3 clues to understanding your brain | VS Ramachandran

Translator: Reviewer: Begoña Laka

Well, as Chris pointed out, I study the human brain,

Chrisek esan duenez, nik gizakiaren burmuina ikertzen dut,

the functions and structure of the human brain.

bere funtzionamendu eta antolaketa.

And I just want you to think for a minute about what this entails.

Pentsa ezazue minutu batez zer esan nahi duen honek.

Here is this mass of jelly, three-pound mass of jelly

Hona hemen gelatina masa hau, kilo eta erdikoa.

you can hold in the palm of your hand,

Zure eskuan sartzen da

and it can contemplate the vastness of interstellar space.

eta izarrarte amaigabeari so egon daiteke.

It can contemplate the meaning of infinity

Hausnar dezake infinituaren zentzuaz

and it can contemplate itself contemplating on the meaning of infinity.

eta bere burua infinituaren zentzuaz hausnartzen kontenplatu.

And this peculiar recursive quality that we call self-awareness,

Gaitasun errekurtsibo horri autokontzientzia deritzogu

which I think is the holy grail of neuroscience, of neurology,

eta uste dut dela neurozientzia eta neurologiaren Grial Santua.

and hopefully, someday, we'll understand how that happens.

Agian noizbait ulertuko dugu hori nola gertatzen den.

OK, so how do you study this mysterious organ?

Nola ikertu organo misteriotsu hau?

I mean, you have 100 billion nerve cells,

100.000 miloi neurona dauzka,

little wisps of protoplasm, interacting with each other,

protoplasma sorta txikiak elkarri eragiten,

and from this activity emerges the whole spectrum of abilities

eta haren jardueratik sortzen dira giza natura

that we call human nature and human consciousness.

eta giza-kontzientziaren gaitasun guztiak.

How does this happen?

Nola gertatzen da hori?

Well, there are many ways of approaching the functions of the human brain.

Giza-burmuinaren funtzioak aztertzeko modu asko dago.

One approach, the one we use mainly,

Erabiliena hau da:

is to look at patients with sustained damage to a small region of the brain,

aztertzen ditugu burmuineko zatitxo baten kaltea duten gaixoak,

where there's been a genetic change in a small region of the brain.

aldaketa genetiko bat egon den lekua.

What then happens is not an across-the-board reduction

Kasu horietan, ez dira galtzen gaitasun mental guztiak,

in all your mental capacities,

a sort of blunting of your cognitive ability.

funtzio bakar bat galtzen da

What you get is a highly selective loss of one function,

eta gainerako funtzioak ondo dabiltza.

with other functions being preserved intact,

and this gives you some confidence in asserting

Horrela badakigu

that that part of the brain is somehow involved in mediating that function.

burmuineko zati hori galdutako funtzioari lotuta dagoela.

So you can then map function onto structure,

Horrela estrukturan kokatzen dugu funtzioa

and then find out what the circuitry's doing

eta jakin nola jardun diren zirkuituak

to generate that particular function.

funtzio berezi hori sortzeko.

So that's what we're trying to do.

Horretan ari gara.

So let me give you a few striking examples of this.

Utzidazue adibide harrigarri batzuk jartzen.

In fact, I'm giving you three examples, six minutes each, during this talk.

Hitzaldian 3 adibide emango dizkizuet, sei minutukoa bakoitza.

The first example is an extraordinary syndrome called Capgras syndrome.

Lehen adibidea Capgras sindromea da, benetan ezohikoa eta txundigarria.

If you look at the first slide there,

Begiratu lehen diapositibari:

that's the temporal lobes, frontal lobes, parietal lobes, OK --

hor daude lobulu tenporalak, frontalak, parietalak,

the lobes that constitute the brain.

burmuina osatzen duten lobuluak.

And if you look, tucked away inside the inner surface of the temporal lobes --

Eta hemen, lobulu tenporalen azalaren azpian ezkutaturik

you can't see it there --

-ezin duzue ikusi-

is a little structure called the fusiform gyrus.

egitura txiki bat dago: zirkunboluzio fusiformea.

And that's been called the face area in the brain,

“Aurpegien kokagunea” ere esaten zaio,

because when it's damaged, you can no longer recognize people's faces.

kalteturik dagoenean ezin diezulako pertsonen aurpegiei antzeman.

You can still recognize them from their voice

Haien ahotsa entzunda, ezagut ditzakezu

and say, "Oh yeah, that's Joe,"

eta esan: “Bai, Jon da”.

but you can't look at their face and know who it is, right?

Baina ezin duzu jakin nor den aurpegia ikusita.

You can't even recognize yourself in the mirror.

Zeure burua ere ezin duzu ispiluan ezagutu.

I mean, you know it's you because you wink and it winks,

Badakizu zu zarela, kliskatu eta ispiluko irudiak ere kliskatzen baitu

and you know it's a mirror,

eta badakizu ispilua dela.

but you don't really recognize yourself as yourself.

Baina ez duzu benetan zeure burua ezagutzen.

OK. Now that syndrome is well known as caused by damage to the fusiform gyrus.

Sindrome horren jatorria zirkunboluzio fusiformean lesioa da.

But there's another rare syndrome, so rare, in fact,

Bada beste sindrome bat hain ezohikoa dela

that very few physicians have heard about it, not even neurologists.

ezen mediku eta neurologo gutxik entzun baitute hari buruz:

This is called the Capgras delusion,

Capgras eldarnioa.

and that is a patient, who's otherwise completely normal,

Horrelako gaixo batek, bestaldetik guztiz normala,

has had a head injury, comes out of coma,

buruko lesioa izan, komatik esnatu,

otherwise completely normal, he looks at his mother

itxuraz normal, eta ama ikustean,

and says, "This looks exactly like my mother, this woman,

dio: “Amaren antza osoa du emakume honek,

but she's an impostor.

baina inpostore bat da.

She's some other woman pretending to be my mother."

Beste emakume bat da amarena egiten".

Now, why does this happen?

Zergatik gertatzen da?

Why would somebody -- and this person is perfectly lucid and intelligent

Zergatik pertsona bati, bestela guztiz normala denari,

in all other respects, but when he sees his mother,

ama ikustean soilik

his delusion kicks in and says, it's not mother.

pizten zaio eldarnioa, eta orduan dio hori ez dela ama.

Now, the most common interpretation of this,

Freuden ikuspegitik

which you find in all the psychiatry textbooks,

interpretatu ohi da eldarnio hori

is a Freudian view, and that is that this chap --

psikiatria liburuetan. Horren arabera, gizon horrek --

and the same argument applies to women, by the way,

emakumeei buruz antzeko azalpena ematen dute,

but I'll just talk about guys.

baina gizonezkoez arituko gara.

When you're a little baby, a young baby,

Haur txikia zarenean,

you had a strong sexual attraction to your mother.

amarekiko erakarpen sexual handia duzu.

This is the so-called Oedipus complex of Freud.

Horretan datza Freuden Edipo konplexua.

I'm not saying I believe this,

Ez diot neuk horretan sinisten dudanik,

but this is the standard Freudian view.

baina Freuden irizpidea da hau.

And then, as you grow up, the cortex develops,

Handitzen zarenean, kortexa garatu egiten zaizu

and inhibits these latent sexual urges towards your mother.

eta amarekiko grina sexuala inhibitu egiten dizu kortexak.

Thank God, or you would all be sexually aroused when you saw your mother.

Eskerrak, zeren bestela ama ikustean berotuko zinateke.

And then what happens is,

Gero, kolpe batengatik edo,

there's a blow to your head, damaging the cortex,

kortexa kaltetzen bada,

allowing these latent sexual urges to emerge,

ezkutuko grina sexuala argitara ateratzen da berriro.

flaming to the surface, and suddenly and inexplicably

Bat-batean, ustekabean,

you find yourself being sexually aroused by your mother.

zeure amarekiko grina sexualak jota zaude.

And you say, "My God, if this is my mom,

Eta diozu: “Ene, hau ama bada,

how come I'm being sexually turned on?

nola liteke ni bero-bero egotea?

She's some other woman. She's an impostor."

Beste emakume bat da: inpostorea da”.

It's the only interpretation that makes sense to your damaged brain.

Zure burmuin kaltetuarentzat, hori da interpretazio zentzudun bakarra.

This has never made much sense to me, this argument.

Nire ustez horrek ez dauka zentzu handirik.

It's very ingenious, as all Freudian arguments are --

Zorrotza da, Freuden beste teoriak bezala.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

-- but didn't make much sense because I have seen the same delusion,

Ez dauka zentzu handirik, eldarnio bera ikusi baitut

a patient having the same delusion, about his pet poodle.

gaixo bat eldarnio berberarekin baina bere canichearekiko.

(Laughter)

He'll say, "Doctor, this is not Fifi. It looks exactly like Fifi,

(Barreak)

Zioen: “Doktorea, hau ez da Fifi. Haren itxura du,

but it's some other dog." Right?

baina beste txakur bat da”.

Now, you try using the Freudian explanation there.

Bada, azaldu hori ikuspegi freudianotik.

(Laughter)

You'll start talking about the latent bestiality in all humans,

Gizakion bestialismorako joera ezkutuaz

or some such thing, which is quite absurd, of course.

hasi beharko zinatekete, eta hori nahiko absurdoa da.

Now, what's really going on?

Zer da benetan gertatzen ari dena?

So, to explain this curious disorder,

Gaitz bitxi hori azaltzeko,

we look at the structure and functions of the normal visual pathways in the brain.

burmuineko ikusmenaren ibilbideak aztertu behar ditugu.

Normally, visual signals come in, into the eyeballs,

Normalean, ikusmen-seinaleak begietan sartzen dira

go to the visual areas in the brain.

eta burmuineko ikusmen-eremuetara doaz.

There are, in fact, 30 areas in the back of your brain concerned with just vision,

Burmuineko atzealdean badaude 30 eremu, ikusmenari hertsiki lotuak.

and after processing all that, the message goes to a small structure

Behin hori prozesatu ondoren, mezua egitura txiki batera doa,

called the fusiform gyrus, where you perceive faces.

zirkunboluzio fusiformera, non azkenean aurpegiak hautematen dituzun.

There are neurons there that are sensitive to faces.

Han daude aurpegiei antzemateko neuronak.

You can call it the face area of the brain, right?

“Burmuineko aurpegien kokagunea” deritzo.

I talked about that earlier.

Arestian aipatu dut.

Now, when that area's damaged, you lose the ability to see faces, right?

Eremu hori kalteturik dagoenean, ez zara aurpegiak ezagutzeko gai.

But from that area, the message cascades

Eremu horretatik, mezua berrabiatzen da

into a structure called the amygdala in the limbic system,

sistema linbikoko “amigdala” izeneko egiturara,

the emotional core of the brain,

burmuinaren gune emozionala.

and that structure, called the amygdala,

Eta egitura horrek, amigdalak,

gauges the emotional significance of what you're looking at.

garrantzi emozionala balioesten du.

Is it prey? Is it predator? Is it mate?

Harrapakina al da? Harraparia? Nire kidea?

Or is it something absolutely trivial, like a piece of lint,

Edo zerbait arrunta: hauts pixka bat,

or a piece of chalk, or a -- I don't want to point to that, but --

klarion zatia -- ez dut hori seinalatu nahi, --

or a shoe, or something like that? OK?

izan daiteke zapata bat edo antzeko zerbait.

Which you can completely ignore.

Alde batera utz dezakezun zerbait.

Amigdala kitzikaturik badago eta hau garrantzizkoa da,

So if the amygdala is excited, and this is something important,

the messages then cascade into the autonomic nervous system.

mezua nerbio-sistema autonomora desbideratzen da.

Your heart starts beating faster.

Bihotz-taupadak bizkortzen zaizkizu,

You start sweating to dissipate the heat that you're going to

izerditan hasten zara, ariketa fisikoaren ondoriozko

create from muscular exertion.

muskuluen beroa arintzeko.

And that's fortunate, because we can put two electrodes on your palm

Izerditan hasten zara. Beraz, esku-azpietan elektrodoak jar ditzakegu

and measure the change in skin resistance produced by sweating.

eta izerdiak sortutako larruazalaren konduktantzia neurtu.

So I can determine, when you're looking at something,

Horrela jakin dezaket zerbaiti so egiten diozunean

whether you're excited or whether you're aroused, or not, OK?

kitzikaturik zauden ala ez.

And I'll get to that in a minute.

Geroxeago komentatuko dugu hau.

So my idea was, when this chap looks at an object, when he looks at his --

Nire susmoa da lagun honek zerbaiti begiratzen dionean,

any object for that matter, it goes to the visual areas and,

edozein gauzari, seinalea ikusmen-eremuetara joaten dela

however, and it's processed in the fusiform gyrus,

eta zirkunboluzio fusiformean prozesatzen dela.

and you recognize it as a pea plant, or a table,

Orduan hautematen duzu madariondoa, mahaia

or your mother, for that matter, OK?

edo zure ama, dena delakoa.

And then the message cascades into the amygdala,

Gero mezua amigdalara abiatzen da

and then goes down the autonomic nervous system.

eta, hortik, nerbio-sistema autonomora.

But maybe, in this chap, that wire that goes from the amygdala to the limbic system,

Baina agian, lagun horrengan, amigdalatik sistema linbikorako bidea,

the emotional core of the brain, is cut by the accident.

burmuineko gune emozionalerako bidea moztuta dago istripuagatik.

So because the fusiform is intact,

Fusiformea ondo dagoenez,

the chap can still recognize his mother,

bere ama ezagut dezake,

and says, "Oh yeah, this looks like my mother."

eta esaten du: “Tira, amaren antza osoa du”.

But because the wire is cut to the emotional centers,

Baina gune emozionaletarako bidea mozturik dagoenez,

he says, "But how come, if it's my mother, I don't experience a warmth?"

dio: “Baina ama bada, zergatik ez dut inolako maitasunik sentitzen?”

Or terror, as the case may be? Right?

Edo ikara, akaso?

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

And therefore, he says, "How do I account for this inexplicable lack of emotions?

Beraz, esaten du: “Nola liteke hutsune emozional hori?

This can't be my mother.

Ezin da nire ama izan,

It's some strange woman pretending to be my mother."

emakume arrotza da, ama ematen badu ere".

How do you test this?

Nola frogatu susmo hori?

Well, what you do is, if you take any one of you here, and put you in front of a screen,

Honela: zuetako bat hemen jartzen dugu, pantailaren aurrean,

and measure your galvanic skin response,

eta erantzun galbanikoa neurtzen dugu

and show pictures on the screen,

irudiak pantailan erakustean.

I can measure how you sweat when you see an object,

Jakin dezaket zenbat izerdi egiten duzun objektu bat ikustean.

like a table or an umbrella. Of course, you don't sweat.

Mahaia edo euritakoa bada ez zara izerditan hasiko.

If I show you a picture of a lion, or a tiger, or a pinup, you start sweating, right?

Lehoi baten edo biluzi baten irudia erakutsiz gero, izerditan hasiko zarete.

And, believe it or not, if I show you a picture of your mother --

Eta, sinistu ala ez, amaren irudia erakusten badizut

I'm talking about normal people -- you start sweating.

-pertsona arruntez ari naiz-, izerditan hasiko zara.

You don't even have to be Jewish.

Juduak izan ez arren.

(Laughter)

(Barreak).

Now, what happens if you show this patient?

Aldiz, gaixo bati irudiak erakustean, zer gertatzen da?

You take the patient and show him pictures on the screen

Irudiak pantailan erakutsi

and measure his galvanic skin response.

eta erantzun galbanikoa neurtuko dugu.

Tables and chairs and lint, nothing happens, as in normal people,

Mahaiak, aulkiak eta hautsa: ez da ezer gertatzen, jende normalarekin bezala.

but when you show him a picture of his mother,

Baina amaren irudia erakusten badiozu,

the galvanic skin response is flat.

larruazalaren erantzun galbanikoa laua da ere.

There's no emotional reaction to his mother,

Ez du erantzun emozionalik amaren aurrean

because that wire going from the visual areas to the emotional centers is cut.

ikusmen-eremuak eta emozioak lotzen dituen konexioa etenda duelako.

So his vision is normal because the visual areas are normal,

Hortaz, ikusmena eta ikusmen-eremuak ondo dauzka.

his emotions are normal -- he'll laugh, he'll cry, so on and so forth --

Emozioak ere ondo ditu, barre, negar egingo du.

but the wire from vision to emotions is cut

Ikusmena eta emozioen arteko konexioa, berriz, hautsirik dauka,

and therefore he has this delusion that his mother is an impostor.

eta, horren ondorioz, ama inpostorea delako eldarnioa du.

It's a lovely example of the sort of thing we do:

Adibide ona da egiten dugun lana ikusteko.

take a bizarre, seemingly incomprehensible, neural psychiatric syndrome

Psikiatriaren sindrome bitxi bat hartu, lehen itxuraz ulertezina.

and say that the standard Freudian view is wrong,

Irizpide freudianoa okerra dela erakutsi

that, in fact, you can come up with a precise explanation

eta, gainera azalpen zehatza topatu dugu,

in terms of the known neural anatomy of the brain.

burmuineko neurona-anatomian oinarrituta.

By the way, if this patient then goes,

Bestalde, gaixo horri

and mother phones from an adjacent room -- phones him --

amak telefonoz alboko gelatik deitzen badio,

telefonoa hartu eta erantzungo du: “Ama, nola zaude? Non zaude?”

and he picks up the phone, and he says, "Wow, mom, how are you? Where are you?"

There's no delusion through the phone.

Telefonoz, ez dago eldarniorik.

Then, she approaches him after an hour, he says, "Who are you?

Ordu bat geroago ama hurbiltzean: “Nor zara?

You look just like my mother." OK?

Amaren antza duzu!”.

The reason is there's a separate pathway

Izan ere, beste ibilbide bat dago,

going from the hearing centers in the brain to the emotional centers,

burmuineko entzumen-guneetatik emozioaren guneetara,

and that's not been cut by the accident.

eta ibilbide hori ez da hautsi istripuan.

So this explains why through the phone he recognizes his mother, no problem.

Horregatik ezagutzen du ama telefonoz arazorik gabe.

When he sees her in person, he says it's an impostor.

Aurrez aurre ikustean, berriz, inpostorea dela esaten du.

OK, how is all this complex circuitry set up in the brain?

Nola osatzen da zirkuitu multzo hori guztia burmuinean?

Is it nature, genes, or is it nurture?

Natura da, geneak, ala kultura?

And we approach this problem

Eztabaida hori argitzeko

by considering another curious syndrome called phantom limb.

ikus dezagun beste sindrome bitxia: gorputz-adar fantasma.

And you all know what a phantom limb is.

Badakizue zer den gorputz-adar fantasma bat.

When an arm is amputated, or a leg is amputated, for gangrene,

Norbaiti besoa edo zangoa ebakitzen diotenean

or you lose it in war -- for example, in the Iraq war,

gerra, Irakekoa adibidez, edo gangrena dela eta,

it's now a serious problem --

arazo larria da.

you continue to vividly feel the presence of that missing arm,

Oraindik biziki sentitzen du galdutako besoaren presentzia.

and that's called a phantom arm or a phantom leg.

Horri deitzen diogu beso edo zango fantasma.

In fact, you can get a phantom with almost any part of the body.

Gorputzeko edozein zatiaren fantasma eduki dezakezu.

Believe it or not, even with internal viscera.

Sinistu ala ez, barne-organo batena ere.

I've had patients with the uterus removed -- hysterectomy --

Benetako umetokia kendu ondoren, histerektomia,

who have a phantom uterus, including phantom menstrual cramps

umetoki fantasmadun gaixoak tratatu ditut,

menstruazio minekin eta guztiz.

at the appropriate time of the month.

And in fact, one student asked me the other day,

Ikasle batek galdetu zidan:

"Do they get phantom PMS?"

“Ba al dute menstruazioaren aurreko sindromea?”

(Laughter)

A subject ripe for scientific enquiry, but we haven't pursued that.

(Barreak)

Zientifikoki ikertzea mereziko luke, baina oraindik ez dugu egin.

OK, now the next question is,

Hurrengo galdera zera da:

what can you learn about phantom limbs by doing experiments?

Nola ikertu gorputz-adar fantasmak esperimentuen bidez?

One of the things we've found was,

Hau aurkitu dugu:

about half the patients with phantom limbs

gorputz-adar fantasmadun gaixoen erdiek

claim that they can move the phantom.

diote gai direla fantasma mugitzeko.

It'll pat his brother on the shoulder,

“Zaplada emango diot bizkarrean adiskide honi.

it'll answer the phone when it rings, it'll wave goodbye.

Telefonoa hartuko dut. Eskuaz agurtuko dut”.

These are very compelling, vivid sensations.

Sentipen hauek oso biziak dira, sinistu beharrekoak.

The patient's not delusional.

Gaixoak ez du eldarniorik.

He knows that the arm is not there,

Badaki besorik ez daukala.

but, nevertheless, it's a compelling sensory experience for the patient.

Hala ere, bizi-bizi sentitzen du hura.

But however, about half the patients, this doesn't happen.

Gaixoen beste erdiei ez zaie halakorik gertatzen.

The phantom limb -- they'll say, "But doctor, the phantom limb is paralyzed.

Hau diote beso fantasmaz: “Doktorea, beso fantasma paralizaturik dago.

It's fixed in a clenched spasm and it's excruciatingly painful.

Espasmo gogorrean dago uzkurtuta, min ikaragarria ematen dit.

If only I could move it, maybe the pain will be relieved."

Behintzat mugitzerik izango banu, mina arinduko litzaidake agian”.

Now, why would a phantom limb be paralyzed?

Nola liteke gorputz-adar fantasma paralizatuta egotea?

It sounds like an oxymoron.

Kontraesana ematen du.

But when we were looking at the case sheets, what we found was,

Historia klinikoei begiratzean hau ikusi genuen:

these people with the paralyzed phantom limbs,

gorputz-adar fantasma paralizaturik dutenean,

the original arm was paralyzed because of the peripheral nerve injury.

bere besoa ere egon zen paralizaturik nerbio periferikoaren lesioagatik.

The actual nerve supplying the arm was severed,

Besora heltzen den nerbioa moztuta zuten,

was cut, by say, a motorcycle accident.

demagun motozikleta istripu batengatik.

So the patient had an actual arm, which is painful,

Besoa euskarri bati lotuta izan zuten

in a sling for a few months or a year, and then,

hilabete edo urteetan zehar, mingarria dena

in a misguided attempt to get rid of the pain in the arm,

eta besoko mina kentzeko modu okerra dena.

the surgeon amputates the arm,

Gero medikuak besoa anputatu du.

and then you get a phantom arm with the same pains, right?

Hortaz, beso fantasma ere mingarria izango da.

And this is a serious clinical problem.

Hau arazo kliniko larria da.

Patients become depressed.

Gaixoak deprimitu egiten dira,

Some of them are driven to suicide, OK?

batzuk beren buruaz beste egiten dute.

So, how do you treat this syndrome?

Nola tratatu sindrome hori?

Now, why do you get a paralyzed phantom limb?

Zergatik sortzen da gorputz-adar fantasma paralizatua?

When I looked at the case sheet, I found that they had an actual arm,

Historia klinikoei begiratuta, ikusi nuen

and the nerves supplying the arm had been cut,

benetako besoa maneiatzen duten nerbioak moztu zirela aurretik

and the actual arm had been paralyzed,

eta benetako besoa paralizaturik egon zela,

and lying in a sling for several months before the amputation,

euskarri baten hilabetetan gordeta, anputatu arte.

and this pain then gets carried over into the phantom itself.

Orduko min hura beso fantasmara igaro zen.

Why does this happen?

Zergatik gertatzen da hori?

Besoa osorik dagoenean, baina paralizatuta,

When the arm was intact, but paralyzed,

the brain sends commands to the arm, the front of the brain, saying, "Move,"

burmuinaren aurrealdeak besoari agintzen dio: “Mugi”

but it's getting visual feedback saying, "No."

Baina burmuinak ikusmen-feedback hau jasotzen du: “Ez”.

Move. No. Move. No. Move. No.

Mugi. Ez. Mugi. Ez. Mugi. Ez

And this gets wired into the circuitry of the brain,

Kontraesan hori grabatu egiten da burmuineko zirkuiterian.

and we call this learned paralysis, OK?

Horri “ikasitako paralisia” deitzen diogu.

The brain learns, because of this Hebbian, associative link,

Burmuinak lotura hebbiano hori egiten du,

that the mere command to move the arm

eta, ondorioz, besoa mugitzeko aginduak berak

creates a sensation of a paralyzed arm.

sortzen du paralisiaren sentsazioa.

And then, when you've amputated the arm,

Horrez gero, besoa anputatzen badizute,

this learned paralysis carries over into your body image

ikasitako paralisi hori dator ere zure gorputz-irudira,

and into your phantom, OK?

eta zure fantasmara.

Now, how do you help these patients?

Nola lagundu paziente hauei?

How do you unlearn the learned paralysis,

Nola “desikasi” ikasitako paralisia,

so you can relieve him of this excruciating, clenching spasm

nola askatu beso fantasma

of the phantom arm?

uzkurdura mingarritik?

Well, we said, what if you now send the command to the phantom,

Eta agindua fantasmari bidaltzen badiogu

but give him visual feedback that it's obeying his command, right?

eta ikusmen-feedbacka eman agindua betetzen ari dela?

Maybe you can relieve the phantom pain, the phantom cramp.

Agian horrela bare genezake fantasmaren mina eta gogordura.

How do you do that? Well, virtual reality.

Nola egin? Bai, errealitate birtuala.

But that costs millions of dollars.

Baina milioika euro kostatzen du.

So, I hit on a way of doing this for three dollars,

3 eurogatik egiteko modua asmatu nuen,

but don't tell my funding agencies.

baina ez esan nire diru-laguntzaileei.

(Laughter)

(Barreak).

OK? What you do is you create what I call a mirror box.

Ispilu-kutxa bat egin dugu.

You have a cardboard box with a mirror in the middle,

Kartoizko kutxa baten erdian ispilua jarri,

and then you put the phantom -- so my first patient, Derek, came in.

eta barruan beso fantasma kokatu. Derek, nire lehen pazientea sartu zen.

He had his arm amputated 10 years ago.

Besoa orain dela 10 urte anputatu zioten.

He had a brachial avulsion, so the nerves were cut

Besoa moztu zitzaion, nerbioak moztu,

and the arm was paralyzed, lying in a sling for a year, and then the arm was amputated.

besoa paralizatu. Urte bat euskarrian izan ondoren, anputatu zioten.

He had a phantom arm, excruciatingly painful, and he couldn't move it.

Beso fantasma bat zuen, paralizatuta eta sekulako minarekin.

It was a paralyzed phantom arm.

Beso fantasma paralizatua.

So he came there, and I gave him a mirror like that, in a box,

Etorri zenean ispiludun kutxa bat eman nion,

which I call a mirror box, right?

ispilu-kutxa deitzen dudana.

And the patient puts his phantom left arm,

Gaixoak ezkerreko beso fantasma zurrun tolestua

which is clenched and in spasm, on the left side of the mirror,

ispiluaren ezkerraldean jartzen du

and the normal hand on the right side of the mirror,

eta esku normala ispiluaren eskuinaldean

and makes the same posture, the clenched posture,

eta bestearen modu berean tolesten du.

and looks inside the mirror. And what does he experience?

Ispiluari begiratzean, zer esperientzia izango du?

He looks at the phantom being resurrected,

Beso fantasma berpiztu egin dela irudituko zaio,

because he's looking at the reflection of the normal arm in the mirror,

beso normalaren ispiluko isla ikusten baitu,

and it looks like this phantom has been resurrected.

eta badirudi beso fantasma bizirik dagoela.

"Now," I said, "now, look, wiggle your phantom --

“Orain -esan nuen- astindu zure fantasma,

your real fingers, or move your real fingers while looking in the mirror."

mugitu benetako atzamarrak, ispiluari begira”.

He's going to get the visual impression that the phantom is moving, right?

Fantasma mugitzen dela irudituko zaio.

That's obvious, but the astonishing thing is,

Baina begira zer gauza harrigarria

the patient then says, "Oh my God, my phantom is moving again,

esan zuen: “Ene! Nire fantasma berriro mugitzen da,

and the pain, the clenching spasm, is relieved."

mina, uzkurduraren espasmoa arindu da”.

And remember, my first patient who came in --

Gogoratu, niregana etorri zen lehen pazientea...

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

-- thank you. (Applause)

Eskerrik asko.

My first patient came in, and he looked in the mirror,

Nire lehen pazienteak ispiluan begiratu zuen

and I said, "Look at your reflection of your phantom."

eta esan nion: "Begiratu zure fantasmaren islari".

And he started giggling, he says, "I can see my phantom."

Irri egin zuen: “Nire fantasma ikus dezaket”.

But he's not stupid. He knows it's not real.

Ez da memeloa: badaki ez dela erreala.

He knows it's a mirror reflection,

Ispiluko isla dela,

but it's a vivid sensory experience.

baina bizi-bizia sentitzen du.

Now, I said, "Move your normal hand and phantom."

Esan nion esku normala eta fantasma batera mugitzeko.

He said, "Oh, I can't move my phantom. You know that. It's painful."

Berak: “Ezin dut fantasma mugitu, mingarria da”.

I said, "Move your normal hand."

Esku normala mugitzeko esan nion.

And he says, "Oh my God, my phantom is moving again. I don't believe this!

Eta berak: “Ene! Fantasma mugitzen da, ezin dut sinistu!

And my pain is being relieved." OK?

Mina desagertu da!”.

And then I said, "Close your eyes."

Eta nik: “Begiak itxi”. Begiak itxi zituen.

He closes his eyes.

"And move your normal hand."

- Esku normala mugitu.

"Oh, nothing. It's clenched again."

- Ai! Berriro uzkurtu da.

"OK, open your eyes."

- Zabaldu begiak.

"Oh my God, oh my God, it's moving again!"

- Ene! Berriro mugitzen da!

So, he was like a kid in a candy store.

Pozaren pozez zegoen.

So, I said, OK, this proves my theory about learned paralysis

Horrek frogatzen du nire teoria ikasitako paralisiari buruz

and the critical role of visual input,

eta ikusmen input-aren funtsezko eginkizuna.

but I'm not going to get a Nobel Prize

Baina ez dut Nobel Saria jasoko

for getting somebody to move his phantom limb.

norbaitek beso fantasma mugitzea lortu dudalako.

(Laughter)

(Barreak) (Txaloak)

(Applause)

It's a completely useless ability, if you think about it.

Azken finean, guztiz alferrikakoa da gaitasun hori.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

But then I started realizing, maybe other kinds of paralysis

Baina pentsatu nuen neurologiako beste paralisi mota batzuetan ere

that you see in neurology, like stroke, focal dystonias --

isurietan, foku-disfasietan,

there may be a learned component to this,

egon zitekeela antzeko ikasitako osagairik,

which you can overcome with the simple device of using a mirror.

ispilu soil baten bidez senda daitekeena.

So, I said, "Look, Derek" --

Esan nion: "Tira, Derek" --

well, first of all, the guy can't just go around carrying a mirror to alleviate his pain --

Ezin da batetik bestera ibili ispilu batekin, mina kentzeko.

I said, "Look, Derek, take it home and practice with it for a week or two.

Esan nion: “Derek: etxera eraman eta aste pare batez praktikatu".

Maybe, after a period of practice,

Praktikatu eta gero, agian,

you can dispense with the mirror, unlearn the paralysis,

ispilua utzi, paralisia ‘desikasi’,

and start moving your paralyzed arm,

zure beso paralizatua mugitzen berriro hasi

and then, relieve yourself of pain."

eta minetik askatuko zara”.

So he said OK, and he took it home.

Berak baietz esan eta etxera eraman zuen.

I said, "Look, it's, after all, two dollars. Take it home."

Esan nion: “Bi euro dira, eraman etxera”.

So, he took it home, and after two weeks, he phones me,

Bi aste geroago telefonoz deitu zidan:

and he said, "Doctor, you're not going to believe this."

- Doktorea, ez didazu sinistuko.

I said, "What?"

- Zer?

He said, "It's gone."

- Desagertu da.

I said, "What's gone?"

- Zer desagertu da?

I thought maybe the mirror box was gone.

Uste nuen agian ispilua izango zela.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

He said, "No, no, no, you know this phantom I've had for the last 10 years?

- Ez. Badakizu 10 urtetan izan dudan fantasma?

It's disappeared."

Desagertu da!

And I said -- I got worried, I said, my God,

Kezkatu nintzen.

I mean I've changed this guy's body image,

Gizon honen gorputz-irudia aldatu dut.

what about human subjects, ethics and all of that?

Non dira etika, giza-arazo kontuak?

And I said, "Derek, does this bother you?"

Esan nion: - Gaizki zaude horregatik?

He said, "No, last three days, I've not had a phantom arm

- Ez, azken hiru egunetan ez dut beso fantasmarik izan,

and therefore no phantom elbow pain, no clenching,

ezta uzkurdurarik, ukondoko minik,

no phantom forearm pain, all those pains are gone away.

besaurreko minik. Min horiek guztiak joan zaizkit.

But the problem is I still have my phantom fingers dangling from the shoulder,

Arazoa da oraindik ditudala atzamar fantasmak lepotik eskegita,

and your box doesn't reach."

eta zure kutxa ez da haraino ailegatzen.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

"So, can you change the design and put it on my forehead,

Kutxaren diseinua alda dezakezu, nire bekokian jarri

so I can, you know, do this and eliminate my phantom fingers?"

atzamar fantasmak ezabatzeko?

He thought I was some kind of magician.

Aztitzat hartzen ninduen nonbait.

Now, why does this happen?

Zergatik gertatzen da hau?

It's because the brain is faced with tremendous sensory conflict.

Zentzumen-gatazka itzelari aurre egiten dio burmuinak.

It's getting messages from vision saying the phantom is back.

Ikusmenak esaten dio besoa itzuli dela.

On the other hand, there's no proprioception,

Beste aldetik, muskuluek ez diote igortzen

muscle signals saying that there is no arm, right?

itzuleraren seinalerik.

And your motor command saying there is an arm,

Eta mugitzeko aginduek esaten dute besoa hor dagoela.

and, because of this conflict, the brain says, to hell with it,

Gatazka hori dela-eta, burmuinak erabakitzen du:

there is no phantom, there is no arm, right?

“Pikutara. Ez dago besorik. Ez dago fantasmarik”.

It goes into a sort of denial -- it gates the signals.

Uko egiten du, seinaleak ukatzen ditu.

And when the arm disappears, the bonus is, the pain disappears

Besoarekin batera mina ere desagertzen da,

because you can't have disembodied pain floating out there, in space.

ezin delako inongo kokapenik gabeko minik eduki.

So, that's the bonus.

Horixe da gertatzen dena.

Now, this technique has been tried on dozens of patients

Egun, teknika hori hamaika pazientekin probatu dute

by other groups in Helsinki,

Helsinkiko ikerlari batzuek.

so it may prove to be valuable as a treatment for phantom pain,

Frogatu dute baliagarria dela min fantasma tratatzeko.

and indeed, people have tried it for stroke rehabilitation.

Iktusaren errehabilitazioan ere probatu dute.

Stroke you normally think of as damage to the fibers,

Iktusean, normalean, zuntzen kaltea dagoenez

nothing you can do about it.

zereginik ez dagoela pentsatu ohi dugu.

But, it turns out some component of stroke paralysis is also learned paralysis,

Baina paralisi horietako osagai bat ikasitakoa da,

and maybe that component can be overcome using mirrors.

eta osagai hori, akaso, ispiluak erabiliz gaindi genezake.

This has also gone through clinical trials,

Ideia hori klinikoki ere probatu dute

helping lots and lots of patients.

eta gaixo askori lagundu dio.

OK, let me switch gears now to the third part of my talk,

Abia gaitezen hitzaldiaren hirugarren parterantz.

which is about another curious phenomenon called synesthesia.

Sinestesia izeneko fenomeno bitxiari buruzkoa da.

This was discovered by Francis Galton in the nineteenth century.

Francis Galtonek aurkitu zuen, XIX. mendean.

He was a cousin of Charles Darwin.

Charles Darwinen lehengusua zen.

He pointed out that certain people in the population,

Hura konturatu zen pertsona jakin batzuek,

who are otherwise completely normal, had the following peculiarity:

guztiz normalak izan arren, berezitasun hau dutela:

every time they see a number, it's colored.

zenbakiak koloreztaturik ikusten dituzte beti.

Five is blue, seven is yellow, eight is chartreuse,

Haientzat bosta urdina da, zazpia horia, zortzia berdexka,

nine is indigo, OK?

bederatzia morea.

Bear in mind, these people are completely normal in other respects.

Guztiz normalak dira gainerako arloetan.

Or C sharp -- sometimes, tones evoke color.

Edo, batzuetan, soinuek kolorea ekartzen diete gogora.

C sharp is blue, F sharp is green,

Do musika-notak urdina, Rek berdea,

another tone might be yellow, right?

beste nota batek horia.

Why does this happen?

Zergatik gertatzen da hori?

Sinestesia izena du. Galtonek horrela deitu zion:

This is called synesthesia. Galton called it synesthesia,

a mingling of the senses.

zentzumenen nahastea.

In us, all the senses are distinct.

Oro har zentzumenak bereizita egoten dira.

These people muddle up their senses.

Baina pertsona horiengan nahastu egiten dira.

Why does this happen?

Zergatik?

One of the two aspects of this problem are very intriguing.

Ezaugarri interesgarri pare bat du.

Synesthesia runs in families,

Familien barruan hedatzen da.

so Galton said this is a hereditary basis, a genetic basis.

Horregatik Galtonek esan zuen oinarri genetikoa zuela.

Secondly, synesthesia is about -- and this is what gets me to my point

Bigarrenik, eta honek hitzaldiaren muinera garamatza,

about the main theme of this lecture, which is about creativity --

sormenera,

artista, poeta eta bestelako sortzaileen artean

synesthesia is eight times more common among artists, poets, novelists

zortzi aldiz gehiagotan gertatzen da

and other creative people than in the general population.

biztanleria osoaren artean baino.

Why would that be?

Zer dela eta?

I'm going to answer that question.

Galdera hori erantzungo dut.

It's never been answered before.

Sekula erantzun gabeko galdera da.

OK, what is synesthesia? What causes it?

Zer da sinestesia? Zerk sortzen du?

Well, there are many theories.

Teoria asko daude.

One theory is they're just crazy.

Teoria baten arabera, zoroak dira.

Now, that's not really a scientific theory, so we can forget about it.

Ez da benetako teoria zientifikoa, beraz bazter dezakegu.

Another theory is they are acid junkies and potheads, right?

Beste teoria baten arabera,

azido eta haxix-pipatzaileak dira.

Now, there may be some truth to this,

Baliteke egiaren bat egotea,

because it's much more common here in the Bay Area than in San Diego.

San Franciscon San Diegon baino ohikoagoa delako .

(Laughter)

(Barreak).

OK. Now, the third theory is that --

Hirugarren teoria da…

well, let's ask ourselves what's really going on in synesthesia. All right?

Galde diezaiogun geure buruari zertan datzan sinestesia.

So, we found that the color area and the number area

Aurkitu genuen koloreen aldea eta zenbakien aldea

are right next to each other in the brain, in the fusiform gyrus.

pare-parean daudela burmuinean, zirkunboluzio fusiformean.

So we said, there's some accidental cross wiring

Esan genuen: ezusteko kable gurutzatuak

between color and numbers in the brain.

daude burmuinean, kolore eta zenbakien artean.

So, every time you see a number, you see a corresponding color,

Zenbakia ikustean, dagokion kolorea ere ikusten duzu

and that's why you get synesthesia.

eta horregatik daukazu sinestesia.

Now remember -- why does this happen?

Zergatik gertatzen da?

Zergatik kable-gurutzaketa pertsona batzuengan?

Why would there be crossed wires in some people?

Remember I said it runs in families?

Ez al genuen esan familietan hedatzen dela?

That gives you the clue.

Horrek ematen dizu arrasto bat.

And that is, there is an abnormal gene,

Ezohiko gene batek,

a mutation in the gene that causes this abnormal cross wiring.

gene baten mutazioak sortzen du nerbio-gurutzaketa hori.

In all of us, it turns out

Izan ere, denok

we are born with everything wired to everything else.

jaiotzen garenean dena daukagu konektatuta.

So, every brain region is wired to every other region,

Burmuineko alde bakoitza beste guztiekin dago konektatuta.

and these are trimmed down to create

Gero, konexio horiek kimatu egiten dira

the characteristic modular architecture of the adult brain.

burmuin helduaren berezko arkitektura modularra sortzeko.

So, if there's a gene causing this trimming

Kimaketa hori eragiten duen gene bat badago

and if that gene mutates,

eta genea mutatzen bada,

then you get deficient trimming between adjacent brain areas.

orduan kimatze urria edukiko duzu burmuineko alboko aldeen artean.

And if it's between number and color, you get number-color synesthesia.

Zenbaki eta koloreen artean bada, zenbaki-kolore sinestesia duzu.

If it's between tone and color, you get tone-color synesthesia.

Tonua eta kolorearen artean bada, tonu-kolore sinestesia.

So far, so good.

Honaino, dena argi.

Now, what if this gene is expressed everywhere in the brain,

Eta gene horrek burmuin osoan eragina balu,

so everything is cross-connected?

eta dena konektatuta balego?

Well, think about what artists, novelists and poets have in common,

Zer dute artista, nobelagile eta poeta guztiek?

the ability to engage in metaphorical thinking,

Pentsamendu metaforikorako joera,

linking seemingly unrelated ideas,

itxuraz loturik gabeko ideiak lotzen.

such as, "It is the east, and Juliet is the Sun."

Adibidez: “Hau Ekialdea eta Julieta Eguzkia”.

Well, you don't say, Juliet is the sun,

Ez duzu esaten Julieta eguzkia denik,

does that mean she's a glowing ball of fire?

suzko bola gorri distiratsua denik.

I mean, schizophrenics do that, but it's a different story, right?

Eskizofrenikoek ere egiten dute, baina hori beste kontua da.

Normal people say, she's warm like the sun,

Jende arruntak dio Julieta eguzkia bezain beroa dela,

she's radiant like the sun, she's nurturing like the sun.

eguzkia bezain distiratsua, suspergarria.

Instantly, you've found the links.

Bat-batean egiten dituzu loturak.

Now, if you assume that this greater cross wiring

Onartzen bada konexio-gurutzatze handiago hori

and concepts are also in different parts of the brain,

eta kontzeptuak burmuinaren beste alde batzuetan ere daudela,

then it's going to create a greater propensity

pentsamendu metaforikoa eta sorkuntzarako

towards metaphorical thinking and creativity

joera handiagoa aurkituko dugu

in people with synesthesia.

sinestesia duten pertsonengan.

And, hence, the eight times more common incidence of synesthesia

Eta, horregatik, sinestesia zortzi aldiz hedatuago egotea

among poets, artists and novelists.

poeta, artista eta nobelagileen artean.

OK, it's a very phrenological view of synesthesia.

Sinestesiaren oso ikuspegi frenologikoa.

The last demonstration -- can I take one minute?

Azken froga - Minutu bat gehiago?

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

OK. I'm going to show you that you're all synesthetes, but you're in denial about it.

Guztiak sinestetak zaretela erakutsiko dizuet, baina ukatzen duzue.

Here's what I call Martian alphabet. Just like your alphabet,

Hona hemen “Marteko alfabetoa”. Zuen alfabetoaren gisakoa.

A is A, B is B, C is C.

A da A, B da B, C da C.

Different shapes for different phonemes, right?

Zenbat forma, hainbat fonema, ezta?

Here, you've got Martian alphabet.

Hemen duzue alfabeto martetarra.

One of them is Kiki, one of them is Bouba.

Bata Kiki da, eta bestea, Buba.

Zein Kiki eta zein Buba?

Which one is Kiki and which one is Bouba?

Nork uste du hau Kiki dela eta hori Buba? Altxa eskua.

How many of you think that's Kiki and that's Bouba? Raise your hands.

Well, it's one or two mutants.

Tira, mutante bat edo bi.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

How many of you think that's Bouba, that's Kiki? Raise your hands.

Nork uste du hau dela Buba eta hori Kiki?

Ninety-nine percent of you.

Zuetako %99k.

Now, none of you is a Martian. How did you do that?

Ez dago martetarrik zuen artean. Nola asmatu duzue?

It's because you're all doing a cross-model synesthetic abstraction,

Guztiak ari zarete ereduak lotu eta abstrakzio sinestetikoa egiten.

meaning you're saying that that sharp inflection -- ki-ki,

Adierazten duzuena da inflexio zorrotz horrek --ki-ki

in your auditory cortex, the hair cells being excited -- Kiki,

entzumen kortexean zelula ziliatuak kitzikatzeak, Kiki,

imitatzen duela ikusmenaren inflexioa, horzdun formaren inflexioa.

mimics the visual inflection, sudden inflection of that jagged shape.

Now, this is very important, because what it's telling you

Hau oso garrantzitsua da, erakusten baitigu

is your brain is engaging in a primitive --

burmuina jokaera primitiboan…

it's just -- it looks like a silly illusion,

Badirudi ilusio inozoa dela,

but these photons in your eye are doing this shape,

baina begiko fotoiek forma hau hartzen dute

and hair cells in your ear are exciting the auditory pattern,

eta belarriko zelula ziliatuek entzumen-patroia kitzikatzen dute.

but the brain is able to extract the common denominator.

Baina burmuinak bien arteko elementu komunak atera ditzake.

It's a primitive form of abstraction,

Abstrakzioa egiteko modu primitibo bat da.

and we now know this happens in the fusiform gyrus of the brain,

Egun badakigu zirkunboluzio fusiformean gertatzen dela,

because when that's damaged,

hondatzen denean

these people lose the ability to engage in Bouba Kiki,

Buba eta Kikiak erlazionatzeko gaitasuna galtzen delako.

but they also lose the ability to engage in metaphor.

Baita ere metaforak egiteko gaitasuna.

If you ask this guy, what -- "all that glitters is not gold,"

Galdetzen badiozu: “Ez da urrea distiratzen duen guztia.

what does that mean?"

Zer esan nahi du honek?"

The patient says, "Well, if it's metallic and shiny, it doesn't mean it's gold.

Gaixoak dio: “Metalikoa eta distiratsua, baina ez da zertan urrea izan behar.

You have to measure its specific gravity, OK?"

Dentsitatea neurtu beharko duzu".

So, they completely miss the metaphorical meaning.

Zentzu metaforikoa guztiz galdu du.

So, this area is about eight times the size in higher --

Alde hau zortzi aldiz handiagoa da primate garatuetan

especially in humans -- as in lower primates.

gizakiarengan bereziki, ez garatuetan baino.

Something very interesting is going on here in the angular gyrus,

Zerbait oso interesgarria gertatzen da zirkunboluzio angularrean,

because it's the crossroads between hearing, vision and touch,

entzumena, ikusmena eta ukimenaren gurutzagunea baita.

and it became enormous in humans. And something very interesting is going on.

Izugarri handi bihurtu da gizakiongan - eta gauza interesgarria ari da gertatzen.

And I think it's a basis of many uniquely human abilities

Uste dut gizakiaren trebezia bereizgarrien kokagunea dela.

like abstraction, metaphor and creativity.

Abstrakzioarena, metaforarena eta sormenarena.

All of these questions that philosophers have been studying for millennia,

Filosofoek milaka urtetan miatutako galderak

we scientists can begin to explore by doing brain imaging,

zientzialariok azter ditzakegu burmuin-irudien bidez,

and by studying patients and asking the right questions.

gaixoak ikertzen eta galdera egokiak egiten.

Thank you.

Eskerrik asko.

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

Sorry about that.

Barkatu horregatik.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)