Miguel Nicolelis: Brain-to-brain communication has arrived. How we did it

Translator: Uxía Rocha Fernández Reviewer: Serv. de Norm. Lingüística U. de Santiago de Compostela

On June 12, 2014, precisely at 3:33

Vouvos contar o que ocorreu o 12 de xuño de 2014.

Aconteceu xustamente ás 15:33.

in a balmy winter afternoon in São Paulo, Brazil,

Nunha morna tarde de inverno en São Paulo, Brasil,

a típica tarde de inverno suramericana,

a typical South American winter afternoon,

this kid, this young man that you see celebrating here

este rapaz que vedes celebrando coma se anotara un gol,

like he had scored a goal,

Juliano Pinto, 29 years old, accomplished a magnificent deed.

Juliano Pinto, de 29 anos de idade,

acadou unha magnífica fazaña.

Despite being paralyzed

É unha persoa de mobilidade reducida

que perdeu a sensibilidade dende a parte media do tórax ata as dedas

and not having any sensation from mid-chest to the tip of his toes

as the result of a car crash six years ago that killed his brother

por un accidente de coche hai seis anos que provocou a morte do seu irmán

and produced a complete spinal cord lesion that left Juliano in a wheelchair,

e causoulle unha lesión medular completa que o deixou nunha cadeira de rodas.

Juliano rose to the occasion, and on this day did something

A pesar de todo, aproveitou a oportunidade e xusto aquel día,

Juliano protagonizou un suceso

that pretty much everybody that saw him in the six years deemed impossible.

que case todos os que o viran neses seis anos coidaran imposible.

Juliano Pinto delivered the opening kick

Juliano Pinto foi quen de xutar o balón no lanzamento de apertura

of the 2014 Brazilian World Soccer Cup here

da cerimonia de inauguración da Copa do Mundo de Fútbol de Brasil en 2014

just by thinking.

só co pensamento.

He could not move his body,

Non podía mover o corpo,

but he could imagine the movements needed to kick a ball.

pero podía imaxinar os movementos

necesarios para xutar o balón.

He was an athlete before the lesion. He's a para-athlete right now.

Antes era deportista e agora é paraatleta.

He's going to be in the Paralympic Games, I hope, in a couple years.

Espero que participe nos Xogos Paraolímpicos nun par de anos.

But what the spinal cord lesion did not rob from Juliano

Porén, o que a lesión de medula non lle arrebatou a Juliano

was his ability to dream.

foi a capacidade de soñar.

And dream he did that afternoon, for a stadium of about 75,000 people

O seu soño fíxose realidade aquela tarde

nun estadio con case 75 000 persoas

and an audience of close to a billion watching on TV.

e cunha audiencia de case mil millóns de espectadores na televisión.

And that kick crowned, basically, 30 years of basic research

E ese tiro coroou, principalmente, 30 anos de investigación básica,

studying how the brain,

na que estudamos como o cerebro,

how this amazing universe that we have between our ears

este marabilloso universo que temos entre as orellas,

that is only comparable to universe that we have above our head

que só se pode comparar co universo que temos enriba das nosas cabezas

because it has about 100 billion elements

e ten sobre 100 mil millóns de elementos

talking to each other through electrical brainstorms,

que se comunican mediante impulsos eléctricos.

what Juliano accomplished took 30 years to imagine in laboratories

O que Juliano conseguiu, imaxinámolo durante 30 anos nos laboratorios

and about 15 years to plan.

e deseñámolo durante uns 15.

When John Chapin and I, 15 years ago, proposed in a paper

Cando John Chapin e mais eu, hai 15 anos, propuxemos nun artigo

that we would build something that we called a brain-machine interface,

que construiriamos un aparello chamado interface cerebro-máquina,

meaning connecting a brain to devices

grazas ao que se conectaría un cerebro a uns dispositivos

so that animals and humans could just move these devices,

de xeito que animais e humanos puideran movelos

sen importar o lonxe que estiveran dos seus corpos

no matter how far they are from their own bodies,

just by imagining what they want to do,

só imaxinando o que querían facer,

our colleagues told us that we actually needed professional help,

os nosos colegas dixéronnos que necesitabamos axuda profesional

of the psychiatry variety.

da especialidade psiquiátrica.

And despite that, a Scot and a Brazilian persevered,

E a pesar de todo, un escocés e un brasileiro teimaron en facelo,

because that's how we were raised in our respective countries,

porque así foi como nos aprenderon nos nosos respectivos países

and for 12, 15 years,

e durante 12 ou 15 anos,

we made demonstration after demonstration suggesting that this was possible.

demostramos ensaio tras ensaio que era posible.

And a brain-machine interface is not rocket science,

A interface cerebro-máquina non é física cuántica.

Só é investigación do cerebro.

it's just brain research.

Non é máis ca usar sensores

It's nothing but using sensors

to read the electrical brainstorms that a brain is producing

para ler os impulsos eléctricos que produce o cerebro

to generate the motor commands

ao xerar as ordes locomotoras

that have to be downloaded to the spinal cord,

que deben ser transmitidas á medula espiñal,

so we projected sensors that can read

de xeito que proxectamos sensores

hundreds and now thousands of these brain cells simultaneously,

que poden ler centos e agora miles destas células cerebrais á vez

and extract from these electrical signals

e achar a partir destes sinais

the motor planning that the brain is generating

o plan de movemento que produce o cerebro

to actually make us move into space.

para conseguir que nos despracemos no espazo.

And by doing that, we converted these signals into digital commands

E facéndoo, convertemos os sinais en ordes dixitais

that any mechanical, electronic, or even a virtual device can understand

que calquera dispositivo mecánico, electrónico ou virtual pode entender.

so that the subject can imagine what he, she or it wants to make move,

Deste xeito,

o suxeito imaxina o movemento que el ou ela desexa realizar

and the device obeys that brain command.

e o dispositivo obedece a orde do seu cerebro.

By sensorizing these devices with lots of different types of sensors,

Ao empregarmos diferentes tipos de sensores no dispositivo,

as you are going to see in a moment,

como veredes nuns intres,

we actually sent messages back to the brain to confirm

o cerebro recibe unha resposta que confirma

that that voluntary motor will was being enacted, no matter where --

que o movemento voluntario se efectuará nalgures:

next to the subject, next door, or across the planet.

preto do suxeito, no cuarto contiguo ou nalgún lugar do planeta.

And as this message gave feedback back to the brain,

E cando o cerebro recibe a resposta

the brain realized its goal: to make us move.

consegue o seu obxectivo: a acción de movemento.

So this is just one experiment that we published a few years ago,

Este só é un experimento que publicamos hai uns anos,

where a monkey, without moving its body,

no que lle aprendemos a un mono a controlar,

learned to control the movements of an avatar arm,

sen mover o seu corpo, os movementos dun brazo avatar,

a virtual arm that doesn't exist.

unha extremidade virtual que non existe.

What you're listening to is the sound of the brain of this monkey

O que estades a escoitar é o son do cerebro dun mono

mentres examina tres esferas diferentes coa mesma aparencia

as it explores three different visually identical spheres

in virtual space.

nun espazo virtual.

And to get a reward, a drop of orange juice that monkeys love,

Se quere obter a recompensa, un trago de zume de laranxa,

que lles encanta aos monos, debe seleccionar un destes obxectos,

this animal has to detect, select one of these objects

by touching,

mais o que ten que facer é tocalo

not by seeing it, by touching it,

non o ten que mirar, senón tocar,

because every time this virtual hand touches one of the objects,

xa que cada vez que esta man virtual toca un destes obxectos,

an electrical pulse goes back to the brain of the animal

un impulso eléctrico é enviado ao seu cerebro

describing the fine texture of the surface of this object,

e describe a textura precisa da súa superficie

so the animal can judge what is the correct object that he has to grab,

para que o animal poida xulgar cal é o obxecto que ten que apañar

and if he does that, he gets a reward without moving a muscle.

e se o fai ben, consegue a recompensa

sen sequera mover un dedo.

The perfect Brazilian lunch:

O aperitivo brasileiro perfecto:

not moving a muscle and getting your orange juice.

non mover un dedo e conseguir un zume de laranxa.

So as we saw this happening,

De feito, cando o logramos,

we actually came and proposed the idea that we had published 15 years ago.

viñemos e propuxemos a idea

que publicaramos 15 anos antes.

We reenacted this paper.

Retomamos a investigación. Recuperámola do caixón

We got it out of the drawers,

and we proposed that perhaps we could get a human being that is paralyzed

e suxerimos probar cun ser humano con parálise

to actually use the brain-machine interface to regain mobility.

a interface cerebro-máquina

para que recuperase a mobilidade.

The idea was that if you suffered --

A lesión de paraplexía podería sufrila calquera de nós,

and that can happen to any one of us.

Let me tell you, it's very sudden.

permitídeme que volo diga, é de súpeto.

It's a millisecond of a collision,

Pode producila un choque de 1 ms,

a car accident that transforms your life completely.

un accidente de automóbil que cambia totalmente a nosa vida.

If you have a complete lesion of the spinal cord,

Se tiverdes unha lesión na medula espiñal,

you cannot move because your brainstorms cannot reach your muscles.

non poderedes desprazarvos: os impulsos cerebrais non chegarán aos músculos.

However, your brainstorms continue to be generated in your head.

Non obstante, estes impulsos seguen xerándose nas vosas cabezas.

Paraplegic, quadriplegic patients dream about moving every night.

Os pacientes parapléxicos ou tetrapléxicos soñan con moverse todas as noites.

They have that inside their head.

Téñeno nas súas cabezas.

The problem is how to get that code out of it

O problema é como extraer o código da cabeza

and make the movement be created again.

e conseguir que se efectúe o movemento.

So what we proposed was, let's create a new body.

O que propuxemos foi crear un corpo novo:

Let's create a robotic vest.

imos deseñar un colete robótico!

And that's exactly why Juliano could kick that ball just by thinking,

E por iso Juliano puido xutar o balón co pensamento,

because he was wearing the first brain-controlled robotic vest

porque levaba o primeiro colete robótico controlado polo cerebro

that can be used by paraplegic, quadriplegic patients to move

que pode ser empregado por pacientes parapléxicos ou tetrapléxicos

para moverse e obter un sinal de resposta.

and to regain feedback.

That was the original idea, 15 years ago.

Esta foi a idea orixinal hai 15 anos.

What I'm going to show you is how 156 people from 25 countries

O que vos vou mostrar é como 156 persoas de 25 países

all over the five continents of this beautiful Earth,

dos cinco continentes deste marabilloso planeta Terra

dropped their lives, dropped their patents,

deixaron as súas vidas e os seus contratos,

tamén os seus cans, parellas, fillos, escolas e traballos

dropped their dogs, wives, kids, school, jobs,

and congregated to come to Brazil for 18 months to actually get this done.

e reuníronse para vir a Brasil durante 18 meses para desenvolvela,

Because a couple years after Brazil was awarded the World Cup,

xa que dous anos despois de saber que a Copa sería en Brasil,

we heard that the Brazilian government wanted to do something meaningful

oímos que o goberno quería facer algo significativo

in the opening ceremony

na cerimonia de apertura no país no que se reinventou

in the country that reinvented and perfected soccer

e perfeccionou o fútbol, ata que coñecemos aos alemáns, claro.

until we met the Germans, of course.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Mais ese é outro tema

But that's a different talk,

e outro neurocientífico deberá falarvos diso noutra conferencia.

and a different neuroscientist needs to talk about that.

(Risas)

But what Brazil wanted to do is to showcase

Mais o que Brasil quería facer era exhibir

a completely different country,

un país moi diferente que valora a ciencia e a tecnoloxía

a country that values science and technology,

and can give a gift to millions, 25 million people around the world

e pode agasallar a 25 millóns de persoas de todo o mundo

that cannot move any longer because of a spinal cord injury.

que perderon a mobilidade por unha lesión na medula.

Well, we went to the Brazilian government and to FIFA and proposed,

Pois acudimos ao goberno brasileiro e á FIFA e propuxemos o seguinte:

well, let's have the kickoff of the 2014 World Cup

Por que non fai o saque inicial da Copa do Mundo

be given by a Brazilian paraplegic

unha persoa brasileira de mobilidade reducida

using a brain-controlled exoskeleton that allows him to kick the ball

usando un exoesqueleto que lle permita xutar o balón

and to feel the contact of the ball.

e que lle axude a sentilo?

They looked at us, thought that we were completely nuts,

Quedaron mirando para nós coidando que estabamos tolos

and said, "Okay, let's try."

e responderon: "Veña, intentémolo".

(Risas)

We had 18 months to do everything from zero, from scratch.

Tivemos un prazo de 18 meses para facelo todo, dende o principio.

We had no exoskeleton, we had no patients,

Non tiñamos nin exoesqueleto nin pacientes.

we had nothing done.

Non tiñamos nada feito. Todos eles viñeron xuntos

These people came all together

and in 18 months, we got eight patients in a routine of training

e en 18 meses, oito pacientes realizaron unha rutina de adestramento

and basically built from nothing this guy,

e practicamente construímos desde cero este colega

that we call Bra-Santos Dumont 1.

que bautizamos como "Brasil Santos Dumont 1".

O primeiro exoesqueleto controlado polo cerebro construído

The first brain-controlled exoskeleton to be built

was named after the most famous Brazilian scientist ever,

ten o nome do científico brasileiro máis afamado que existiu,

Alberto Santos Dumont,

Alberto Santos Dumont, quen o día 19 de outubro de 1901,

who, on October 19, 1901, created and flew himself

inventou e el mesmo pilotou o primeiro dirixible aéreo

the first controlled airship on air in Paris for a million people to see.

á vista dun millón de persoas na cidade de París.

Sorry, my American friends,

Síntoo, meus amigos norteamericanos, vivo en Carolina do Norte,

I live in North Carolina,

but it was two years before the Wright Brothers flew

mais foi dous anos antes de que o fixeran os irmáns Wright,

de que despegaran na costa de Carolina do Norte.

on the coast of North Carolina.

(Aplausos)

(Applause)

Flight control is Brazilian. (Laughter)

O control aéreo inventámolo nós, os brasileiros.

(Risas)

So we went together with these guys

Así que, da man destes rapaces,

and we basically put this exoskeleton together,

puxémonos a armar o exoesqueleto,

15 degrees of freedom, hydraulic machine

unha máquina hidráulica de 15 graos de liberdade

that can be commanded by brain signals

que pode ser dirixida polos sinais eléctricos do cerebro

recorded by a non-invasive technology called electroencephalography

captados por unha tecnoloxía non invasiva chamada electroencelografía

that can basically allow the patient to imagine the movements

que lle permite ao paciente imaxinar os movementos

and send his commands to the controls, the motors,

e enviar as ordes motrices aos controis para executar unha tarefa.

and get it done.

This exoskeleton was covered with an artificial skin

O exoesqueleto foi cuberto cunha pel artificial

invented by Gordon Cheng, one of my greatest friends, in Munich,

inventada en Múnic por Gordon Cheng, un dos meus mellores amigos,

to allow sensation from the joints moving and the foot touching the ground

que favorece que a sensibilidade das articulacións e dos pés no chan

to be delivered back to the patient through a vest, a shirt.

lle chegue ao paciente a través dun colete.

It is a smart shirt with micro-vibrating elements

É unha camisiña, unha peciña de roupa

cuns microvibradores.

that basically delivers the feedback and fools the patient's brain

Envía os sinais de resposta ao paciente enganando ao seu cerebro

by creating a sensation that it is not a machine that is carrying him,

e orixinando a sensación de que non é a maquina a que o leva

but it is he who is walking again.

senón que é el o que está camiñando de novo.

So we got this going, and what you'll see here

E puxémolo en marcha.

O que vedes foi a primeira vez que Bruno, un dos nosos pacientes, camiñou.

is the first time one of our patients, Bruno, actually walked.

E lévalle uns intres, xa que temos que poñelo todo a punto.

And he takes a few seconds because we are setting everything,

and you are going to see a blue light cutting in front of the helmet

Veredes unha luz azul na parte dianteira do casco,

because Bruno is going to imagine the movement that needs to be performed,

pois Bruno vai imaxinar o movemento que vai executar,

the computer is going to analyze it, Bruno is going to certify it,

o ordenador vai analizalo e el vai confirmalo.

and when it is certified,

Unha vez que o confirme,

the device starts moving under the command of Bruno's brain.

o dispositivo comezará a moverse seguindo as ordes do cerebro de Bruno.

And he just got it right, and now he starts walking.

E como o fixo todo ben,

agora comeza a camiñar.

After nine years without being able to move,

Tras nove anos sen poder moverse, está andando por si mesmo.

he is walking by himself.

(Aplausos)

And more than that --

É máis ca iso.

(Applause) --

(Aplausos)

more than just walking,

Máis ca só camiñar, Bruno está a sentir o chan

he is feeling the ground,

and if the speed of the exo goes up,

e se a velocidade do exoesqueleto aumenta

he tells us that he is walking again on the sand of Santos,

dinos que está camiñando de novo na area de Santos,

the beach resort where he used to go before he had the accident.

a praia onde adoitaba ir antes de sufrir o accidente.

O motivo é que o seu cerebro produce unha sensación na cabeza de Bruno.

That's why the brain is creating a new sensation in Bruno's head.

So he walks, and at the end of the walk -- I am running out of time already --

Así que camiñou e ao rematar a andaina --xa me estou pasando do tempo--

he says, "You know, guys,

díxonos: "Oídes, rapaces?, tendes que mo emprestar para a miña voda

I need to borrow this thing from you when I get married,

because I wanted to walk to the priest

porque quero camiñar cara ao cura, ver á miña moza

and see my bride and actually be there by myself.

e estar alí por min mesmo de verdade". Abofé que poderá usalo cando quixer.

Of course, he will have it whenever he wants.

And this is what we wanted to show during the World Cup, and couldn't,

E isto foi o que quixemos mostrar na Copa do Mundo e non puidemos.

because for some mysterious reason, FIFA cut its broadcast in half.

Por algunha misteriosa razón, a FIFA cortou a emisión á metade.

What you are going to see very quickly is Juliano Pinto in the exo doing the kick

O que ides ver rapidamente é a Juliano Pinto co exoesqueleto

executando o lanzamento uns minutos antes de que foramos ao campo

a few minutes before we went to the pitch

and did the real thing in front of the entire crowd,

e xutase o balón perante o público.

and the lights you are going to see just describe the operation.

As luces que ides ver describen a operación.

Basically, the blue lights pulsating indicate that the exo is ready to go.

As luces azuis intermitentes indican que o exoesqueleto está listo.

It can receive thoughts and it can deliver feedback,

Pode recibir os pensamentos e entregar unha resposta.

and when Juliano makes the decision to kick the ball,

E cando Bruno toma a decisión de xutar o balón,

you are going to see two streams of green and yellow light

veredes dúas correntes de luz, unha verde e outra amarela,

coming from the helmet and going to the legs,

que proveñen do casco e se dirixen ás pernas

representing the mental commands that were taken by the exo

e representan as ordes mentais que foron recollidas polo exoesqueleto

to actually make that happen.

para conseguir que ocorra.

And in basically 13 seconds,

Finalmente, a Juliano lévalle uns 13 s conseguir facelo.

Juliano actually did.

You can see the commands.

Podedes ver as ordes no vídeo.

He gets ready, the ball is set, and he kicks.

Juliano prepárase, colócase perante o balón e xútao.

And the most amazing thing is,

Vouvos dicir o máis emocionante:

10 seconds after he did that, and looked at us on the pitch,

10 s despois de que o fixera mirando para nós no estadio

he told us, celebrating as you saw,

exclamou mentres o celebraba, como vistes:

"I felt the ball."

"Sentín o balón!".

And that's priceless.

E iso non ten prezo.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

So where is this going to go?

E ata onde imos chegar? Teño 2 min para contárvolo.

I have two minutes to tell you

that it's going to the limits of your imagination.

Supera os límites da vosa imaxinación.

Brain-actuating technology is here.

A tecnoloxía controlada pola mente xa está aquí.

This is the latest: We just published this a year ago,

O máis recente publicámolo hai un ano: a primeira interface cerebro-cerebro.

the first brain-to-brain interface

that allows two animals to exchange mental messages

Permítelles a dous animais intercambiar mensaxes mentais

so that one animal that sees something coming from the environment

de xeito que se algún deles detecta que un elemento xorde no contorno

can send a mental SMS, a torpedo, a neurophysiological torpedo,

pode enviarlle un SMS mental, é dicir, unha mensaxe curta co cerebro,

un torpedo neurofisiolóxico, ao outro animal

to the second animal,

and the second animal performs the act that he needed to perform

e este realiza a acción que precisa efectuar

without ever knowing what the environment was sending as a message,

sen sequera ter coñecemento ningún de qué foi o que xurdiu no contorno.

because the message came from the first animal's brain.

Mais a mensaxe proveu da mente doutro animal.

So this is the first demo.

Esta é a primeira demostración. Vou apurar para mostrarvos a última investigación.

I'm going to be very quick because I want to show you the latest.

But what you see here is the first rat getting informed

Describirei o que ides ver.

É a primeira rata que será informada por un indicador lumínico

by a light that is going to show up on the left of the cage

que se prenderá na parte esquerda da gaiola

that he has to press the left cage to basically get a reward.

de que debe premer esa zona para obter unha recompensa.

He goes there and does it.

Vai para aí e faino.

And the same time, he is sending a mental message

Ao mesmo tempo, mándalle unha mensaxe mental á outra rata,

to the second rat that didn't see any light,

quen non percibe ningunha luz.

and the second rat, in 70 percent of the times

E a outra rata, o 70% dos casos, preme a panca esquerda

is going to press the left lever and get a reward

e consegue a recompensa sen sequera percibir a luz na retina.

without ever experiencing the light in the retina.

Well, we took this to a little higher limit

Quixemos dar un paso máis na investigación

by getting monkeys to collaborate mentally in a brain net,

coa colaboración mental entre monos

nunha rede cerebral

basically to donate their brain activity

coa que compartir a actividade cerebral e combinala

and combine them to move the virtual arm that I showed you before,

para mover o brazo virtual que vos ensinei antes.

and what you see here is the first time the two monkeys combine their brains,

O que estades a ver é a primeira vez que dous monos coordinan os seus cerebros

synchronize their brains perfectly to get this virtual arm to move.

e sincronízanos perfectamente para mover o brazo virtual.

One monkey is controlling the x dimension,

Un mono controla o eixe das abscisas e o outro o das ordenadas.

the other monkey is controlling the y dimension.

But it gets a little more interesting when you get three monkeys in there

Tórnase un pouquiño máis interesante cando o teñen que facer tres monos.

and you ask one monkey to control x and y,

Pídeslle ao primeiro que controle "x" e "y", ao segundo "y" e "z"

the other monkey to control y and z,

and the third one to control x and z,

e ao terceiro que dirixa "x" e "z",

and you make them all play the game together,

de xeito que participan no xogo xuntos

moving the arm in 3D into a target to get the famous Brazilian orange juice.

e moven o brazo en 3D cara a un obxectivo

para obter o afamado zume de laranxa brasileiro.

And they actually do.

E, de feito, conségueno.

The black dot is the average of all these brains working

O punto negro representa a media destes cerebros traballando en paralelo

in parallel, in real time.

e en tempo real.

That is the definition of a biological computer,

Esta é a definición dunha computadora biolóxica:

interacting by brain activity and achieving a motor goal.

interacción da actividade cerebral para conseguir unha acción de movemento.

Where is this going?

E ata onde imos chegar? Non temos nin idea.

We have no idea.

(Risas)

Só somos científicos.

We're just scientists.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

We are paid to be children,

Págannos por ser rapaces.

to basically go to the edge and discover what is out there.

Por levalo todo ao límite e descubrir que hai aí fóra.

But one thing I know:

Mais sei de certo que un día dentro duns decenios,

One day, in a few decades,

when our grandchildren surf the Net just by thinking,

cando os nosos netos naveguen por Internet co pensamento,

or a mother donates her eyesight to an autistic kid who cannot see,

unha nai doe a súa vista ao seu fillo autista cego

or somebody speaks because of a brain-to-brain bypass,

ou alguén fale grazas a un by-pass cerebro-cerebro,

some of you will remember that it all started on a winter afternoon

algún de vos lembrará

que todo comezou unha tarde de inverno

in a Brazilian soccer field with an impossible kick.

nun estadio de fútbol brasileiro cun lanzamento imposible.

Thank you.

Graciñas.

(Aplausos)

(Applause)

Thank you.

Grazas.

Grazas.

-Grazas. Bruno Giussani: -Imos aló.

Bruno Giussani: Miguel, thank you for sticking to your time.

Grazas por axustarse ao tempo. Concederiámoslle uns minutiños máis

I actually would have given you a couple more minutes,

because there are a couple of points we want to develop, and, of course,

para resolver un par de cuestións.

Semella que precisamos cerebros conectados para achar onde imos chegar.

clearly it seems that we need connected brains to figure out where this is going.

(Risas)

So let's connect all this together.

Así que, por que non os conectamos?

So if I'm understanding correctly,

Se o entendín ben, un mono recibirá o sinal

one of the monkeys is actually getting a signal

and the other monkey is reacting to that signal

e o outro reaccionará a ela

just because the first one is receiving it and transmitting the neurological impulse.

dado que o primeiro lle transmitirá o impulso neurolóxico tras recibila.

Miguel Nicolelis: No, it's a little different.

Miguel Nicolelis: Non é así exactamente.

No monkey knows of the existence of the other two monkeys.

Ningún mono sabe que hai outros dous. BG: Xa.

They are getting a visual feedback in 2D,

MN: Reciben impresións visuais en 2D, mais teñen que realizar unha tarefa en 3D.

but the task they have to accomplish is 3D.

They have to move an arm in three dimensions.

Deben mover o brazo tendo en conta tres dimensións.

But each monkey is only getting the two dimensions on the video screen

Porén, cada mono só ve as dúas dimensións que controla na pantalla.

that the monkey controls.

And to get that thing done,

E para cumprir o seu cometido, precísase polo menos

you need at least two monkeys to synchronize their brains,

que dous monos sincronicen cadanseus cerebros,

but the ideal is three.

mais o óptimo é que o fagan tres.

So what we found out is that when one monkey starts slacking down,

O que achamos foi que se un mono se relaxa

the other two monkeys enhance their performance

os outros dous esfórzanse máis para facelo reaccionar,

to get the guy to come back,

so this adjusts dynamically,

así que se produce un axuste dinámico e a sincronía xeral segue sendo a mesma.

but the global synchrony remains the same.

Now, if you flip without telling the monkey

Se invertemos as dimensións que controlan os monos sen llelo advertir,

the dimensions that each brain has to control,

like this guy is controlling x and y,

por exemplo, este mono dirixe "x" e "y", mais debería dirixir "y" e "z",

but he should be controlling now y and z,

instantaneamente o cerebro do animal esquece as dimensións antigas

instantaneously, that animal's brain forgets about the old dimensions

and it starts concentrating on the new dimensions.

e comeza a concentrarse nas novas.

So what I need to say is that no Turing machine,

O que quero dicir é que ningunha máquina de Turing,

no computer can predict what a brain net will do.

ningunha computadora pode predicir o funcionamento dunha rede cerebral.

So we will absorb technology as part of us.

Se absorbemos a tecnoloxía coma se for parte de nós,

Technology will never absorb us.

a tecnoloxía endexamais nos absorberá a nós.

It's simply impossible.

É sinxelamente imposible.

BG: How many times have you tested this?

BG: Cantas veces o probastes?

And how many times have you succeeded versus failed?

Cantas tivestes éxito e cantas fracasastes?

MN: Oh, tens of times.

MN: Decenas de veces. Cos tres monos? Abofé que si.

With the three monkeys? Oh, several times.

I wouldn't be able to talk about this here unless I had done it a few times.

Non sería quen de falar disto aquí a non ser que o tivese probado.

And I forgot to mention, because of time,

Esquecín mencionar, pola falta de tempo,

that just three weeks ago, a European group

que hai só tres semanas, un grupo europeo

just demonstrated the first man-to-man brain-to-brain connection.

demostrou a primeira conexión cerebral entre seres humanos.

BG: And how does that play?

BG: E como participaron? MN: Foi cunha mensaxe curtiña.

MN: There was one bit of information -- big ideas start in a humble way --

As grandes ideas comezan modestamente.

but basically the brain activity of one subject

Así e todo, basicamente, a actividade cerebral dun suxeito

was transmitted to a second object, all non-invasive technology.

foi transmitida a un segundo obxecto, mediante tecnoloxía non invasiva,

So the first subject got a message, like our rats, a visual message,

de xeito que o primeiro percibiu unha mensaxe visual,

coma no caso das ratas, e comunicoulla ao segundo,

and transmitted it to the second subject.

The second subject received a magnetic pulse in the visual cortex,

quen recibiu un impulso magnético no córtex visual

or a different pulse, two different pulses.

ou outro impulso: foron dous diferentes en total.

In one pulse, the subject saw something.

Cun impulso veu unha cousa e co outro algo diferente

On the other pulse, he saw something different.

And he was able to verbally indicate

e foi quen de indicar verbalmente a mensaxe que lle foi enviada

what was the message the first subject was sending

through the Internet across continents.

a través de Internet e en diferentes continentes.

Moderator: Wow. Okay, that's where we are going.

BG: Vaia! Entón esa é a meta.

That's the next TED Talk at the next conference.

Será o seguinte relatorio TED na próxima conferencia.

Miguel Nicolelis, thank you. MN: Thank you, Bruno. Thank you.

Miguel Nicolelis, grazas. MN: Grazas, Bruno.