I'd like to talk to you today about the human brain, which is what we do research on at the University of California. Just think about this problem for a second. Here is a lump of flesh, about three pounds, which you can hold in the palm of your hand. But it can contemplate the vastness of interstellar space. It can contemplate the meaning of infinity, ask questions about the meaning of its own existence, about the nature of God.
Želeo bih danas da vam govorim o ljudskom mozgu - to je ono što istražujemo na Univerzitetu u Kaliforniji. Razmislite na trenutak o ovom problemu: Ovde imamo komad mesa, težak otprlike 1,5 kg, koji možete držati na dlanu svoje ruke. Ali on može razmišljati o beskrajnosti međuzvezdanog prostora. Može razmišljati o značenju beskonačnosti, postavljati pitanja o smislu vlastitog postojanja, o prirodi Boga.
And this is truly the most amazing thing in the world. It's the greatest mystery confronting human beings: How does this all come about? Well, the brain, as you know, is made up of neurons. We're looking at neurons here. There are 100 billion neurons in the adult human brain. And each neuron makes something like 1,000 to 10,000 contacts with other neurons in the brain. And based on this, people have calculated that the number of permutations and combinations of brain activity exceeds the number of elementary particles in the universe.
I ovo je zaista najneverovatnija stvar na svetu. To je najveća tajna sa kojom se ljudska bića susreću. Kako se sve ovo događa? Pa, mozak je, kao što znate, sastavljen od neurona. Ovde vidimo neurone. Mozak odraslog čoveka ima 100 milijardi neurona. I svaki neuron stvara otprilike od 1,000 do 10,000 veza sa drugim neuronima u mozgu. Na osnovu ovog, ljudi su izračunali da broj permutacija i kombinacija moždane aktivnosti premašuje broj elementarnih čestica u univerzumu.
So, how do you go about studying the brain? One approach is to look at patients who had lesions in different part of the brain, and study changes in their behavior. This is what I spoke about in the last TED. Today I'll talk about a different approach, which is to put electrodes in different parts of the brain, and actually record the activity of individual nerve cells in the brain. Sort of eavesdrop on the activity of nerve cells in the brain.
Pa, kako uopšte krenuti sa ispitivanjem mozga? Jedan od pristupa jeste posmatranje pacijenata koji su imali povrede u različitim delovima mozga, i ispitivanje promena u njihovom ponašanju. O ovome sam govorio u poslednjem TED-u. Danas ću govoriti o drugačijem pristupu koji se sastoji u primeni elektroda na različite delove mozga, i beleženju aktivnosti pojedinačnih nervnih ćelija u mozgu. Nešto kao "prisluškivanje" aktivnosti nervnih ćelija u mozgu.
Now, one recent discovery that has been made by researchers in Italy, in Parma, by Giacomo Rizzolatti and his colleagues, is a group of neurons called mirror neurons, which are on the front of the brain in the frontal lobes. Now, it turns out there are neurons which are called ordinary motor command neurons in the front of the brain, which have been known for over 50 years. These neurons will fire when a person performs a specific action. For example, if I do that, and reach and grab an apple, a motor command neuron in the front of my brain will fire. If I reach out and pull an object, another neuron will fire, commanding me to pull that object. These are called motor command neurons that have been known for a long time.
Jedno od skorašnjih otkrića koje su napravili istraživači u Italiji, u Parmi, Đakomo Ricolati i njegove kolege, jeste grupa neurona nazvana "ogledalni neuroni", koji se nalaze u prednjem delu mozga u frontalnom režnju. Ispostavlja se da postoje neuroni koji se nazivaju obični neuroni za motorne komande, u prednjem delu mozga, koji su poznati više od 50 godina. Ovi neuroni se aktiviraju kada osoba izvede određenu radnju. Na primer, ako ja uradim ovo, i posegnem i zgrabim jabuku, motorni komandni neuron u prednjem delu mog mozga će se aktivirati. Ako posegnem i privučem sebi predmet, aktiviraće se drugi neuron, nalažući mi da privučem sebi predmet. Ovo su tzv. motorni komandni neuroni koji su poznati već duže vreme.
But what Rizzolatti found was a subset of these neurons, maybe about 20 percent of them, will also fire when I'm looking at somebody else performing the same action. So, here is a neuron that fires when I reach and grab something, but it also fires when I watch Joe reaching and grabbing something. And this is truly astonishing. Because it's as though this neuron is adopting the other person's point of view. It's almost as though it's performing a virtual reality simulation of the other person's action.
Ali, ono što je Ricolati otkrio jeste da će se podskup ovih neurona, možda otprilike njih 20 procenata, takođe aktivirati kada gledam nekog drugog kako izvodi istu radnju. Dakle, imamo neuron koji se aktivira kada ja posegnem i zgrabim nešto ali se takođe aktivira kada posmatram Jovu dok poseže i grabi nešto. I ovo je zaista zadivljujuće. Jer izgleda kao da ovaj neuron usvaja tačku gledišta druge osobe. To je skoro kao da u virtuelnoj stvarnosti izvodi simulaciju radnje druge osobe.
Now, what is the significance of these mirror neurons? For one thing they must be involved in things like imitation and emulation. Because to imitate a complex act requires my brain to adopt the other person's point of view. So, this is important for imitation and emulation. Well, why is that important? Well, let's take a look at the next slide. So, how do you do imitation? Why is imitation important? Mirror neurons and imitation, emulation.
Dakle, kakav je značaj ovih "ogledalnih" neurona? Jedno je sigurno, oni moraju biti uključeni u postupke poput imitiranja i "poprimanja". Jer da bi imitirao složen čin, mom je mozgu potrebno da usvoji tačku gledišta druge osobe. Dakle, ovo je važno za imitaciju i "poprimanje". Pa, zašto je to važno? Pogledajmo sledeći slajd. Dakle, kako se obavlja imitacija? Zašto je imitacija važna? Ogledalni neuroni, imitacija, poprimanje.
Now, let's look at culture, the phenomenon of human culture. If you go back in time about [75,000] to 100,000 years ago, let's look at human evolution, it turns out that something very important happened around 75,000 years ago. And that is, there is a sudden emergence and rapid spread of a number of skills that are unique to human beings like tool use, the use of fire, the use of shelters, and, of course, language, and the ability to read somebody else's mind and interpret that person's behavior. All of that happened relatively quickly.
Pogledajmo sada kulturu, tj. fenomen ljudske kulture. Ako se vratimo unazad kroz vreme, otprilike pre oko 75 000 do 100 000 godina, i pogledamo evoluciju čoveka, ispostavlja se da se nešto veoma važno desilo pre otprilike 75 000 godina. A to je, desila se iznenadna pojava i brzo širenje brojnih veština, jedinstvenih samo ljudskim bićima, kao upotreba oruđa, upotreba vatre, skloništa i, naravno, jezika, kao i sposobnost čitanja tuđeg uma i tumačenja ponašanja te osobe. Sve se ovo desilo relativno brzo.
Even though the human brain had achieved its present size almost three or four hundred thousand years ago, 100,000 years ago all of this happened very, very quickly. And I claim that what happened was the sudden emergence of a sophisticated mirror neuron system, which allowed you to emulate and imitate other people's actions. So that when there was a sudden accidental discovery by one member of the group, say the use of fire, or a particular type of tool, instead of dying out, this spread rapidly, horizontally across the population, or was transmitted vertically, down the generations.
Iako je svoju današnju veličinu ljudski mozak dostigao otprilike pre tri ili četiri stotine hiljade godina, pre oko 100 000 godina, sve se ovo desilo veoma veoma brzo. I tvrdim da ono što se desilo jeste iznenadna pojava sofisticiranog sistema "ogledalnih" neurona, koji vam je omogućila da poprimite i imitirate radnje drugih osoba. Tako da kada se dogodilo iznenadno slučajno otkriće od strane jednog člana grupe, recimo upotreba vatre, ili određenog tipa oruđa, umesto da nestane ono se brzo širilo, horizontalnim putem kroz populaciju ili se prenosilo vertikalno, kroz generacije.
So, this made evolution suddenly Lamarckian, instead of Darwinian. Darwinian evolution is slow; it takes hundreds of thousands of years. A polar bear, to evolve a coat, will take thousands of generations, maybe 100,000 years. A human being, a child, can just watch its parent kill another polar bear, and skin it and put the skin on its body, fur on the body, and learn it in one step. What the polar bear took 100,000 years to learn, it can learn in five minutes, maybe 10 minutes. And then once it's learned this it spreads in geometric proportion across a population.
Tako da je ovo načinilo evoluciju lamarkističkom umesto darvinovskom. Darvinovska evolucija je spora; treba joj stotine hiljada godina. Da bi polarnom medvedu evoluirao ogrtač, potrebne su na hiljade naraštaja, možda čak i 100,000 godina. Ljudsko biće, dete, može samo posmatrajući svog roditelja dok ubija nekog polarnog medveda i skida mu kožu da stavi krzno na svoje telo, i da to nauči u jednom koraku. Što za šta je polarnom medvedu potrebno 100,000 godina da nauči, dete može da nauči za pet, možda 10 minuta. A jednom kada se nauči, širi se u geometrijskim razmerama kroz populaciju.
This is the basis. The imitation of complex skills is what we call culture and is the basis of civilization. Now there is another kind of mirror neuron, which is involved in something quite different. And that is, there are mirror neurons, just as there are mirror neurons for action, there are mirror neurons for touch. In other words, if somebody touches me, my hand, neuron in the somatosensory cortex in the sensory region of the brain fires. But the same neuron, in some cases, will fire when I simply watch another person being touched. So, it's empathizing the other person being touched.
Ovo je osnova. Imitacija složenih veština je ono što zovemo kulturom i to je osnova civilizacije. Postoji još jedna vrsta "ogledalnog" neurona, koja je uključena u nešto sasvim drugačije. A to je, postoje "ogledalni" neuroni, kao što postoje ogledalni neuroni za radnje, postoje ogledalni neuroni za dodir. Drugim rečima, ako me neko dodirne, moju ruku, neuroni u somatosenzornom korteksu u senzornom regionu mozga se aktiviraju. Ali isti neuroni će se u pojedinim slučajevima aktivirati kada je jednostavno gledam da je druga osoba dodirnuta. Dakle, kao da saoseća drugu osobu koja biva dodirnuta.
So, most of them will fire when I'm touched in different locations. Different neurons for different locations. But a subset of them will fire even when I watch somebody else being touched in the same location. So, here again you have neurons which are enrolled in empathy. Now, the question then arises: If I simply watch another person being touched, why do I not get confused and literally feel that touch sensation merely by watching somebody being touched? I mean, I empathize with that person but I don't literally feel the touch. Well, that's because you've got receptors in your skin, touch and pain receptors, going back into your brain and saying "Don't worry, you're not being touched. So, empathize, by all means, with the other person, but do not actually experience the touch, otherwise you'll get confused and muddled."
Tako će se većina njih aktivirati kada sam dodirnut na različitim mestima. Postoje različiti neuroni za različita mesta. Ali podskup njih će se aktivirati čak i kad gledam nekog drugog koji biva dodirnut na istim mestima. Dakle, sada imate neurone koji imaju svoju ulogu u empatiji. Pitanje se sada postavlja: ako ja prosto gledam drugu osobu koja biva dodirnuta, kako ne postanem zbunjen i bukvalno osetim taj oset dodira samo gledanjem drugog koji biva dodirnut? Hoću reći, ja saosećam sa osobom ali ne osećam bukvalno dodir. Pa, to je stoga što imate receptore u vašoj koži, receptore za dodir i bol, koji se vraćaju u vaš mozak i govore, "Ne brini, nisi zaista dodirivan. Tako da saosećaj slobodno sa drugom osobom, ali nemoj stvarno da iskusiš dodir jer u suprotnom ćeš biti zbunjen."
Okay, so there is a feedback signal that vetoes the signal of the mirror neuron preventing you from consciously experiencing that touch. But if you remove the arm, you simply anesthetize my arm, so you put an injection into my arm, anesthetize the brachial plexus, so the arm is numb, and there is no sensations coming in, if I now watch you being touched, I literally feel it in my hand. In other words, you have dissolved the barrier between you and other human beings. So, I call them Gandhi neurons, or empathy neurons. (Laughter)
U redu, postoji dakle povratni signal koji nadjačava signal ogledalnih neurona, sprečavajući vas da svesno iskusite taj dodir. Međutim, ako uklonite ruku ili prosto anestezirate moju ruku injekcijom anestetika anestezirate brahijalni pleksus, tako da se moja ruka umrtvi i tako da joj ne pristižu nikakvi oseti, ako sada ja vas gledam dok vas dodiruju, bukvalno ću osetiti to u mojoj ruci. Drugim rečima, uklonili ste barijeru između vas i drugih ljudskih bića. Tako da ih ja zovem Gandi-neuroni, ili saosećajni neuroni. (Smeh)
And this is not in some abstract metaphorical sense. All that's separating you from him, from the other person, is your skin. Remove the skin, you experience that person's touch in your mind. You've dissolved the barrier between you and other human beings. And this, of course, is the basis of much of Eastern philosophy, and that is there is no real independent self, aloof from other human beings, inspecting the world, inspecting other people. You are, in fact, connected not just via Facebook and Internet, you're actually quite literally connected by your neurons. And there is whole chains of neurons around this room, talking to each other. And there is no real distinctiveness of your consciousness from somebody else's consciousness.
I ovo se sve ne dešava u nekom apstraktnom, metaforičkom smislu, sve ono što odvaja vas od njega, od druge osobe, jeste vaša koža. Uklonite kožu, i doživećete dodir te osobe u svom umu. Uklonili ste barijeru između vas i drugih ljudskih bića. Ovo je, naravno, u osnovi većine istočnih filozofija, to da ne postoji stvarno nezavisno jastvo, odvojeno od drugih ljudskih bića, koja posmatraju svet, koje posmatraju ljude. Vi ste, u stvari, povezani ne samo putem fejsbuka i interneta; vi ste zapravo sasvim bukvalno povezani putem vaših neurona. U ovoj sobi su čitavi lanci neurona koji razgovaraju međusobno. I ne postoji stvarna razlika vaše svesti i svesti nekog drugog.
And this is not mumbo-jumbo philosophy. It emerges from our understanding of basic neuroscience. So, you have a patient with a phantom limb. If the arm has been removed and you have a phantom, and you watch somebody else being touched, you feel it in your phantom. Now the astonishing thing is, if you have pain in your phantom limb, you squeeze the other person's hand, massage the other person's hand, that relieves the pain in your phantom hand, almost as though the neuron were obtaining relief from merely watching somebody else being massaged.
Ovo sve nije neka mambo-džambo filozofija. Ovo dolazi iz nešeg razumevanja osnovne neurološke nauke. Tako da, ako ste pacijent sa fantomskim udom, ako vam je ruka amputirana i imate fantomsku ruku, i gledate nekog drugog kako biva dodirnut, osetićete to u vašoj fantomskoj ruci. Izvanredno je to da ako osećate bol u vašem fantomskom udu, pritisnete ruku druge osobe, izmasirate ruku druge osobe, i to će opustiti bol u vašem fantomskom udu, kao da su neuroni, primili olakšanje samo gledajući nekog drugog kako biva masiran.
So, here you have my last slide. For the longest time people have regarded science and humanities as being distinct. C.P. Snow spoke of the two cultures: science on the one hand, humanities on the other; never the twain shall meet. So, I'm saying the mirror neuron system underlies the interface allowing you to rethink about issues like consciousness, representation of self, what separates you from other human beings, what allows you to empathize with other human beings, and also even things like the emergence of culture and civilization, which is unique to human beings. Thank you. (Applause)
Ovo je moj poslednji slajd. Dugo vremena su ljudi smatrali nauku i humanističke discipline kao razdvojene. C.P. Snou je govorio o dve kulture: nauci sa jedne strane, humanističkim disciplinama sa druge; nikad se one ne mogu susresti. Ja tvrdim da sistem ogledalnih neurona čini sučelje i omogućava nam da ponovo promislimo pitanja poput svesti, reprezentacije jastva, ono što odvaja nas od drugih ljudskih bića, ono što nam omogućava da saosećamo sa drugim ljudskim bićima, a takođe i svari kao što su pojava kulture i civilizacije, koji su svojstveni ljudskim bićima. Hvala vam. (Aplauz)