Many of us have reached in our pockets, feeling a vibration, wrongly believing our mobile phones have just rung.
許多人都曾有過這樣的錯覺：覺得手機在振動，于是去口袋拿手機，結果手機根本沒響。

The phenomenon even has a name: "phantom vibration syndrome" – and found it is surprisingly common.
這一現象甚至有自己的名稱，叫“振動幻聽綜合癥”。研究顯示這種癥狀極為常見，很多人都有。

Now scientists believe that we are so alert for phone calls and messages we are misinterpreting slight muscle spasms as proof of a call.
目前科學家認為，這是因為人們對電話和短信太過敏感，從而把輕微的肌肉痙攣誤當做是來電的信號。

Robert Rosenberger, an assistant professor at the Georgia Tech Institute of Technology has studied the delusional calls.
喬治亞理工學院的助理教授羅伯特·羅森伯格對手機幻聽現象進行了研究。

He said sufferers describe a vague tingling feeling which they think is their mobile phone indicating it has received a text message or call while on "silent".
羅森伯格稱，手機幻聽人士會有一種隱約的麻刺感，他們以為是靜音狀態下手機的來電或短信提醒。

But when the device is retrieved, there was no one on the other end.
但把手機拿過來才發現它根本沒響。

Dr Rosenberger said "I find so many people say, 'This happens to me, but I thought I was the only one, I thought I was weird.'"
羅森伯格博士表示，他發現很多患者會說“我有手機幻聽，但以為只有我自己這樣，還一度覺得自己不太正常。”

It seems that the syndrome particularly affects people at the beck and call of mobile phones or pagers.
人們在等待電話或尋呼機呼叫時，這種癥狀似乎尤其容易出現。

A 2010 study by Michael Rothberg and colleagues found that nearly 70 per cent of doctors at a hospital in Massachusetts suffered phantom vibrations.
2010年，邁克爾·羅斯博格和同事對馬薩諸塞州的一所醫院進行了調研，發現近70%醫生的手機有過“幽靈震動”。

A more recent study of US college students found the figure was as high as 90 per cent.
而在最近針對美國大學生的一項研究中，有震動幻聽的人數高達90%。

While the odd feeling is widespread, it does not seem to be considered a grave problem.
盡管越來越多的人受到手機幻聽的干擾，但人們似乎并沒把它當做一個嚴重的問題。

Dr Rosenberger said: "It’s not actually a syndrome in a technical sense. That’s just the name that’s got stuck to it."
羅森伯格博士說：“嚴格來說，手機幻聽其實不是一種病。我們只是給它起了一個這樣的名字而已?！?/p>

He added: "Only 2 per cent of people consider it a problem."
他補充道：“只有2%的人重視這個問題?！?/p>

While widespread, the scientific community has not yet invested much effort in getting to the bottom of why we suffer phantom calls.
盡管“幽靈來電”越來越普遍，但科學界并未投入太多精力來深究其產生的根本原因。

Dr Rosenberger said: "People are guessing it has something to do with nervous energy."
羅森伯格博士說：“人們猜測幻聽的產生可能與緊張情緒有關。”

"The cognitive scientists are talking about brain chemistry, cognitive pathways changing. But it’s not like they have brain scans to go on."
“認知學家認為這是一種腦化學反應，導致認知路徑發生了改變。但他們并未通過腦部掃描來進一步證明這一點。”

He said: "We have a phone call in our pocket all the time and it becomes sort of an extension of ourselves."
他說：“我們兜里的手機經常會響，這種情況已經成為我們本身的一部分了?！?/p>

"We have this sort of readiness to experience a call. We feel something and we think, OK, that could be a call."
“我們隨時準備著接電話。有了類似手機振動的感覺，我們會想，嗯，應該是來電話了?！?/p>

Vocabulary
phantom：幽靈的；幻覺的
vague：模糊的；含糊的；不明確的

英文來源：每日郵報
譯者：zjm2582185
審校&編輯：杜娟