爲什麼萌萌的“小狗眼神”讓人難以抗拒？

人們常說，狗是人類最好的朋友。狗狗通人性，和人心靈相通，也許不無道理。最新研究表明，狗狗的“萌眼”能觸發人類愛憐的本能，這是受到進化的影響。

If a dog has eyes that seem to be telling you something or demanding your attention, it could be evolution's way of manipulating your feelings.

如果狗狗的眼睛似乎在向你訴說，或懇求關注，這可能是它們進化出來控制你情緒的方式。

manipulate [mə'nɪpjʊleɪt]：vt.操縱；操作；巧妙地處理

Researchers have found that dogs have evolved muscles around their eyes, which allow them to make expressions that particularly appeal to humans.

研究人員發現，狗的眼周肌肉已經進化到能夠讓它們做出特別吸引人類的表情。

A small facial muscle allows dog eyes to mimic an "infant-like" expression which prompts a "nurturing response".

狗的眼部有一小塊肌肉，可以讓狗狗的眼睛模仿“嬰兒般的”表情，從而激發人類的“養育反應”。

mimic ['mɪmɪk]：vt.模仿，摹擬

Delaney Dawson/unsplash The study says such "puppy eyes" helped domesticated dogs to bond with humans.

研究稱，這種“小狗眼”有助於寵物狗與人類建立情感紐帶。

domesticated[də'mestɪkeɪtɪd]：adj.家養的；馴服的

Previous studies have shown how such canine expressions can appeal to humans, but this research from the UK and US shows there has been an anatomical change around dogs' eyes to make it possible.

此前的研究已證實，狗狗的這種表情是如何吸引人類的，但這項英美兩國的共同研究表明，這是由於狗狗眼睛周圍的解剖結構發生了變化。

anatomical [ænə'tɒmɪk(ə)l]：adj.解剖的；解剖學的

This allows dogs to create what the researchers call "expressive eyebrows" and to "create the illusion of human-like communication".

這使得狗狗能夠展現出研究人員所說的“表情眉”， 由此“營造出與人類相似的交流溝通假象”。

"When dogs make the movement, it seems to elicit a strong desire in humans to look after them," says the study, co-authored by Dr Juliane Kaminski at the University of Portsmouth.

研究報告稱，“當狗做這個動作時，似乎會引起人類想要照顧它們的強烈渴望。”朴茨茅斯大學的朱妮娜-卡明斯基博士參與了研究報告的撰寫。

elicit [ɪ'lɪsɪt]：vt.引出；引起

This muscle movement allows dogs' eyes to "appear larger, more infant-like and also resembles a movement humans produce when they are sad".

這種肌肉運動使狗狗的眼睛“看起來更大，更像嬰兒，也能展現出類似於人類的悲傷表情”。

She says that humans would have an "unconscious preference" to protect and breed from dogs with such an appealing trait, giving them an evolutionary advantage and reinforcing this change in subsequent generations.

朱妮娜-卡明斯基博士說，人類會有一種“無意識的偏好”來保護和養育具有這種吸引人的特性的狗狗，使它們具有進化優勢，並在繁衍過程中不斷得到強化。

"The evidence is compelling that dogs developed a muscle to raise the inner eyebrow after they were domesticated from wolves," says Dr Kaminski, in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA.

卡明斯基博士在發表於《美國國家科學院院刊》上的一項研究中表示:“有令人信服的證據表明，狗在從狼馴化後，發育出了一種可以擡高眉毛內測的肌肉。”

The findings, from UK and US researchers in anatomy and comparative psychology, show that the facial change has developed over thousands of years of dogs living alongside humans.

英國和美國的解剖學和比較心理學研究人員的研究結果表明，這種面部變化是在狗和人類生活在一起的數千年裏形成的。

Previous research has shown that dogs are more likely to use this "puppy eyes" expression when a human is looking at them - suggesting that it is a deliberate behavior and intended for human consumption.

此前的研究表明，當人類注視着狗狗時，狗狗更有可能使用這種“小狗眼”的表情，這表明這是有意而爲，就是做給人看的。

Anatomist and report co-author, Professor Anne Burrows of Duquesne University in the US, says that in evolutionary terms the changes to dogs' facial muscles was "remarkably fast" and could be "directly linked to dogs' enhanced social interaction with humans".

該研究報告的合著者、解剖學家、美國杜肯大學教授安妮-巴羅斯說，從進化角度看，狗面部肌肉的變化“非常快”，可能“和狗與人類互動密切直接相關”。

The findings, says Professor Bridget Waller of the University of Portsmouth, show "how important faces can be in capturing our attention, and how powerful facial expression can be in social interaction".

朴茨茅斯大學布里奇特-沃勒教授表示，這些發現表明，“面部表情在吸引我們的注意力方面有多麼重要，在社交互動中有多麼強大”。