We see with the eyes, but we see with the brain as well. And seeing with the brain is often called imagination. And we are familiar with the landscapes of our own imagination, our inscapes. We've lived with them all our lives. But there are also hallucinations as well. And hallucinations are completely different. They don't seem to be of our creation. They don't seem to be under control. They seem to come from the outside and to mimic perception.
Vemos cos ollos, mais tamén vemos co cerebro. Ver co cerebro é o que chamamos imaxinación. E estamos familiarizados coas paisaxes da nosa propia imaxinación, coas nosas paisaxes interiores. Vivimos con elas toda a vida. Mais tamén hai alucinacións, e as alucinacións son completamente diferentes. Non parecen creacións nosas. Non parecen estar baixo o noso control. Parecen vir de fóra,
So I am going to be talking about hallucinations
e imitar a percepción.
and a particular sort of visual hallucination, which I see among my patients. A few months ago, I got a phone call from a nursing home where I work. They told me that one of their residents, an old lady in her 90s, was seeing things, and they wondered if she'd gone bonkers or, because she was an old lady, whether she'd had a stroke, or whether she had Alzheimer's.
Así que vou falar sobre alucinacións, e sobre un tipo particular de alucinacións visuais que vexo entre os meus pacientes. Hai uns meses, recibín unha chamada dunha residencia de anciáns onde traballo. Dixéronme que un dos residentes, unha muller duns 90 anos, estaba a ver cousas e preguntábanse se estaba toleando ou, como era unha señora maior, se tivera un ictus ou se tería Alzheimer.
And so they asked me if I would come and see Rosalie, the old lady. I went in to see her. It was evident straightaway that she was perfectly sane and lucid and of good intelligence, but she'd been very startled and very bewildered, because she'd been seeing things. And she told me -- the nurses hadn't mentioned this -- that she was blind, that she had been completely blind from macular degeneration for five years. But now, for the last few days, she'd been seeing things.
Así que me pediron que me achegase a ver a Rosalie, a señora maior. Fun vela. A primeira cousa evidente era que estaba perfectamente corda e lúcida e que era intelixente, pero estaba moi asustada e perplexa, porque estivera a ver cousas. Díxome - os enfermeiros non o mencionaran- que era cega, que levaba cinco anos completamente cega por dexeneración macular. Pero nos últimos días, vía cousas.
So I said, "What sort of things?" And she said, "People in Eastern dress, in drapes, walking up and down stairs. A man who turns towards me and smiles, but he has huge teeth on one side of his mouth. Animals too. I see a white building. It's snowing, a soft snow. I see this horse with a harness, dragging the snow away. Then, one night, the scene changes. I see cats and dogs walking towards me. They come to a certain point and then stop. Then it changes again. I see a lot of children. They're walking up and down stairs. They wear bright colors, rose and blue, like Eastern dress."
Así que lle preguntei: "Que tipo de cousas?" E dixo: "Xente con traxes orientais e roupaxes, subindo e baixando escaleiras. Un home que se volve cara a min e sorrí. Pero ten dentes enormes nun lado da boca. Tamén vexo animais. E un edificio branco. Está nevando, unha neve maina. Vexo un cabalo cun arnés, arrastrando a neve. Logo, unha noite, a escena cambia. Vexo gatos e cans camiñando cara a min. Achéganse ata un punto e logo paran. Entón cambia outra vez. Vexo un montón de nenos. están subindo e baixando escaleiras. Visten cores brillantes, rosa e azul, coma os traxes orientais."
Sometimes, she said, before the people come on, she may hallucinate pink and blue squares on the floor, which seem to go up to the ceiling. I said, "Is this like a dream?" And she said, "No, it's not like a dream. It's like a movie." She said, "It's got color. It's got motion. But it's completely silent, like a silent movie." And she said it's a rather boring movie.
Díxome que, ás veces, antes de que chegara a xente, podía alucinar con cadros rosas e azuis no chan, que parecían subir ata o ceo. Pregunteille: "É coma un soño?" E dixo: "Non, non é coma un soño. É coma unha película. Ten cor. Ten movemento. Pero é completamente silenciosa, coma unha película muda." Dixo que era unha película bastante aburrida.
(Laughter)
"Toda esa xente con traxes orientais,
She said, "All these people with Eastern dress, walking up and down, very repetitive, very limited."
subindo e baixando, moi repetitivo, moi limitado."
(Laughter)
(Risos)
And she had a sense of humor. She knew it was a hallucination, but she was frightened. She had lived 95 years, and she'd never had a hallucination before. She said that the hallucinations were unrelated to anything she was thinking or feeling or doing, that they seemed to come on by themselves, or disappear. She had no control over them. She said she didn't recognize any of the people or places in the hallucinations, and none of the people or the animals -- well, they all seemed oblivious of her. And she didn't know what was going on. She wondered if she was going mad or losing her mind.
Ten sentido do humor. Ela sabía que era unha alucinación. Pero estaba asustada. Vivira 95 anos e nunca antes tivera unha alucinación. Dixo que as alucinacións non estaban relacionadas con nada que ela pensara ou sentira ou fixera, que parecían chegar ou desaparecer por si mesmas. Non tiña control sobre elas. Non recoñecía ningunha das persoas ou dos lugares nas alucinacións. E ningunha das persoas ou dos animais, parecían ser conscientes dela. E ela non sabía o que ocorría. Preguntábase se estaría volvéndose tola ou perdendo a cabeza.
Well, I examined her carefully. She was a bright old lady, perfectly sane. She had no medical problems. She wasn't on any medications which could produce hallucinations. But she was blind. And I then said to her, "I think I know what you have." I said, "There is a special form of visual hallucination which may go with deteriorating vision or blindness. This was originally described," I said, "right back in the 18th century, by a man called Charles Bonnet. And you have Charles Bonnet syndrome. There's nothing wrong with your brain. There's nothing wrong with your mind. You have Charles Bonnet syndrome."
Ben, examineina coidadosamente. Era unha anciá brillante, perfectamente corda. Non tiña problemas médicos. Non tomaba ningunha medicación que lle puidera producir alucinacións. Pero estaba cega. Entón díxenlle: "Creo que sei o que ten. Hai unha forma especial de alucinación visual que se dá coa dexeneración da vista ou coa cegueira. Foi descrito por primeira vez, alá polo século XVIII, por un home chamado Charles Bonnet. E vostede ten a síndrome de Charles Bonnet. Non ten ningún problema cerebral. Non ten ningún problema mental. Vostede ten a síndrome de Charles Bonnet."
And she was very relieved at this, that there was nothing seriously the matter, and also rather curious. She said, "Who is this Charles Bonnet?" She said, "Did he have them himself?" And she said, "Tell all the nurses that I have Charles Bonnet syndrome."
Ela sentiuse moi aliviada ao oílo, ao saber que non era nada grave, e tamén sentíu curiosidade. Dixo: "Quen era ese Charles Bonnet?, el tamén o tivo?" E dixo: "Dígalles aos enfermeiros
(Laughter)
que teño a síndrome de Charles Bonnet."
"I'm not crazy. I'm not demented. I have Charles Bonnet syndrome." Well, so, I did tell the nurses.
(Risos) "Non estou tola. Non teño demencia. Teño a síndrome de Charles Bonnet." Así que llelo dixen aos enfermeiros.
Now this, for me, is a common situation. I work in old-age homes, largely. I see a lot of elderly people who are hearing-impaired or visually impaired. About 10 percent of the hearing-impaired people get musical hallucinations. And about 10 percent of the visually impaired people get visual hallucinations. You don't have to be completely blind, only sufficiently impaired.
Isto, para min, é algo habitual. Traballo, principalmente, en residencias de anciáns. Vexo un montón de persoas maiores con dificultades auditivas ou visuais. Preto do 10 % das persoas con problemas auditivos teñen alucinacións musicais. E preto do 10 % das persoas con problemas visuais teñen alucinacións visuais. Non é preciso estar completamente cego, abonda con ter a vista moi afectada.
Now, with the original description in the 18th century, Charles Bonnet did not have them. His grandfather had these hallucinations. His grandfather was a magistrate, an elderly man. He'd had cataract surgery. His vision was pretty poor. And in 1759, he described to his grandson various things he was seeing.
Segundo a descrición orixinal do século XVIII, Charles Bonnet non tivo alucinancións. Foi o seu avó quen as tivo. O seu avó era maxistrado, un home ancián. Operárano de cataratas. A súa visión era moi pobre. E en 1759, describiulle ao seu neto varias cousas que estaba vendo.
The first thing he said was he saw a handkerchief in midair. It was a large blue handkerchief with four orange circles. And he knew it was a hallucination. You don't have handkerchiefs in midair. And then he saw a big wheel in midair. But sometimes he wasn't sure whether he was hallucinating or not, because the hallucinations would fit in the context of the visions. So on one occasion, when his granddaughters were visiting them, he said, "And who are these handsome young men with you?"
A primeira cousa que dixo que vía era un pano no medio do aire. Era un pano grande e azul con catro círculos laranxas. El sabía que era unha alucinación. Non hai panos no medio do aire. E despois viu unha roda grande no aire. Pero ás veces non estaba seguro de se estaba alucinando ou non, porque as alucinación cadraban co contexto das visións. Nunha ocasión, cando os seus netos estaban de visita, dixo: "E quen son eses guapos mozos que están convosco?"
(Laughter)
E responderon: Ai, avó, non hai ningún mozo guapo."
And they said, "Alas, Grandpapa, there are no handsome young men." And then the handsome young men disappeared. It's typical of these hallucinations that they may come in a flash and disappear in a flash. They don't usually fade in and out. They are rather sudden, and they change suddenly.
Entón, os mozos guapos desapareceron. É típico desas alucinacións, aparecen nun intre e desaparecen noutro. Normalmente non se esvaecen. Son bastante repentinas e cambian de súpeto.
Charles Lullin, the grandfather, saw hundreds of different figures, different landscapes of all sorts. On one occasion, he saw a man in a bathrobe smoking a pipe, and realized it was himself. That was the only figure he recognized. On one occasion, when he was walking in the streets of Paris, he saw -- this was real -- a scaffolding. But when he got back home, he saw a miniature of the scaffolding, six inches high, on his study table. This repetition of perception is sometimes called "palinopsia."
Charles Lullin, o avó, viu centos de figuras diferentes, paisaxes de todos os tipos. Nunha ocasión, viu un home en albornoz fumando en pipa, e deuse conta de que era el mesmo. Esa foi a única figura que recoñeceu. Nunha ocasión, cando camiñaba polas rúas de París, viu, isto era real, un andamio. Pero cando volveu á casa, viu unha miniatura do andamio de 15 cm de alto, no seu escritorio. Esta repetición da percepción denomínase palinopsia.
With him and with Rosalie, what seems to be going on -- and Rosalie said, "What's going on?" -- and I said that as you lose vision, as the visual parts of the brain are no longer getting any input, they become hyperactive and excitable, and they start to fire spontaneously. And you start to see things. The things you see can be very complicated indeed.
Ben, que estaba a ocorrerlles a el e a Rosalie? "Que está pasando?" preguntoume Rosalie. E expliqueille que cando un perde a visión, como as áreas visuais do cerebro xa non reciben ningún estímulo, vólvense hiperactivas e excitables e comezan a disparar espontaneamente. E un comeza a ver cousas. De feito poden verse cousas bastante complexas.
With another patient of mine who also had some vision, the visions she had could be disturbing. On one occasion, she said she saw a man in a striped shirt in a restaurant. And he turned round, and then he divided into six figures in striped shirts, who started walking towards her. And then the six figures came together, like a concertina. Once, when she was driving, or rather, her husband was driving, the road divided into four and she felt herself going simultaneously up four roads.
Outra paciente miña, que tamén tiña algo de vista, sufría visións que podían ser perturbadoras. Nunha ocasión, dixo que vía un home cunha camisa de raias nun restaurante. E que daba a volta. Entón dividiuse en seis figuras con camisas de raias, que comezaron a camiñar cara a ela. E despois, as seis figuras xuntáronse outra vez coma un acordeón. Unha vez, cando estaba conducindo, ou máis ben, o seu esposo estaba conducindo, a estrada dividiuse en catro e ela sentiuse a si mesma indo asemade polas catro estradas.
She had very mobile hallucinations as well. A lot of them had to do with a car. Sometimes she would see a teenage boy sitting on the hood of the car. He was very tenacious, and he moved rather gracefully when the car turned. And then when they came to a stop, the boy would do a sudden vertical takeoff, 100 foot in the air, and then disappear.
Tiña alucinacións de movemento tamén. Moitas tiñan que ver cun coche. Ás veces, vía un rapaz adolescente sentado no capó do coche. Era moi resolto e movíase con bastante graza cando o coche xiraba. E cando chegaban a un stop, o rapaz levantábase de súpeto 30 m no aire, e desaparecía.
Another patient of mine had a different sort of hallucination. This was a woman who didn't have trouble with her eyes but the visual parts of her brain, a little tumor in the occipital cortex. And, above all, she would see cartoons. And these cartoons would be transparent, and would cover half the visual field, like a screen. And especially, she saw cartoons of Kermit the Frog.
Outra paciente miña tiña un tipo diferente de alucinacións. Esta era unha muller que non tiña problemas cos ollos, senón coas partes visuais do cerebro, un pequeno tumor no córtex occipital. E ela vía, sobre todo, debuxos animados. Estes debuxos eran transparentes e cubrían a metade do campo visual, coma unha pantalla. E vía, sobre todo, debuxos da Ra Gustavo.
(Laughter)
(Risos)
Now, I don't watch Sesame Street, but she made a point of saying, "Why Kermit?" she said, "Kermit the Frog means nothing to me." You know, I was wondering about Freudian determinants: Why Kermit? "Kermit the Frog means nothing to me."
Ben, eu non vexo Barrio Sésamo, pero ela salientou: "Por que Gustavo?", "A Ra Gustavo non significa nada para min. Sabe, estaba preguntándome sobre os determinantes Freudianos. Por que Gustavo? A Ra Gustavo non significa nada para min."
She didn't mind the cartoons too much. But what did disturb her was she got very persistent images or hallucinations of faces, and as with Rosalie, the faces were often deformed, with very large teeth or very large eyes. And these frightened her. Well, what is going on with these people? As a physician, I have to try and define what's going on and to reassure people, especially to reassure them that they're not going insane.
A ela non lle molestaban moito os debuxos animados. Pero o que si a incomodaba era ter imaxes ou alucinacións moi persistentes de caras e, coma Rosalie, as caras estaban a miúdo deformadas, con dentes moi longos ou ollos moi grandes. E isto asustábaa. Ben, que ocorre con esta xente? Como médico, teño intentado explicar que ocorre e tranquilizar as persoas, especialmente para asegurarlles que non se están volvendo tolas.
Something like 10 percent, as I said, of visually impaired people get these. But no more than one percent of the people acknowledge them, because they are afraid they will be seen as insane or something. And if they do mention them to their own doctors, they may be misdiagnosed.
Como dixen, preto do 10 % de xente con dificultades visuais sofre alucinacións. Pero só o recoñece o 1 % das persoas, porque teñen medo de que as vexan como tolas ou algo así. E se llo mencionan ao seu médico poden acabar cun diagnóstico errado.
In particular, the notion is that if you see things or hear things, you're going mad. But the psychotic hallucinations are quite different. Psychotic hallucinations, whether they are visual or vocal, they address you. They accuse you, they seduce you, they humiliate you, they jeer at you. You interact with them. There is none of this quality of being addressed with these Charles Bonnet hallucinations. There is a film. You're seeing a film which has nothing to do with you -- or that's how people think about it.
En concreto, a idea é que se vemos cousas ou oímos cousas, estamos volvéndonos tolos, pero as alucinacións psicóticas son bastante diferentes. As alucinacións psicóticas, xa for visuais ou de voces, diríxense a nós. Acúsannos. Sedúcennos. Humíllannos. Búrlanse de nós. Interactuamos con elas. Non hai nada desa cualidade de dirixirse a nós nestas alucinacións de Charles Bonnet. É coma unha película. Vemos unha película que non ten nada que ver connosco, ou iso é o que a xente cre.
There is also a rare thing called temporal lobe epilepsy, and sometimes, if one has this, one may feel oneself transported back to a time and place in the past. You're at a particular road junction. You smell chestnuts roasting. You hear the traffic. All the senses are involved. And you're waiting for your girl. And it's that Tuesday evening back in 1982. The temporal lobe hallucinations are all sense hallucinations, full of feeling, full of familiarity, located in space and time, coherent, dramatic. The Charles Bonnet ones are quite different.
Outra cousa pouco habitual é a epilepsia do lóbulo temporal e, ás veces, se un a sofre, pode sentirse transportado a un tempo ou a un lugar do pasado. Estamos nun cruzamento de estradas concreto. Ulimos castañas asadas. Oímos o tráfico. Todos os sentidos están involucrados. E estamos agardando pola nosa moza. E é ese martes pola tarde en 1982. As alucinacións do lóbulo temporal son alucinacións de todos os sentidos, cheas de sensacións, de familiaridade, localizadas no espazo e no tempo, coherentes, efectistas. As de Charles Bonnet son bastante diferentes.
In the Charles Bonnet hallucinations, you have all sorts of levels, from the geometrical hallucinations -- the pink and blue squares the woman had -- up to quite elaborate hallucinations with figures and especially faces. Faces, and sometimes deformed faces, are the single commonest thing in these hallucinations. And one of the second commonest is cartoons.
Nas alucinacións de Charles Bonnet, temos todo tipo de niveis, desde as alucinacións xeométricas, os cadros rosas e azuis que tiña a muller, ata alucinacións moi elaboradas con figuras e especialmente caras. E ás veces as caras deformadas, son a forma máis común desas alucinacións. E a segunda forma máis común son os debuxos animados.
So, what is going on? Fascinatingly, in the last few years, it's been possible to do functional brain imagery, to do fMRI on people as they are hallucinating, and, in fact, to find that different parts of the visual brain are activated as they are hallucinating. When people have these simple, geometrical hallucinations, the primary visual cortex is activated. This is the part of the brain which perceives edges and patterns. You don't form images with your primary visual cortex.
Daquela, que está pasando? De xeito fascinante, nos últimos anos, foi posible facer imaxes funcionais do cerebro, facer resonancias magnéticas funcionais mentres as persoas alucinaban. E, de feito, atopáronse as diferentes partes do cerebro visual que se activaban mentres estaban sufrindo alucinacións. Cando as persoas teñen estas alucinacións xeométricas simples, está activado o córtex visual primario. Esta é a parte do cerebro que percibe bordos e patróns. Non formamos imaxes co noso córtex visual primario.
When images are formed, a higher part of the visual cortex is involved, in the temporal lobe. And in particular, one area of the temporal lobe is called the fusiform gyrus. And it's known that if people have damage in the fusiform gyrus, they may lose the ability to recognize faces. But if there's an abnormal activity in the fusiform gyrus, they may hallucinate faces, and this is exactly what you find in some of these people. There is an area in the anterior part of this gyrus where teeth and eyes are represented, and that part of the gyrus is activated when people get the deformed hallucinations.
As imaxes fórmanse, na parte do córtex visual situado no lóbulo temporal. E, en particular, nunha área do lóbulo temporal chamada xiro fusiforme. E sábese que a xente que ten danado o xiro fusiforme, pode perder a capacidade para recoñecer caras. Pero se hai unha actividade anormal no xiro fusiforme, pode ter alucinacións de caras. Isto é exactamente o que atopamos nalgunhas destas persoas. Hai unha área na parte anterior deste xiro onde se representan os dentes e os ollos e esa parte do xiro actívase cando a xente ten as alucinacións deformadas.
There is another part of the brain which is especially activated when one sees cartoons. It's activated when one recognizes cartoons, when one draws cartoons and when one hallucinates them. It's very interesting that that should be specific. There are other parts of the brain which are specifically involved with the recognition and hallucination of buildings and landscapes.
Hai outra parte do cerebro que se activa especialmente cando vemos debuxos animados. Actívase cando recoñecemos debuxos animados, cando os debuxamos e cando alucinamos con eles. É moi interesante esa especificidade. Hai outras partes do cerebro que están implicadas especificamente no recoñecemento e na alucinación
Around 1970, it was found that there were not only parts of the brain,
de edificios e paisaxes.
but particular cells. "Face cells" were discovered around 1970. And now we know that there are hundreds of other sorts of cells, which can be very, very specific. So you may not only have "car" cells, you may have "Aston Martin" cells.
Ao redor de 1970, descubriuse que non só eran partes do cerebro, senón células particulares. As "células cara" foron descobertas ao redor de 1970. E agora sabemos que hai centos doutros tipos de células, que poden ser moi, moi específicas. Así que podemos ter non só células "coche", tamén podemos ter células "Aston Martin".
(Laughter)
(Risos)
I saw an Aston Martin this morning. I had to bring it in.
Vin un Aston Martin esta mañá.
(Laughter)
Tiña que contalo.
And now it's in there, somewhere. So --
E agora está nalgures aquí dentro. (Risos)
(Laughter)
Ben, neste nivel, que chamamos córtex temporal inferior,
now, at this level, in what's called the inferotemporal cortex, there are only visual images, or figments or fragments. It's only at higher levels that the other senses join in and there are connections with memory and emotion. And in the Charles Bonnet syndrome, you don't go to those higher levels. You're in these levels of inferior visual cortex, where you have thousands and tens of thousands and millions of images, or figments or fragmentary figments, all neurally encoded in particular cells or small clusters of cells.
só hai imaxes visuais, ou representacións ou fragmentos. É só nos niveis máis altos cando se unen aos outros sentidos e se conectan coa memoria e a emoción. E na síndrome de Charles Bonnet, non se chega a eses niveis superiores. Quedamos nos niveis do córtex visual inferior onde hai miles e decenas de miles e millóns de imaxes, ou representacións fragmentadas, todas codificadas neuralmente en células particulares ou en pequenos acios de células.
Normally, these are all part of the integrated stream of perception, or imagination, and one is not conscious of them. It is only if one is visually impaired or blind that the process is interrupted. And instead of getting normal perception, you're getting an anarchic, convulsive stimulation, or release, of all of these visual cells in the inferotemporal cortex. So, suddenly, you see a face. Suddenly, you see a car. Suddenly this and suddenly that. The mind does its best to organize and to give some sort of coherence to this, but not terribly successfully.
Normalmente, todas elas forman parte do caudal integrado da percepción, ou da imaxinación, e ninguén é consciente delas. Só se un ten dificultades visuais ou está cego interrómpese o proceso. E, en vez de ter unha percepción normal, prodúcese unha estimulación ou liberación, anárquica e convulsiva, de todas estas células visuais no córtex temporal inferior. Así, de súpeto, vemos unha cara. De súpeto vemos un coche. De súpeto isto e de súpeto aquilo. A mente fai o que pode para organizar e darlle algún tipo de coherencia a isto pero non ten moito éxito.
When these were first described, it was thought that they could be interpreted like dreams. But, in fact, people say, "I don't recognize the people. I can't form any associations. Kermit means nothing to me." You don't get anywhere, thinking of them as dreams.
Cando se describiron estes casos por primeira vez, pensouse que poderían ser interpretados como soños. Pero, en realidade, a xente di: "Non recoñezo as persoas. Non podo facer ningunha asociación." "Gustavo non significa nada para min." Non imos a ningún lado pensando nelas como en soños.
Well, I've more or less said what I wanted. I think I just want to recapitulate and say this is common. Think of the number of blind people. There must be hundreds of thousands of blind people who have these hallucinations but are too scared to mention them. So this sort of thing needs to be brought into notice, for patients, for doctors, for the public. Finally, I think they are infinitely interesting and valuable, for giving one some insight as to how the brain works.
Ben, máis ou menos xa dixen o que quería. Penso que só me queda recapitular e decir que isto é común. Pensemos na cantidade de persoas cegas. Debe haber centos de miles de persoas cegas que teñen estas alucinacións, pero están moi asustadas para mencionalas. Así que este tipo de cousas precisa divulgación para os pacientes, para os médicos, para o público. Finalmente, creo que son infinitamente interesantes e valiosas, porque nos axudan a entender como funciona o cerebro.
Charles Bonnet said, 250 years ago -- he wondered how, thinking of these hallucinations, how, as he put it, the theater of the mind could be generated by the machinery of the brain. Now, 250 years later, I think we're beginning to glimpse how this is done. Thanks very much.
Charles Bonnet preguntouse, hai 250 anos, pensando nesas alucinacións, 'o teatro da mente', nas súas palabras, como poderían ser xeradas pola maquinaria do cerebro. Agora, 250 anos despois, penso que estamos comezando a entrever como o fai. Moitas grazas.
(Applause)
(Aplauso)
Chris Anderson: That was superb. Thank you so much. You speak about these things with so much insight and empathy for your patients. Have you yourself experienced any of the syndromes you write about?
Chris Anderson: Foi magnífico. Moitas grazas. Falou desas cousas con tanta perspicacia e tanta empatía cara aos seus pacientes. Vostede experimentou algunhas das síndromes que describe?
Oliver Sacks: I was afraid you would ask that.
Oliver Sacks: Temía que me preguntase iso.
(Laughter)
(Risos)
Well, yeah, a lot of them. And, actually, I'm a little visually impaired myself. I'm blind in one eye and not terribly good in the other. And I see the geometrical hallucinations. But they stop there.
Ben, si, un montón delas. En realidade, teño algunhas dificultades visuais. Estou cego dun ollo e non vexo moi ben do outro. E teño alucinacións xeométricas. Pero paran aí.
CA: And they don't disturb you? Because you understand what's doing it, it doesn't make you worried?
CA: E non lle molestan? Porque vostede entende o que ocorre, non lle preocupa?
OS: Well, they don't disturb me any more than my tinnitus, which I ignore. They occasionally interest me, and I have many pictures of them in my notebooks. I've gone and had an fMRI myself, to see how my visual cortex is ticking over. And when I see all these hexagons and complex things, which I also have, in visual migraine, I wonder whether everyone sees things like this and whether things like cave art or ornamental art may have been derived from them a bit.
OS: Ben, non me molestan máis que o meu acúfeno, - o pitido do oido- que ignoro. De cando en vez interésanme, e teño moitos debuxos deles nos meus cadernos. Fixen unha resonancia magnética funcional para ver como funciona o meu córtex visual. E cando vexo todos eses hexágonos e outras cousas complexas, durante a xaqueca, pregúntome se todo o mundo ve cousas así e se cousas como a arte das cavernas ou a arte ornamental poderían derivar un pouco disto.
CA: That was an utterly, utterly fascinating talk. Thank you so much for sharing.
CA: Esta foi unha charla total e absolutamente fascinante. Moitas grazas por compartila.
OS: Thank you. Thank you.
OS: Grazas, grazas.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)