Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States.
Elife. 2018 Jun 29;7:e36133. doi: 10.7554/eLife.36133.
Organisms evolving toward greater complexity were selected across aeons to use energy and resources efficiently. Efficiency depended on prediction at every stage: first a clock to predict the planet's statistical regularities; then a brain to predict bodily needs and compute commands that dynamically adjust the flows of energy and nutrients. Predictive regulation (allostasis) frugally matches resources to needs and thus forms a core principle of our design. Humans, reaching a pinnacle of cognitive complexity, eventually produced a device (the steam engine) that converted thermal energy to work and were suddenly awash in resources. Today boundless consumption in many nations challenges all our regulatory mechanisms, causing obesity, diabetes, drug addiction and their sequelae. So far we have sought technical solutions, such as drugs, to treat complex circuits for metabolism, appetites and mood. Here I argue for a different approach which starts by asking: why does our regulatory system, which evolution tuned for small satisfactions, now constantly demand 'more'?
生物体在千万年的进化过程中逐渐变得更加复杂，从而能够高效地利用能源和资源。效率取决于每个阶段的预测：首先是一个时钟，用于预测行星的统计规律；然后是一个大脑，用于预测身体的需求，并计算动态调整能量和营养物质流动的命令。预测调节（体内平衡）节俭地将资源与需求匹配，因此构成了我们设计的核心原则。人类，达到认知复杂性的顶峰，最终制造出一种将热能转化为功的设备（蒸汽机），并突然拥有了丰富的资源。如今，许多国家的无限消费对我们所有的调节机制都构成了挑战，导致肥胖、糖尿病、药物成瘾及其后果。到目前为止，我们一直在寻求技术解决方案，例如药物，来治疗代谢、食欲和情绪等复杂的回路。在这里，我主张采取一种不同的方法，首先要问：为什么我们的调节系统，经过进化以适应小的满足感，现在却不断要求“更多”？
