Many of us have reached in our pockets, feeling a vibration¹, wrongly believing our mobile phones have just rung.

许多人都曾有过这样的错觉：觉得手机在振动，于是去口袋拿手机，结果手机根本没响。

The phenomenon² even has a name: "phantom³ vibration syndrome⁴" – and found it is surprisingly common.

这一现象甚至有自己的名称，叫“振动幻听综合症”。研究显示这种症状极为常见，很多人都有。

Now scientists believe that we are so alert for phone calls and messages we are misinterpreting slight muscle spasms⁵ as proof of a call.

目前科学家认为，这是因为人们对电话和短信太过敏感，从而把轻微的肌肉痉挛误当做是来电的信号。

Robert Rosenberger, an assistant professor at the Georgia Tech Institute of Technology has studied the delusional⁶ calls.

乔治亚理工学院的助理教授罗伯特·罗森伯格对手机幻听现象进行了研究。

He said sufferers describe a vague tingling⁷ feeling which they think is their mobile phone indicating it has received a text message or call while on "silent".

罗森伯格称，手机幻听人士会有一种隐约的麻刺感，他们以为是静音状态下手机的来电或短信提醒。

But when the device is retrieved⁸, there was no one on the other end.

但把手机拿过来才发现它根本没响。

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 weird⁹.'"

罗森伯格博士表示，他发现很多患者会说“我有手机幻听，但以为只有我自己这样，还一度觉得自己不太正常。”

It seems that the syndrome particularly affects people at the beck and call of mobile phones or pagers.

人们在等待电话或寻呼机呼叫时，这种症状似乎尤其容易出现。

A 2010 study by Michael Rothberg and colleagues found that nearly 70 per cent of doctors at a hospital in Massachusetts suffered phantom vibrations¹⁰.

2010年，迈克尔·罗斯博格和同事对马萨诸塞州的一所医院进行了调研，发现近70%医生的手机有过“幽灵震动”。

A more recent study of US college students found the figure was as high as 90 per cent.

而在最近针对美国大学生的一项研究中，有震动幻听的人数高达90%。

While the odd feeling is widespread, it does not seem to be considered a grave problem.

尽管越来越多的人受到手机幻听的干扰，但人们似乎并没把它当做一个严重的问题。

Dr Rosenberger said: "It's not actually a syndrome in a technical sense. That's just the name that's got stuck to it."

罗森伯格博士说：“严格来说，手机幻听其实不是一种病。我们只是给它起了一个这样的名字而已。”

He added: "Only 2 per cent of people consider it a problem."

他补充道：“只有2%的人重视这个问题。”

While widespread, the scientific community has not yet invested much effort in getting to the bottom of why we suffer phantom calls.

尽管“幽灵来电”越来越普遍，但科学界并未投入太多精力来深究其产生的根本原因。

Dr Rosenberger said: "People are guessing it has something to do with nervous energy."

罗森伯格博士说：“人们猜测幻听的产生可能与紧张情绪有关。”

"The cognitive¹¹ scientists are talking about brain chemistry, cognitive pathways changing. But it's not like they have brain scans to go on."

“认知学家认为这是一种脑化学反应，导致认知路径发生了改变。但他们并未通过脑部扫描来进一步证明这一点。”

He said: "We have a phone call in our pocket all the time and it becomes sort of an extension of ourselves."

他说：“我们兜里的手机经常会响，这种情况已经成为我们本身的一部分了。”

"We have this sort of readiness to experience a call. We feel something and we think, OK, that could be a call."

“我们随时准备着接电话。有了类似手机振动的感觉，我们会想，嗯，应该是来电话了。”