Journal of Publishing and Criticism
JPC, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp.183-188
Print ISSN: 3107-0892; Online ISSN: 3107-0906
Journal homepage: https://www.jpcjournal.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64058/jpc260119smacp
Stripping the Metaphor of Anxiety: Catherine M. Pittman’s Taming Your Amygdala translated by Yuqing Wang and Jinde Huang
Zixi Zheng, Chen Shaolian
Abstract: This book review offers a concise interdisciplinary evaluation of Catherine M. Pittman’s Taming Your Amygdala: Brain-based Strategies to Quiet the Anxious Mind (translated by Yuqing Wang and Jinde Huang). Situated within the medical humanities, the review analyzes the text’s neurobiological dual-pathway framework through the lenses of Susan Sontag’s critique of illness metaphors and Michel Foucault’s discourse theory, while actively evaluating the translators’ linguistic adaptations. It praises Pittman’s empirical tools and the translators’ humanistic phrasing for depathologizing psychological distress and restoring human agency. However, it critically addresses the text’s reductive biological determinism, which overlooks systemic socio-cultural stressors. Ultimately, the review contends that the book transcends the self-help genre, framing neuroplasticity as a flexible form of narrative potentiality.
Keywords: Taming Your Amygdala; Amygdala Pathway; Psychoeducation; Medical Humanities; Narrative Potentiality
Author Biographies: Zixi Zheng, School of Foreign Languages, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou, Fujian, China. E-mail: 2772364712@qq.com. Chen Shaolian (Corresponding Author), Associate professor and master’s supervisor of Minnan Normal University. Research interests: British and American literature, English language teaching. E-mail: 451391534@qq.com.
标题：剥离焦虑的隐喻：评凯瑟琳·M.皮特曼《重塑杏仁核》王羽青、黄金德译本
摘要：本文从跨学科视角评介凯瑟琳·M.皮特曼的《重塑杏仁核：情绪修复脑科学》（王羽青、黄金德译本）。文章立足医学人文研究，结合苏珊·桑塔格关于疾病隐喻的批判以及米歇尔·福柯的话语理论，分析该书以杏仁核通路和皮层通路为核心的神经生物学框架，并考察译者在语言转换中的人文性调适。本文认为，皮特曼通过将焦虑症状还原为可理解、可训练的神经反应，有效削弱了心理痛苦的病耻感；译者则通过“重塑”“情绪修复”等较具疗愈意味的表达，使原书中偏技术化的神经科学话语转化为更易被中文读者接受的心理重建叙事。然而，本文也指出，该书在强调个体神经调节与生活习惯管理的同时，存在一定程度的生物决定论倾向，较少关注焦虑背后的社会文化压力与结构性因素。总体而言，《重塑杏仁核》超越了一般自助读物的功能边界，将神经可塑性阐释为一种开放的叙事潜能，为焦虑管理、心理教育与医学人文研究提供了有价值的思考路径。
关键词：《驯服杏仁核》；杏仁核通路；心理教育；医学人文；叙事潜能
作者简介：郑子夕，闽南师范大学外国语学院硕士研究生，研究方向：英语文学。电邮：2772364712@qq.com。陈绍恋（通讯作者），闽南师范大学副教授、硕士生导师，研究方向：英美文学、英语教学。电邮：451391534@qq.com。
Received: 27 Mar 2026 / Revised: 25 Apr 2026 / Accepted: 29 Apr 2026 / Published online: 30 Apr 2026 / Print published: 30 May 2026.
