母上。
We found that a larger baseline pupil size was correlated with greater fluid intelligence, attention control and, to a lesser degree, working memory capacity—indicating a fascinating relationship between the brain and eye. Interestingly, pupil size was negatively correlated with age: older participants tended to have smaller, more constricted, pupils. Once standardized for age, however, the relationship between pupil size and cognitive ability remained.
我们发现，更大的基线瞳孔大小与更强的流体智力、注意力控制
以及在较小程度上与工作记忆能力相关——表明大脑和眼睛之间存在着迷人的关系。
有趣的是，瞳孔大小与年龄呈负相关：年龄较大的参与者的瞳孔往往更小、更狭窄。
然而，一旦年龄标准化，瞳孔大小和认知能力之间的关系仍然存在
But why does pupil size correlate with intelligence? To answer this question, we need to understand what is going on in the brain. Pupil size is related to activity in the locus coeruleus, a nucleus situated in the upper brain stem with far-reaching neural connections to the rest of the brain. The locus coeruleus releases norepinephrine, which functions as both a neurotransmitter and hormone in the brain and body, and it regulates processes such as perception, attention, learning and memory.
但为什么瞳孔大小与智力有关？ 要回答这个问题，我们需要了解大脑中发生了什么。
瞳孔大小与蓝斑核的活动有关，蓝斑核位于脑干上部，与大脑其他部分有着深远的神经连接。
蓝斑核释放去甲肾上腺素，它（去甲肾上腺素的功能作用）在大脑和身体中既是神经递质又是激素，
它调节感知、注意力、学习和记忆等过程。
It also helps maintain a healthy organization of brain activity so that distant brain regions can work together to accomplish challenging tasks and goals. Dysfunction of the locus coeruleus, and the resulting breakdown of organized brain activity, has been related to several conditions, including Alzheimer's disease and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In fact, this organization of activity is so important that the brain devotes most of its energy to maintain it, even when we are not doing anything at all—such as when we stare at a blank computer screen for minutes on end.
它还有助于维持健康的大脑活动组织，
以便远处的大脑区域可以协同工作以完成具有挑战性的任务和目标。
蓝斑功能障碍以及由此导致的大脑活动的组织的中断，
与多种疾病有关，包括阿尔茨海默病和注意力缺陷多动障碍。
事实上，这种活动的组织非常重要，以至于大脑供应大部分能量用于维持它，
即使当我们什么都不做时——例如当我们盯着空白的电脑屏幕几分钟时。
One hypothesis is that people who have larger pupils at rest have greater regulation of activity by the locus coeruleus, which benefits cognitive performance and resting-state brain function. Additional research is needed, but it's clear that there is more happening than meets the eye.
一种假设是，休息时瞳孔较大的人，蓝斑对活动的调节能力更强，
这有利于认知能力和静息状态下的大脑功能。
需要额外的研究，但很明显，发生的事情比我们看到的要多。
原文链接
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pupil-size-is-a-marker-of-intelligence/
