The great brain debate - Ted Altschuler

翻译人员: Will Jay 校对人员: Yuanqing Edberg

In 1861, two scientists got into a very brainy argument.

1861年，两位科学家卷入了一场绝妙的争论。

Specifically, they had opposing ideas of how speech and memory

具体来说， 他们对语言和记忆在人类大脑中的运作

operated within the human brain.

有着相反的想法。

Ernest Aubertin, with his localistic model,

尔宁斯特·奥博丁的局部理念摸板

argued that a particular region or the brain

争议大脑的各个区域

was devoted to each separate process.

有着不同的分工。

Pierre Gratiolet, on the other hand, argued for the distributed model,

而另一方面， 皮尔斯 ·哥拉提欧雷提出分布模型，

where different regions work together

指出大脑不同的区域同时运转

to accomplish all of these various functions.

以实现多种不同的功能。

The debate they began reverberated throughout the rest of the century,

这个争论延续了整个世纪，

involving some of the greatest scientific minds of the time.

牵涉了当时很多最伟大的科学思想。

Aubertin and his localistic model had some big names on his side.

奥博丁和他的逻辑思考模板在支持 他的一方颇具名声。

In the 17th century, René Descartes had assigned the quality

在17世纪， 勒内笛卡儿把自由意志的特征

of free will and the human soul to the pineal gland.

和人类灵魂归结于脑部松果体。

And in the late 18th century, a young student named Franz Joseph Gall

在18世纪末， 一个年轻的学生绋兰兹.约瑟夫.吉尔

had observed that the best memorizers in his class had the most prominent eyes

在他班里观察到拥有最好记忆的人 都有着引人注目的眼睛

and decided that this was due to higher development

于是他认为这是由于大脑各个部位

in the adjacent part of the brain.

在连接处的高度发展。

As a physician, Gall went on to establish the study of phrenology,

作为一名物理家， 吉尔建立了颅相学的学习。

which held that strong mental faculties corresponded to

颅相学是说强健的脑力对应于

highly developed brain regions, observable as bumps in the skull.

高度发达的大脑区域， 所以能看到头骨的突出。

The widespread popularity of phrenology throughout the early 19th century

19世纪风靡全球的颅相学研究

tipped the scales towards Aubertin's localism.

让更多人偏向奥博丁的局部理念。

But the problem was that Gall had never bothered to scientifically test

但是，问题是吉尔从来没有想在科学上证实

whether the individual brain maps he had constructed

他创造的大脑个体地图

applied to all people.

是否适用于所有人。

And in the 1840's, Pierre Flourens challenged phrenology

然后，在1840年代， 皮儿佛洛棱 挑战了颅相学。

by selectively destroying parts of animal brains

他选择性地毁坏了动物的部分大脑

and observing which functions were lost.

然后观察动物失去了哪些功能。

Flourens found that damaging the cortex

佛洛冷发现，神经中枢的损害，

interfered with judgement or movement in general,

总体地干涉着判断能力和行动能力，

but failed to identify any region associated with one specific function,

但是他不能辨别大脑各区域的独立功能，

concluding that the cortex carried out brain functions as an entire unit.

就推断出大脑皮层是 作为一个整体来运行的。

Flourens had scored a victory for Gratiolet, but it was not to last.

佛洛冷已为哥拉提欧雷赢得胜利， 但是这没有持续很久。

Gall's former student, Jean-Baptiste Bouillaud,

吉尔的前任学生，Jean-Baptiste Bouillaud

challenged Flourens' conclusion,

挑战了佛洛冷的结论，

observing that patients with speech disorders

他观察到有语言障碍的病人

all had damage to the frontal lobe.

都在大脑的额叶有过损伤。

And after Paul Broca's 1861 autopsy of a patient who had lost the power

1861年，在paul Broca 解剖了一个失去了

to produce speech, but not the power to understand it,

说话能力但还能理解语言的病人，

revealed highly localized frontal lobe damage,

发现大脑受到的损伤高度局限。

the distributed model seemed doomed.

分布模型看来就没用了。

Localism took off.

局部学出现了。

In the 1870's, Karl Wernicke associated part of the left temporal lobe

在1870年代，Karl Wernicke 把大脑的颞叶和

with speech comprehension.

语言理解能力联系了起来。

Soon after, Eduard Hitzig and Gustav Fritsch

不久，Eduard Hitzig 和 Gustav Fritsch

stimulated a dog's cortex and discovered a frontal lobe region

刺激了狗的大脑皮层然后发现了额叶区

responsible for muscular movements.

是负责肌肉运动的。

Building on their work, David Ferrier mapped each piece of cortex

基于他们的工作， david ferrier 绘制了皮层的每一个

associated with moving a part of the body.

有关动作的部分。

And in 1909, Korbinian Brodmann built his own cortex map with 52 separate areas.

在1909, Korbinian Brodmann创造了 他自己的神经中枢图，包括52个不同区域。

It appeared that the victory of Aubertin's localistic model was sealed.

看起来奥博定的局部理念模型就铁定了。

But neurologist Karl Wernicke had come up with an interesting idea.

但神经学家Karl Wernicke 构思了一个新的想法。

He reasoned that since the regions for speech production and comprehension

他提出因为语言表达和理解的区域

were not adjacent,

不是相邻的，

then injuring the area connecting them might result

连接它们的部分受损会导致

in a special type of language loss, now known as receptive aphasia.

一种特别的语言失落， 现在称之为感觉性失语。

Wernicke's connectionist model helped explain disorders

Wernicke的连接学模式帮助解释了

that didn't result from the dysfunction of just one area.

失调不是由于一个区域的功能缺失而引起的.

Modern neuroscience tools reveal a brain more complex than

现代神经学工具揭示大脑比Gratiolet,

Gratiolet, Aubertin, or even Wernicke imagined.

Aubertin, 和 Wernicke想象的更复杂。

Today, the hippocampus is associated with two distinct brain functions:

今天，海马体联系到两个独特的大脑功能：

creating memories and processing location in space.

创造性记忆和空间关系处理。

We also now measure two kinds of connectivity:

我们也测量到两种连接方式：

anatomical connectivity between two adjoining

中枢邻接区域的解剖l性连接

regions of cortex working together,

会协调运行，

and functional connectivity between separated regions

而两个分开区域的功能性连接

working together to accomplish one process.

也会协同运作以完成一个功能。

A seemingly basic function like vision

一个如同视觉这样的基本工作

is actually composed of many smaller functions,

实际上由很多很小的功能组成，

with different parts of the cortex representing

在神经中枢的各区域表现出不同

shape, color and location in space.

形状，颜色， 和空间位置。

When certain areas stop functioning, we may recognize an object,

当某些区域功能缺失， 我们可能认知一个事物

but not see it, or vice versa.

但却看不见它，或者相反。

There are even different kinds of memory for facts and for routines.

（中枢）甚至对事实和常规也有不同的记忆

And remembering something like your first bicycle

记住一些像你的第一部自行车这样的事

involves a network of different regions each representing the concept

包括了大脑不同区域的联网综合， 各个区域代表了

of vehicles, the bicycle's shape, the sound of the bell,

交通工具的理念，自行车的形状， 铃声的响声，

and the emotions associated with that memory.

以及跟那个记忆相关的情绪。

In the end, both Gratiolet and Aubertin turned out to be right.

最后，gratiolet和奥博定都是正确的。

And we still use both of their models to understand how cognition happens.

我们仍然用他们俩人的模型 去理解认知的形成。

For example, we can now measure brain activity on such a fine time scale

比方说，我们现在可以 在精细的时间轴上来测量大脑，

that we can see the individual localized processes that comprise

我们可以看见各个局部区域的运动

a single act of remembering.

包括记住事情的各个单一行为

But it is the integration of these different processes and regions

但它的确是那些不同的区域处理的综合

that creates the coherent memory we experience.

形成了我们对于经验的连贯性记忆。

The supposedly competing theories prove to be two aspects

所以说两个竞争的理论 证明了一个更全面的

of a more comprehensive model,

模型的两个方面，

which will in turn be revised and refined

随着我们科学技术和了解大脑方法的提升

as our scientific techologies and methods for understanding the brain improve.

它们会有进一步的修改和完善。