I'd like to talk today about how we can change our brains and our society.
Danas ću pričati o tome kako možemo promijeniti naš mozak i društvo.
Meet Joe. Joe's 32 years old and a murderer. I met Joe 13 years ago on the lifer wing at Wormwood Scrubs high-security prison in London. I'd like you to imagine this place. It looks and feels like it sounds: Wormwood Scrubs. Built at the end of the Victorian Era by the inmates themselves, it is where England's most dangerous prisoners are kept. These individuals have committed acts of unspeakable evil. And I was there to study their brains. I was part of a team of researchers from University College London, on a grant from the U.K. department of health. My task was to study a group of inmates who had been clinically diagnosed as psychopaths. That meant they were the most callous and the most aggressive of the entire prison population. What lay at the root of their behavior? Was there a neurological cause for their condition? And if there was a neurological cause, could we find a cure?
Upoznajte Joa. Joe ima 32 godine i ubojica je. Upoznao sam ga prije 13 godina kao doživotnog osuđenika u strogo čuvanom zatvoru Wormwood Scrubs u Londonu. Želio bih da zamislite to mjesto. Izgleda kao što zvuči: Wormwood Scrubs. Sagrađen je krajem viktorijanskog doba od strane samih zatvorenika, mjesto je gdje se nalaze najopasniji zatvorenici Engleske. Oni su počinili neopisiva zlodjela. Tamo sam proučavao njihov mozak. Bio sam dio tima istraživača sa Sveučilišta u Londonu, pod potporom britanskog Odjela za zdravstvo. Moj zadatak je bio proučiti grupu zatvorenika koji su klinički dijagnosticirani kao psihopati. Što znači da su bili najbešćutniji i najagresivniji od cijele zatvorske populacije. Što leži u korijenu njihova ponašanja? Postoji li neurološki razlog njihova stanja? Ako i postoji neurološki razlog, možemo li pronaći lijek?
So I'd like to speak about change, and especially about emotional change. Growing up, I was always intrigued by how people change. My mother, a clinical psychotherapist, would occasionally see patients at home in the evening. She would shut the door to the living room, and I imagined magical things happened in that room. At the age of five or six I would creep up in my pajamas and sit outside with my ear glued to the door. On more than one occasion, I fell asleep and they had to push me out of the way at the end of the session.
Zato ću pričati o promjeni, posebice emocionalnoj. Odrastajući, uvijek me zanimalo kako se ljudi mijenjaju. Moja majka, klinički psihoterapeut, bi ponekad primala pacijente kući navečer. Zatvorila bi vrata dnevne sobe, a ja sam zamišljao da se tamo događaju čarobne stvari. Kad sam imao pet-šest godina prišuljao bih se u pidžami, sjeo ispred vrata i prisluškivao. U više navrata, zaspao bih i morali su me odgurati s puta na kraju seanse.
And I suppose that's how I found myself walking into the secure interview room on my first day at Wormwood Scrubs. Joe sat across a steel table and greeted me with this blank expression. The prison warden, looking equally indifferent, said, "Any trouble, just press the red buzzer, and we'll be around as soon as we can." (Laughter)
Tako sam se našao kako hodam u sobu za ispitivanje prvog dana u Wormwood Scrubsu. Joe je sjedio preko puta čeličnog stola i pozdravio me bezizražajno. Zatvorski nadzornik, jednako ravnodušno, rekao je “U slučaju nevolje pritisnite crveni prekidač i doći ćemo što je prije moguće.” (Smijeh)
I sat down. The heavy metal door slammed shut behind me. I looked up at the red buzzer far behind Joe on the opposite wall. (Laughter)
Sjeo sam. Teška metalna vrata su zalupila. Pogledao sam u crveni prekidač daleko iza Joa na suprotnom zidu. (Smijeh)
I looked at Joe. Perhaps detecting my concern, he leaned forward, and said, as reassuringly as he could, "Ah, don't worry about the buzzer, it doesn't work anyway." (Laughter)
Pogledao sam ga. Uočio je moju zabrinutost, nagnuo se naprijed i rekao, što je uvjerljivije mogao “Ne brini se za prekidač, jer ionako ne radi. “ (Smijeh)
Over the subsequent months, we tested Joe and his fellow inmates, looking specifically at their ability to categorize different images of emotion. And we looked at their physical response to those emotions. So, for example, when most of us look at a picture like this of somebody looking sad, we instantly have a slight, measurable physical response: increased heart rate, sweating of the skin. Whilst the psychopaths in our study were able to describe the pictures accurately, they failed to show the emotions required. They failed to show a physical response. It was as though they knew the words but not the music of empathy. So we wanted to look closer at this to use MRI to image their brains. That turned out to be not such an easy task. Imagine transporting a collection of clinical psychopaths across central London in shackles and handcuffs in rush hour, and in order to place each of them in an MRI scanner, you have to remove all metal objects, including shackles and handcuffs, and, as I learned, all body piercings.
Tijekom narednih mjeseci, ispitali smo Joa i ostale zatvorenike, posebice njihovu sposobnost da kategoriziraju različite slike emocija. i pratili smo njihov fizički odgovor na te emocije. Na primjer, kada mnogi vide tužnu osobu na slici primjeti se lagani mjerljivi fizički odgovor: ubrzan rad srca, znojenje. Iako su psihopati u našoj studiji mogli točno opisati slike, nisu pokazali emocije. Kao ni fizički odgovor. Znali su riječi, ali ne i glazbu empatije. Htjeli smo pogledati ovo pobliže koristeći MRI za sliku njihova mozga. To nije bio tako lagan zadatak. Zamislite prijevoz grupe kliničkih psihopata Londonom u okovima i lisicama kroz gužvu, kako bi svakog od njih stavili u MRI skener prije toga treba ukloniti sve metalne objekte uključujući okove i lisice, te piercinge s tijela.
After some time, however, we had a tentative answer. These individuals were not just the victims of a troubled childhood. There was something else. People like Joe have a deficit in a brain area called the amygdala. The amygdala is an almond-shaped organ deep within each of the hemispheres of the brain. It is thought to be key to the experience of empathy. Normally, the more empathic a person is, the larger and more active their amygdala is. Our population of inmates had a deficient amygdala, which likely led to their lack of empathy and to their immoral behavior.
Nakon nekog vremena dobili smo odgovor. Ovi pojedinci nisu bili samo žrtve problematičnog djetinjstva. Bilo je tu još nešto. Ljudi kao Joe imaju deficit u moždanom području koje se zove amigdala. Amigdala je organ nalik bademu duboko u svakoj moždanoj hemisferi. Smatra se da je ključna je za iskustvo empatije. Što osoba pokazuje više empatije, veća je aktivnost amigdale. Ova populacija zatvorenika imala je deficit u amigdali koji je doveo do manjka empatije i nemoralnog ponašanja.
So let's take a step back. Normally, acquiring moral behavior is simply part of growing up, like learning to speak. At the age of six months, virtually every one of us is able to differentiate between animate and inanimate objects. At the age of 12 months, most children are able to imitate the purposeful actions of others. So for example, your mother raises her hands to stretch, and you imitate her behavior. At first, this isn't perfect. I remember my cousin Sasha, two years old at the time, looking through a picture book and licking one finger and flicking the page with the other hand, licking one finger and flicking the page with the other hand. (Laughter) Bit by bit, we build the foundations of the social brain so that by the time we're three, four years old, most children, not all, have acquired the ability to understand the intentions of others, another prerequisite for empathy. The fact that this developmental progression is universal, irrespective of where you live in the world or which culture you inhabit, strongly suggests that the foundations of moral behavior are inborn. If you doubt this, try, as I've done, to renege on a promise you've made to a four-year-old. You will find that the mind of a four-year old is not naïve in the slightest. It is more akin to a Swiss army knife with fixed mental modules finely honed during development and a sharp sense of fairness. The early years are crucial. There seems to be a window of opportunity, after which mastering moral questions becomes more difficult, like adults learning a foreign language. That's not to say it's impossible. A recent, wonderful study from Stanford University showed that people who have played a virtual reality game in which they took on the role of a good and helpful superhero actually became more caring and helpful towards others afterwards. Now I'm not suggesting we endow criminals with superpowers, but I am suggesting that we need to find ways to get Joe and people like him to change their brains and their behavior, for their benefit and for the benefit of the rest of us.
Vratimo se korak natrag. Stjecanje moralnog ponašanja dio je odrastanja, kao što je učiti govoriti. Sa šest mjeseci, gotovo je svatko sposoban razlikovati žive od neživih stvari. U dobi od 12 mjeseci, većina djece može oponašati usmjerene akcije drugih. Primjerice, majka podigne ruke da se istegne i vi imitirate njeno ponašanje. Ispočetka nije savršeno. Sjećam se kako je sestrična Saša, tada dvije godine stara, listala slikovnicu i polizala bi prst jedne, a okretala stranicu drugom rukom, polizala prst i okretala stranicu drugom rukom. (Smijeh) Malo po malo, gradimo osnove društvenog mozga te u dobi od tri ili četiri godine većina djece stekne sposobnost razumijevanja tuđih namjera, jedan od preduvjeta za empatiju. Činjenica da je ovaj razvojni napredak univerzalan bez obzira gdje na svijetu živite ili u kojoj kulturi živite, snažno upućuje da su temelji moralnog ponašanja urođeni. Ako sumnjate u ovo probajte prekršiti obećanje koje ste dali četverogodišnjaku. Vidjet ćete da mozak četverogodišnjaka nije naivan ni najmanje. Mnogo je srodniji švicarskom nožiću sa utvrđenim mentalnim modulima fino brušenim tijekom razvoja i s oštrim osjećajem za pravednost. Rane godine su ključne. Čini se da postoji pregršt mogućnosti, nakon kojih svladavanje moralnih pitanja postaje sve teže, kao kad odrasli uče strani jezik. Ali nije nemoguće. Nedavno istraživanje Sveučilišta Stanford pokazalo je da ljudi koji su igrali virtualnu igru u kojoj su bili u ulozi dobroćudnog superheroja su zapravo postali brižniji i bolji prema drugima. Ne predlažem da podarimo kriminalce supermoćima nego predlažem da pronađemo način da Joe i ostali poput njega promijene svoje ponašanje, za svoje dobro i dobro svih nas.
So can brains change? For over 100 years, neuroanatomists and later neuroscientists held the view that after initial development in childhood, no new brain cells could grow in the adult human brain. The brain could only change within certain set limits. That was the dogma. But then, in the 1990s, studies starting showing, following the lead of Elizabeth Gould at Princeton and others, studies started showing the evidence of neurogenesis, the birth of new brain cells in the adult mammalian brain, first in the olfactory bulb, which is responsible for our sense of smell, then in the hippocampus involving short-term memory, and finally in the amygdala itself. In order to understand how this process works, I left the psychopaths and joined a lab in Oxford specializing in learning and development. Instead of psychopaths, I studied mice, because the same pattern of brain responses appears across many different species of social animals. So if you rear a mouse in a standard cage, a shoebox, essentially, with cotton wool, alone and without much stimulation, not only does it not thrive, but it will often develop strange, repetitive behaviors. This naturally sociable animal will lose its ability to bond with other mice, even becoming aggressive when introduced to them. However, mice reared in what we called an enriched environment, a large habitation with other mice with wheels and ladders and areas to explore, demonstrate neurogenesis, the birth of new brain cells, and as we showed, they also perform better on a range of learning and memory tasks. Now, they don't develop morality to the point of carrying the shopping bags of little old mice across the street, but their improved environment results in healthy, sociable behavior. Mice reared in a standard cage, by contrast, not dissimilar, you might say, from a prison cell, have dramatically lower levels of new neurons in the brain.
Može li se mozak mijenjati? Preko stotinu godina neuroanatomi i kasnije neuroznanstvenici smatrali su da nakon početnog razvoja u djetinjstvu ne mogu nastati nove moždane stanice u odraslom ljudskom mozgu. Mozak se može mijenjati unutar određenih granica. To je bila dogma. Ali 1990.-ih istraživanja su pokazala, na čelu s Elizabeth Gould sa Princetona istraživanja su pokazala dokaze o neurogoenezi, stvaranju novih neurona u odraslom mozgu sisavca, prvo u olfaktornom bulbusu, odgovornom za njuh, zatim u hipokampusu uključenom u kratkotrajno pamćenje, i naposljetku u amigdali. Kako bih razumio ove procese, napustio sam psihopate i pridružio se laboratoriju na Oxfordu specijaliziranom za učenje i razvoj. Proučavao sam miševe jer se isti obrasci moždanog odgovora pojavljuju u različitim vrstama društvenih životinja. Ako se miš uzgoji u kavezu, kutiji za cipele s vatom, sam i bez stimulacije ne samo da ne napreduje, već često razvija čudna ponavljajuća ponašanja. Ove prirodno društvene životinje izgubit će sposobnost povezivanja s drugim miševima, te postati agresivni kod upoznavanja. Miševi uzgajani u, kako to zovemo, obogaćenom okolišu, velikom staništu sa drugim miševima s kotačima i ljestvama te područjima za istraživanje, pokazuju neurogenezu, nastanak novih neurona, i također se pokazuju boljima u učenju i zadatcima pamćenja. Ne razvijaju moralnost do te mjere da nose vrećice za kupovinu starijim miševima preko ulice, nego imaju bolje rezultate u zdravom, društvenom ponašanju. Miševi uzgajani u običnom kavezu, ne puno različitima od zatvorske ćelije imaju dramatično manje novih neurona u mozgu.
It is now clear that the amygdala of mammals, including primates like us, can show neurogenesis. In some areas of the brain, more than 20 percent of cells are newly formed. We're just beginning to understand what exact function these cells have, but what it implies is that the brain is capable of extraordinary change way into adulthood. However, our brains are also exquisitely sensitive to stress in our environment. Stress hormones, glucocorticoids, released by the brain, suppress the growth of these new cells. The more stress, the less brain development, which in turn causes less adaptability and causes higher stress levels. This is the interplay between nature and nurture in real time in front of our eyes. When you think about it, it is ironic that our current solution for people with stressed amygdalae is to place them in an environment that actually inhibits any chance of further growth. Of course, imprisonment is a necessary part of the criminal justice system and of protecting society. Our research does not suggest that criminals should submit their MRI scans as evidence in court and get off the hook because they've got a faulty amygdala. The evidence is actually the other way. Because our brains are capable of change, we need to take responsibility for our actions, and they need to take responsibility for their rehabilitation. One way such rehabilitation might work is through restorative justice programs. Here victims, if they choose to participate, and perpetrators meet face to face in safe, structured encounters, and the perpetrator is encouraged to take responsibility for their actions, and the victim plays an active role in the process. In such a setting, the perpetrator can see, perhaps for the first time, the victim as a real person with thoughts and feelings and a genuine emotional response. This stimulates the amygdala and may be a more effective rehabilitative practice than simple incarceration. Such programs won't work for everyone, but for many, it could be a way to break the frozen sea within.
Sada je jasno da amigdala sisavaca, uključujući i primate, pokazuje neurogenezu. U nekim moždanim područjima, više od 20 posto stanica su novorođene. Tek počinjemo shvaćati kakvu funkciju ove stanice imaju, ali upućuju na to da je mozak sposoban za iznimne promjene u odrasloj dobi. Naš mozak je također izuzetno osjetljiv na stres u okolini. Hormoni stresa, glukokortikoidi, oslobođeni iz mozga potiskuju rast novih neurona. Više stresa znači manji razvoj mozga, što uzrokuje manju prilagodljivost i veću razinu stresa. To je interakcija prirode i odgoja u stvarnom vremenu pred nama. Kada bolje razmislite, ironično je da je trenutno rješenje za ljude s oštećenom amigdalom staviti ih u okruženje koje onemogućuje njezin daljnji rast. Zatvorska kazna je nužan dio kaznenog pravosudnog sustava te zaštite društva. Istraživanja ne upućuju da kriminalci trebaju podnijeti MRI kao dokaz na sudu i biti pušteni zbog neispravne amigdale. Dokaz upućuje na suprotno. Budući da je mozak promjenjiv, treba preuzeti odgovornost za vlastita djela a oni trebaju preuzeti odgovornost za svoju rehabilitaciju. Jedan način na koji bi rehabilitacija djelovala je kroz program popravne pravde. Žrtve koje odluče sudjelovati i počinitelji susreću se u sigurnim, osmišljenim susretima i počinitelj je potaknut da preuzme odgovornost za svoja djela te žrtva ima aktivnu ulogu u tom procesu. U takvom okruženju počinitelj može vidjeti, po prvi put, žrtvu kao stvarnu osobu s mislima i osjećajima i istinskim emocionalnim reakcijam. To stimulira amigdalu i možda je učinkovitiji rehabilitacijski postupak od obične zatvorske kazne. Takvi programi neće pomoći svakome, ali mnogima može pomoći osloboditi emocije kojih nisu svjesni.
So what can we do now? How can we apply this knowledge? I'd like to leave you with three lessons that I learned. The first thing that I learned was that we need to change our mindset. Since Wormwood Scrubs was built 130 years ago, society has advanced in virtually every aspect, in the way we run our schools, our hospitals. Yet the moment we speak about prisons, it's as though we're back in Dickensian times, if not medieval times. For too long, I believe, we've allowed ourselves to be persuaded of the false notion that human nature cannot change, and as a society, it's costing us dearly. We know that the brain is capable of extraordinary change, and the best way to achieve that, even in adults, is to change and modulate our environment.
Što možemo učiniti? Kako primjeniti stečeno znanje? Želio bih vam prenijeti tri lekcije koje sam naučio. Prvo što sam naučio je da moramo promijeniti način razmišljanja. Otkad je prije 130 godina sagrađen Wormwood Scrubs, društvo je napredovalo u gotovo svakom pogledu, u načinu kojim vodimo škole i bolnice. Ali kada spomenemo zatvore, kao da se vratimo u Dickensova vremena ili čak srednji vijek. Predugo, vjerujem, smo si dopustili biti uvjereni u lažnu ideju da se ljudska priroda ne može promijeniti, što nas je, kao društvo, skupo koštalo. Znamo da je mozak sposoban za iznimne promjene, a najbolji način za postignuće toga, čak i u odrasloj dobi, je da promjenimo našu okolinu.
The second thing I have learned is that we need to create an alliance of people who believe that science is integral to bringing about social change. It's easy enough for a neuroscientist to place a high-security inmate in an MRI scanner. Well actually, that turns out not to be so easy, but ultimately what we want to show is whether we're able to reduce the reoffending rates. In order to answer complex questions like that, we need people of different backgrounds -- lab-based scientists and clinicians, social workers and policy makers, philanthropists and human rights activists — to work together.
Druga stvar koju sam naučio je da trebamo stvoriti zajednicu ljudi koji vjeruju da je znanost sastavni dio za uspostavljanje društvene promjene. Jednostavno je neuroznanstvenicima postaviti visokoosiguranog zatvorenika u MRI skener. Iako se ispostavilo da nije tako lako, ali u konačnici želimo pokazati Jesmo li u stanju smanjiti stopu ponavljanja kaznenih djela. Kako bi odgovorili na to složeno pitanje, potrebno je da ljudi različitih kadrova -- laboranti i kliničari, socijalni radnici i političari, filantropisti i borci za ljudska prava rade zajedno.
Finally, I believe we need to change our own amygdalae, because this issue goes to the heart not just of who Joe is, but who we are. We need to change our view of Joe as someone wholly irredeemable, because if we see Joe as wholly irredeemable, how is he going to see himself as any different? In another decade, Joe will be released from Wormwood Scrubs. Will he be among the 70 percent of inmates who end up reoffending and returning to the prison system? Wouldn't it be better if, while serving his sentence, Joe was able to train his amygdala, which would stimulate the growth of new brain cells and connections, so that he will be able to face the world once he gets released? Surely, that would be in the interest of all of us.
Smatram da trebamo promijeniti vlastite amigdale, jer problem je u srži ne samo Joa, nego i nas samih. Trebamo promijeniti pogleda na Joa kao beznadne osobe, jer ako ga vidimo beznadnim kako će on sebe vidjeti drugačijim? Za deset godina Joe će biti pušten iz Wormwood Scrubsa. Hoće li biti među 70 posto zatvorenika koji su ponovno počinili zlodjela i vratiti se u zatvor? Ne bi li bilo bolje da, dok služi svoju kaznu, bude u mogućnosti osposobiti svoju amigdalu što će stimulirati rast novih neurona i neuronskih veza, kako bi se mogao suočiti sa svijetom nakon što ga oslobode? To bi bilo u interesu svih nas.
(Applause) Thank you. (Applause)
(Pljesak) Hvala lijepa. (Pljesak)