The brain is an amazing and complex organ. And while many people are fascinated by the brain, they can't really tell you that much about the properties about how the brain works because we don't teach neuroscience in schools.
O cerebro é un órgano asombroso e complexo. E aínda que a algunhas persoas lles fascina o cerebro, non poden dicir moito sobre as súas propiedades, sobre como traballa porque a neurociencia non se ensina nas escolas.
And one of the reasons why is that the equipment is so complex and so expensive that it's really only done at major universities and large institutions. And so in order to be able to access the brain, you really need to dedicate your life and spend six and a half years as a graduate student just to become a neuroscientist to get access to these tools.
E unha das razóns polas que isto ocorre é que o equipamento é tan complexo e tan caro que só se emprega nas grandes universidades e institucións. Así que, para poder acceder ao cerebro, precisas dedicar a túa vida e pasar seis anos e medio como estudante de posgrao para ser neurocientífico e ter acceso a estas ferramentas.
And that's a shame because one out of five of us, that's 20 percent of the entire world, will have a neurological disorder. And there are zero cures for these diseases. And so it seems that what we should be doing is reaching back earlier in the eduction process and teaching students about neuroscience so that in the future, they may be thinking about possibly becoming a brain scientist.
E iso é unha pena xa que unha de cada cinco persoas, o 20% de todo o mundo, padecerá unha enfermidade neurolóxica. E non existen curas para estas enfermidades. Por iso, ó mellor o que deberiamos facer é comezar antes o proceso de educación e ensinarlles neurociencia aos estudantes para que no futuro poidan pensar na posibilidade de converterse en neurocientíficos.
When I was a graduate student, my lab mate Tim Marzullo and myself, decided that what if we took this complex equipment that we have for studying the brain and made it simple enough and affordable enough that anyone that you know, an amateur or a high school student, could learn and actually participate in the discovery of neuroscience.
Cando era estudante de posgrao, o meu compañeiro Tim Marzullo e eu pensamos que deberiamos coller este complexo equipamento que tiñamos para estudar o cerebro e simplificalo e abaratalo o suficiente como para que calquera afeccionado ou un estudante de ensino medio, puidese aprender e participar no descubrimento da neurociencia.
And so we did just that. A few years ago, we started a company called Backyard Brains and we make DIY neuroscience equipment and I brought some here tonight, and I want to do some demonstrations. You guys want to see some?
E así o fixemos. Hai uns anos, fundamos unha compañía chamada Backyard Brains que ofrece uns kits domésticos de equipamento neurocientífico que trouxen hoxe aquí para facer algunhas demostracións. Querédelos ver?
So I need a volunteer. So right before -- what is your name? (Applause) Sam Kelly: Sam. Greg Gage: All right, Sam, I'm going to record from your brain. Have you had this before? SK: No. GG: I need you to stick out your arm for science, roll up your sleeve a bit, So what I'm going to do, I'm putting electrodes on your arm, and you're probably wondering, I just said I'm going to record from your brain, what am I doing with your arm?
Necesito un voluntario. Antes de nada-- cal é o teu nome? (Aplausos) Sam Kelly: Sam. Greg Gage: Vale, Sam, vou gravar o teu cerebro. Fixéchelo algunha vez? SK: Non. GG: Necesito que ergas o brazo para a ciencia, refúcete un pouco. O que vou facer é pórche eléctrodos no brazo, e ti preguntaraste, dixeches que me ías gravar o cerebro, que fas co meu brazo?
Well, you have about 80 billion neurons inside your brain right now. They're sending electrical messages back and forth, and chemical messages. But some of your neurons right here in your motor cortex are going to send messages down when you move your arm like this. They're going to go down across your corpus callosum, down onto your spinal cord to your lower motor neuron out to your muscles here, and that electrical discharge is going to be picked up by these electrodes right here and we're going to be able to listen to exactly what your brain is going to be doing. So I'm going to turn this on for a second.
Tes uns oitenta mil millóns de neuronas no cerebro agora mesmo. Están mandando dun lado para outro mensaxes eléctricas e químicas. Pero algunhas das túas neuronas situadas no teu córtex motor enviarán mensaxes cando movas o brazo deste xeito. Baixarán polo teu corpo caloso, pasando pola medula espiñal ata a neurona motora inferior ata os músculos aquí, e esa descarga eléctrica será recollida por estes eléctrodos. Deste xeito poderemos escoitar exactamente o que o teu cerebro estará facendo. Vou prender isto un momento...
Have you ever heard what your brain sounds like? SK: No. GG: Let's try it out. So go ahead and squeeze your hand. (Rumbling) So what you're listening to, so this is your motor units happening right here. Let's take a look at it as well. So I'm going to stand over here, and I'm going to open up our app here. So now I want you to squeeze. (Rumbling)
Algunha vez escoitaches o teu cerebro? SK: Non. GG: Imos probar. Aperta o puño. (Ruído) O que estás escoitando (Ruído) é a túa unidade motora traballando. Ímoslle botar un ollo. Eu vou quedar aquí, vou abrir a nosa aplicación. Agora aperta. (Ruído)
So right here, these are the motor units that are happening from her spinal cord out to her muscle right here, and as she's doing it, you're seeing the electrical activity that's happening here. You can even click here and try to see one of them. So keep doing it really hard. So now we've paused on one motor action potential that's happening right now inside of your brain.
Estas son as unidades motoras que xorden da súa medula espiñal ata o seu músculo aquí, e mentres fai iso, vemos a actividade eléctrica que se xera. Ata podemos facer clic para ver unha delas. Sigue apertando forte. Ímonos deter nun potencial de acción motora que se está producindo agora mesmo no teu cerebro. Queredes ver máis?
Do you guys want to see some more? (Applause) That's interesting, but let's get it better. I need one more volunteer. What is your name, sir? Miguel Goncalves: Miguel. GG: Miguel, all right. You're going to stand right here. So when you're moving your arm like this, your brain is sending a signal down to your muscles right here. I want you to move your arm as well. So your brain is going to send a signal down to your muscles. And so it turns out that there is a nerve that's right here that runs up here that innervates these three fingers, and it's close enough to the skin that we might be able to stimulate that so that what we can do is copy your brain signals going out to your hand and inject it into your hand, so that your hand will move when your brain tells your hand to move. So in a sense, she will take away your free will and you will no longer have any control over this hand. You with me?
(Aplausos) Isto foi interesante, pero vai ser aínda mellor. Preciso outro voluntario. Como te chamas? Miguel Goncalves: Miguel. GG: Miguel, de acordo. Vaste colocar aquí. Cando moves o brazo deste xeito o teu cerebro está enviando un sinal aos músculos. Move ti tamén o brazo. O teu cerebro vaille mandar un sinal aos teus músculos. E resulta que xusto aquí hai un nervio que baixa por aquí e inerva estes tres dedos e está tan preto da pel que podemos estimulalo, o que nos permite copiar os sinais que van do teu cerebro á túa man e transferilos á túa man, de xeito que a túa man moverase cando o teu cerebro llo diga. En certo sentido, ela quitarache o teu libre albedrío e non terás ningún control sobre a túa propia man. Estás listo?
So I just need to hook you up. (Laughter) So I'm going to find your ulnar nerve, which is probably right around here. You don't know what you're signing up for when you come up. So now I'm going to move away and we're going to plug it in to our human-to-human interface over here.
Só teño que conectarte. (Risas) Vou buscar o teu nervio ulnar, que debería estar por aquí. Non sabías no que te estabas metendo cando subiches. Agora voume apartar e ímonos conectar á interface humano-a-humano.
Okay, so Sam, I want you to squeeze your hand again. Do it again. Perfect. So now I'm going to hook you up over here so that you get the -- It's going to feel a little bit weird at first, this is going to feel like a -- (Laughter) You know, when you lose your free will, and someone else becomes your agent, it does feel a bit strange.
Entón, Sam, quero que apertes a man outra vez. Outra vez. Perfecto. Agora voute conectar para que recibas o-- É algo raro ó principio, é como se-- (Risas) Cando perdes a túa liberdade de decisión, e outra persoa se converte no teu portavoz é unha cousa un pouco rara.
Now I want you to relax your hand. Sam, you're with me? So you're going to squeeze. I'm not going to turn it on yet, so go ahead and give it a squeeze.
Agora quero que relaxes a man. Sam, estás lista? Aperta a man. Non o vou acender aínda, así que aperta sen medo.
So now, are you ready, Miguel? MG: Ready as I'll ever be. GG: I've turned it on, so go ahead and turn your hand. Do you feel that a little bit? MG: Nope. GG: Okay, do it again? MG: A little bit. GG: A little bit? (Laughter) So relax. So hit it again. (Laughter) Oh, perfect, perfect. So relax, do it again.
Estás listo, Miguel? MG: Todo o preparado que poida estar. GG: Acabo de acendelo, así que aperta a man. Sentes algo? MG: Non. GG: Vale, dálle outra vez. MG: Agora un pouco. GG: Un pouco? (Risas) Reláxate. Dobra outra vez. (Risas). Perfecto, perfecto. Reláxate, faino outra vez.
All right, so right now, your brain is controlling your arm and it's also controlling his arm, so go ahead and just do it one more time. All right, so it's perfect. (Laughter)
Vale, agora, (Risas) o teu cerebro está controlando o teu brazo e tamén controla o seu, así que dálle unha vez máis. Moi ben, está perfecto. (Risas)
So now, what would happen if I took over my control of your hand? And so, just relax your hand. What happens? Ah, nothing. Why not? Because the brain has to do it. So you do it again. All right, that's perfect.
E agora que pasaría se eu tomara o control da túa man? Ti simplemente relaxa a man. Que ocorre? Nada. Por que? Porque o ten que facer o cerebro. Así que faino outra vez. Iso é, perfecto.
Thank you guys for being such a good sport. This is what's happening all across the world -- electrophysiology! We're going to bring on the neuro-revolution.
Grazas aos dous pola vosa colaboración. Isto é o que está pasando por todo o mundo-- electrofisioloxía! Imos conseguir a neurorrevolución.
Thank you.
Grazas.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)