What hallucination reveals about our minds | Oliver Sacks

Translator: Carme Paz Reviewer: Montse Corral

We see with the eyes,

Vemos cos ollos,

but we see with the brain as well.

mais tamén vemos co cerebro.

And seeing with the brain is often called imagination.

Ver co cerebro é o que chamamos imaxinación.

E estamos familiarizados coas paisaxes da nosa propia imaxinación,

And we are familiar with the landscapes of our own imagination,

our inscapes.

coas nosas paisaxes interiores. Vivimos con elas toda a vida.

We've lived with them all our lives.

But there are also hallucinations as well.

Mais tamén hai alucinacións,

And hallucinations are completely different.

e as alucinacións son completamente diferentes.

They don't seem to be of our creation.

Non parecen creacións nosas.

They don't seem to be under control.

Non parecen estar baixo o noso control.

They seem to come from the outside and to mimic perception.

Parecen vir de fóra,

e imitar a percepción.

So I am going to be talking about hallucinations

Así que vou falar sobre alucinacións,

and a particular sort of visual hallucination,

e sobre un tipo particular de alucinacións visuais

which I see among my patients.

que vexo entre os meus pacientes.

A few months ago, I got a phone call from a nursing home where I work.

Hai uns meses, recibín unha chamada

dunha residencia de anciáns onde traballo.

They told me that one of their residents, an old lady in her 90s,

Dixéronme que un dos residentes, unha muller duns 90 anos,

was seeing things,

estaba a ver cousas

and they wondered if she'd gone bonkers

e preguntábanse se estaba toleando

or, because she was an old lady,

ou, como era unha señora maior,

whether she'd had a stroke, or whether she had Alzheimer's.

se tivera un ictus ou se tería Alzheimer.

And so they asked me if I would come and see Rosalie,

Así que me pediron que me achegase a ver a Rosalie,

the old lady.

a señora maior.

I went in to see her.

Fun vela.

It was evident straightaway that she was perfectly sane

A primeira cousa evidente era

que estaba perfectamente corda

and lucid and of good intelligence,

e lúcida e que era intelixente,

but she'd been very startled and very bewildered,

pero estaba moi asustada e perplexa,

because she'd been seeing things.

porque estivera a ver cousas.

And she told me -- the nurses hadn't mentioned this --

Díxome

- os enfermeiros non o mencionaran-

that she was blind,

que era cega,

that she had been completely blind from macular degeneration for five years.

que levaba cinco anos completamente cega por dexeneración macular.

But now, for the last few days, she'd been seeing things.

Pero nos últimos días, vía cousas.

So I said, "What sort of things?"

Así que lle preguntei: "Que tipo de cousas?"

And she said, "People in Eastern dress,

E dixo: "Xente con traxes orientais

in drapes, walking up and down stairs.

e roupaxes, subindo e baixando escaleiras.

A man who turns towards me and smiles,

Un home que se volve cara a min e sorrí.

but he has huge teeth on one side of his mouth.

Pero ten dentes enormes nun lado da boca.

Animals too.

Tamén vexo animais.

I see a white building. It's snowing, a soft snow.

E un edificio branco. Está nevando, unha neve maina.

I see this horse with a harness, dragging the snow away.

Vexo un cabalo cun arnés, arrastrando a neve.

Then, one night, the scene changes.

Logo, unha noite, a escena cambia.

I see cats and dogs walking towards me.

Vexo gatos e cans camiñando cara a min.

They come to a certain point and then stop.

Achéganse ata un punto e logo paran.

Then it changes again.

Entón cambia outra vez.

I see a lot of children. They're walking up and down stairs.

Vexo un montón de nenos. están subindo e baixando escaleiras.

They wear bright colors, rose and blue,

Visten cores brillantes, rosa e azul,

like Eastern dress."

coma os traxes orientais."

Sometimes, she said, before the people come on,

Díxome que, ás veces, antes de que chegara a xente,

she may hallucinate pink and blue squares on the floor,

podía alucinar con cadros rosas e azuis no chan,

which seem to go up to the ceiling.

que parecían subir ata o ceo.

I said, "Is this like a dream?"

Pregunteille: "É coma un soño?"

And she said, "No, it's not like a dream. It's like a movie."

E dixo: "Non, non é coma un soño. É coma unha película.

Ten cor. Ten movemento.

She said, "It's got color. It's got motion.

But it's completely silent, like a silent movie."

Pero é completamente silenciosa, coma unha película muda."

And she said it's a rather boring movie.

Dixo que era unha película bastante aburrida.

(Laughter)

"Toda esa xente con traxes orientais,

She said, "All these people with Eastern dress,

walking up and down, very repetitive, very limited."

subindo e baixando, moi repetitivo, moi limitado."

(Laughter)

(Risos)

And she had a sense of humor.

Ten sentido do humor.

She knew it was a hallucination, but she was frightened.

Ela sabía que era unha alucinación.

Pero estaba asustada. Vivira 95 anos

She had lived 95 years,

and she'd never had a hallucination before.

e nunca antes tivera unha alucinación.

She said that the hallucinations were unrelated to anything she was thinking

Dixo que as alucinacións non estaban relacionadas

con nada que ela pensara ou sentira ou fixera,

or feeling or doing,

que parecían chegar ou desaparecer por si mesmas.

that they seemed to come on by themselves, or disappear.

She had no control over them.

Non tiña control sobre elas.

Non recoñecía

She said she didn't recognize any of the people or places

ningunha das persoas ou dos lugares

in the hallucinations,

nas alucinacións.

and none of the people or the animals --

E ningunha das persoas ou dos animais,

well, they all seemed oblivious of her.

parecían ser conscientes dela.

And she didn't know what was going on.

E ela non sabía o que ocorría.

She wondered if she was going mad or losing her mind.

Preguntábase se estaría volvéndose tola

ou perdendo a cabeza.

Well, I examined her carefully.

Ben, examineina coidadosamente.

She was a bright old lady,

Era unha anciá brillante,

perfectamente corda. Non tiña problemas médicos.

perfectly sane.

She had no medical problems.

She wasn't on any medications which could produce hallucinations.

Non tomaba ningunha medicación que lle puidera producir alucinacións.

But she was blind.

Pero estaba cega.

And I then said to her, "I think I know what you have."

Entón díxenlle:

"Creo que sei o que ten.

I said, "There is a special form of visual hallucination

Hai unha forma especial de alucinación visual

which may go with deteriorating vision or blindness.

que se dá coa dexeneración da vista ou coa cegueira.

This was originally described," I said,

Foi descrito por primeira vez,

"right back in the 18th century,

alá polo século XVIII,

by a man called Charles Bonnet.

por un home chamado Charles Bonnet.

And you have Charles Bonnet syndrome.

E vostede ten a síndrome de Charles Bonnet.

Non ten ningún problema cerebral. Non ten ningún problema mental.

There's nothing wrong with your brain. There's nothing wrong with your mind.

Vostede ten a síndrome de Charles Bonnet."

You have Charles Bonnet syndrome."

And she was very relieved at this,

Ela sentiuse moi aliviada ao oílo,

that there was nothing seriously the matter,

ao saber que non era nada grave,

and also rather curious.

e tamén sentíu curiosidade.

She said, "Who is this Charles Bonnet?"

Dixo: "Quen era ese Charles Bonnet?,

She said, "Did he have them himself?"

el tamén o tivo?"

And she said, "Tell all the nurses that I have Charles Bonnet syndrome."

E dixo: "Dígalles aos enfermeiros

que teño a síndrome de Charles Bonnet."

(Laughter)

(Risos)

"I'm not crazy. I'm not demented. I have Charles Bonnet syndrome."

"Non estou tola. Non teño demencia. Teño a síndrome de Charles Bonnet."

Well, so, I did tell the nurses.

Así que llelo dixen aos enfermeiros.

Now this, for me, is a common situation.

Isto, para min, é algo habitual.

Traballo, principalmente, en residencias de anciáns.

I work in old-age homes, largely.

I see a lot of elderly people

Vexo un montón de persoas maiores

con dificultades auditivas ou visuais.

who are hearing-impaired or visually impaired.

Preto do 10 % das persoas con problemas auditivos

About 10 percent of the hearing-impaired people

get musical hallucinations.

teñen alucinacións musicais.

And about 10 percent of the visually impaired people

E preto do 10 % das persoas con problemas visuais

get visual hallucinations.

teñen alucinacións visuais.

You don't have to be completely blind,

Non é preciso estar completamente cego,

only sufficiently impaired.

abonda con ter a vista moi afectada.

Now, with the original description in the 18th century,

Segundo a descrición orixinal do século XVIII,

Charles Bonnet did not have them.

Charles Bonnet non tivo alucinancións.

His grandfather had these hallucinations.

Foi o seu avó quen as tivo.

His grandfather was a magistrate, an elderly man.

O seu avó era maxistrado, un home ancián.

He'd had cataract surgery.

Operárano de cataratas.

His vision was pretty poor.

A súa visión era moi pobre.

And in 1759, he described to his grandson

E en 1759, describiulle ao seu neto

various things he was seeing.

varias cousas que estaba vendo.

The first thing he said was he saw a handkerchief in midair.

A primeira cousa que dixo que vía

era un pano no medio do aire.

It was a large blue handkerchief with four orange circles.

Era un pano grande e azul

con catro círculos laranxas.

And he knew it was a hallucination.

El sabía que era unha alucinación.

You don't have handkerchiefs in midair.

Non hai panos no medio do aire.

And then he saw a big wheel in midair.

E despois viu unha roda grande no aire.

But sometimes he wasn't sure whether he was hallucinating or not,

Pero ás veces non estaba seguro de se estaba alucinando ou non,

because the hallucinations would fit in the context of the visions.

porque as alucinación cadraban

co contexto das visións.

So on one occasion, when his granddaughters were visiting them,

Nunha ocasión, cando os seus netos estaban de visita,

dixo: "E quen son eses guapos mozos que están convosco?"

he said, "And who are these handsome young men with you?"

(Laughter)

And they said, "Alas, Grandpapa, there are no handsome young men."

E responderon: Ai, avó, non hai ningún mozo guapo."

And then the handsome young men disappeared.

Entón, os mozos guapos desapareceron.

It's typical of these hallucinations

É típico desas alucinacións,

that they may come in a flash and disappear in a flash.

aparecen nun intre e desaparecen noutro.

They don't usually fade in and out.

Normalmente non se esvaecen.

They are rather sudden, and they change suddenly.

Son bastante repentinas e cambian de súpeto.

Charles Lullin, o avó,

Charles Lullin, the grandfather,

saw hundreds of different figures,

viu centos de figuras diferentes,

different landscapes of all sorts.

paisaxes de todos os tipos.

On one occasion, he saw a man in a bathrobe smoking a pipe,

Nunha ocasión, viu un home en albornoz fumando en pipa,

and realized it was himself.

e deuse conta de que era el mesmo.

That was the only figure he recognized.

Esa foi a única figura que recoñeceu.

On one occasion, when he was walking in the streets of Paris,

Nunha ocasión, cando camiñaba polas rúas de París,

he saw -- this was real -- a scaffolding.

viu, isto era real, un andamio.

But when he got back home, he saw a miniature of the scaffolding,

Pero cando volveu á casa, viu unha miniatura do andamio

six inches high,

de 15 cm de alto, no seu escritorio.

on his study table.

This repetition of perception is sometimes called "palinopsia."

Esta repetición da percepción

denomínase palinopsia.

Ben, que estaba a ocorrerlles

With him and with Rosalie,

what seems to be going on --

a el e a Rosalie?

and Rosalie said, "What's going on?" --

"Que está pasando?" preguntoume Rosalie.

and I said that as you lose vision,

E expliqueille que cando un perde a visión,

as the visual parts of the brain are no longer getting any input,

como as áreas visuais do cerebro xa non reciben ningún estímulo,

they become hyperactive and excitable,

vólvense hiperactivas e excitables

and they start to fire spontaneously.

e comezan a disparar espontaneamente.

E un comeza a ver cousas.

And you start to see things.

The things you see can be very complicated indeed.

De feito poden verse cousas bastante complexas.

Outra paciente miña,

With another patient of mine who also had some vision,

que tamén tiña algo de vista,

sufría visións que podían ser perturbadoras.

the visions she had could be disturbing.

On one occasion, she said she saw a man in a striped shirt in a restaurant.

Nunha ocasión, dixo que vía

un home cunha camisa de raias nun restaurante.

And he turned round,

E que daba a volta. Entón

and then he divided into six figures in striped shirts,

dividiuse en seis figuras con camisas de raias,

who started walking towards her.

que comezaron a camiñar cara a ela.

And then the six figures came together, like a concertina.

E despois, as seis figuras xuntáronse outra vez coma un acordeón.

Once, when she was driving,

Unha vez, cando estaba conducindo,

or rather, her husband was driving,

ou máis ben, o seu esposo estaba conducindo,

the road divided into four

a estrada dividiuse en catro

and she felt herself going simultaneously up four roads.

e ela sentiuse a si mesma indo asemade polas catro estradas.

Tiña alucinacións de movemento tamén.

She had very mobile hallucinations as well.

A lot of them had to do with a car.

Moitas tiñan que ver cun coche.

Sometimes she would see a teenage boy sitting on the hood of the car.

Ás veces, vía un rapaz adolescente

sentado no capó do coche.

He was very tenacious,

Era moi resolto e movíase con bastante graza

and he moved rather gracefully when the car turned.

cando o coche xiraba.

And then when they came to a stop,

E cando chegaban a un stop,

the boy would do a sudden vertical takeoff, 100 foot in the air,

o rapaz levantábase de súpeto 30 m no aire,

and then disappear.

e desaparecía.

Another patient of mine had a different sort of hallucination.

Outra paciente miña tiña un tipo diferente de alucinacións.

This was a woman who didn't have trouble with her eyes

Esta era unha muller que non tiña problemas cos ollos,

but the visual parts of her brain,

senón coas partes visuais do cerebro,

a little tumor in the occipital cortex.

un pequeno tumor no córtex occipital.

And, above all, she would see cartoons.

E ela vía, sobre todo, debuxos animados.

And these cartoons would be transparent,

Estes debuxos eran transparentes

and would cover half the visual field, like a screen.

e cubrían a metade do campo visual, coma unha pantalla.

And especially, she saw cartoons of Kermit the Frog.

E vía, sobre todo, debuxos da Ra Gustavo.

(Laughter)

(Risos)

Now, I don't watch Sesame Street,

Ben, eu non vexo Barrio Sésamo,

pero ela salientou:

but she made a point of saying,

"Why Kermit?" she said, "Kermit the Frog means nothing to me."

"Por que Gustavo?", "A Ra Gustavo non significa nada para min.

You know, I was wondering about Freudian determinants: Why Kermit?

Sabe, estaba preguntándome sobre os determinantes Freudianos.

Por que Gustavo?

"Kermit the Frog means nothing to me."

A Ra Gustavo non significa nada para min."

She didn't mind the cartoons too much.

A ela non lle molestaban moito os debuxos animados.

But what did disturb her

Pero o que si a incomodaba era ter imaxes

was she got very persistent images or hallucinations of faces,

ou alucinacións moi persistentes de caras

and as with Rosalie, the faces were often deformed,

e, coma Rosalie, as caras estaban a miúdo deformadas,

with very large teeth or very large eyes.

con dentes moi longos ou ollos moi grandes.

And these frightened her.

E isto asustábaa.

Well, what is going on with these people?

Ben, que ocorre con esta xente?

As a physician, I have to try and define what's going on

Como médico, teño intentado explicar que ocorre

and to reassure people,

e tranquilizar as persoas,

especially to reassure them that they're not going insane.

especialmente para asegurarlles que non se están volvendo tolas.

Como dixen, preto do 10 %

Something like 10 percent, as I said,

of visually impaired people get these.

de xente con dificultades visuais sofre alucinacións.

But no more than one percent of the people acknowledge them,

Pero só o recoñece o 1 % das persoas,

because they are afraid they will be seen as insane or something.

porque teñen medo de que as vexan como tolas ou algo así.

And if they do mention them to their own doctors,

E se llo mencionan ao seu médico

poden acabar cun diagnóstico errado.

they may be misdiagnosed.

In particular, the notion is that if you see things or hear things,

En concreto, a idea é que se vemos

cousas ou oímos cousas, estamos volvéndonos tolos,

you're going mad.

But the psychotic hallucinations are quite different.

pero as alucinacións psicóticas son bastante diferentes.

Psychotic hallucinations, whether they are visual or vocal,

As alucinacións psicóticas, xa for visuais ou de voces,

they address you.

diríxense a nós. Acúsannos.

They accuse you, they seduce you, they humiliate you, they jeer at you.

Sedúcennos. Humíllannos.

Búrlanse de nós.

You interact with them.

Interactuamos con elas.

There is none of this quality of being addressed

Non hai nada desa cualidade de dirixirse a nós

with these Charles Bonnet hallucinations.

nestas alucinacións de Charles Bonnet.

There is a film. You're seeing a film which has nothing to do with you --

É coma unha película. Vemos unha película que non ten nada que ver connosco,

or that's how people think about it.

ou iso é o que a xente cre.

There is also a rare thing called temporal lobe epilepsy,

Outra cousa pouco habitual é a epilepsia do lóbulo temporal

and sometimes, if one has this,

e, ás veces, se un a sofre,

one may feel oneself transported back to a time and place in the past.

pode sentirse transportado

a un tempo ou a un lugar do pasado.

You're at a particular road junction.

Estamos nun cruzamento de estradas concreto.

You smell chestnuts roasting.

Ulimos castañas asadas.

You hear the traffic. All the senses are involved.

Oímos o tráfico. Todos os sentidos están involucrados.

E estamos agardando pola nosa moza.

And you're waiting for your girl.

And it's that Tuesday evening back in 1982.

E é ese martes pola tarde en 1982.

The temporal lobe hallucinations are all sense hallucinations,

As alucinacións do lóbulo temporal

son alucinacións de todos os sentidos,

full of feeling, full of familiarity,

cheas de sensacións, de familiaridade,

located in space and time,

localizadas no espazo e no tempo,

coherent, dramatic.

coherentes, efectistas.

The Charles Bonnet ones are quite different.

As de Charles Bonnet son bastante diferentes.

In the Charles Bonnet hallucinations, you have all sorts of levels,

Nas alucinacións de Charles Bonnet,

temos todo tipo de niveis,

from the geometrical hallucinations --

desde as alucinacións xeométricas,

the pink and blue squares the woman had --

os cadros rosas e azuis que tiña a muller,

up to quite elaborate hallucinations

ata alucinacións moi elaboradas

with figures and especially faces.

con figuras e especialmente caras.

Faces, and sometimes deformed faces,

E ás veces as caras deformadas,

are the single commonest thing in these hallucinations.

son a forma máis común

desas alucinacións.

And one of the second commonest is cartoons.

E a segunda forma máis común son os debuxos animados.

So, what is going on?

Daquela, que está pasando?

Fascinatingly, in the last few years,

De xeito fascinante, nos últimos anos,

it's been possible to do functional brain imagery,

foi posible facer imaxes funcionais do cerebro,

to do fMRI on people as they are hallucinating,

facer resonancias magnéticas funcionais mentres as persoas alucinaban.

E, de feito, atopáronse as diferentes partes

and, in fact, to find that different parts of the visual brain are activated

do cerebro visual que se activaban

as they are hallucinating.

mentres estaban sufrindo alucinacións.

When people have these simple, geometrical hallucinations,

Cando as persoas teñen estas alucinacións xeométricas simples,

the primary visual cortex is activated.

está activado o córtex visual primario.

This is the part of the brain which perceives edges and patterns.

Esta é a parte do cerebro que percibe bordos e patróns.

You don't form images with your primary visual cortex.

Non formamos imaxes co noso córtex visual primario.

When images are formed,

As imaxes fórmanse,

a higher part of the visual cortex is involved, in the temporal lobe.

na parte do córtex visual

situado no lóbulo temporal.

E, en particular, nunha área do lóbulo temporal

And in particular, one area of the temporal lobe

is called the fusiform gyrus.

chamada xiro fusiforme.

And it's known that if people have damage in the fusiform gyrus,

E sábese que a xente que ten danado o xiro fusiforme,

they may lose the ability to recognize faces.

pode perder a capacidade para recoñecer caras.

But if there's an abnormal activity in the fusiform gyrus,

Pero se hai unha actividade anormal no xiro fusiforme,

they may hallucinate faces,

pode ter alucinacións de caras.

and this is exactly what you find in some of these people.

Isto é exactamente o que atopamos nalgunhas destas persoas.

There is an area in the anterior part of this gyrus

Hai unha área na parte anterior deste xiro

where teeth and eyes are represented,

onde se representan os dentes e os ollos

and that part of the gyrus is activated

e esa parte do xiro actívase

when people get the deformed hallucinations.

cando a xente ten as alucinacións deformadas.

There is another part of the brain which is especially activated

Hai outra parte do cerebro

que se activa especialmente

when one sees cartoons.

cando vemos debuxos animados.

It's activated when one recognizes cartoons,

Actívase cando recoñecemos debuxos animados,

when one draws cartoons and when one hallucinates them.

cando os debuxamos e cando alucinamos con eles.

It's very interesting that that should be specific.

É moi interesante esa especificidade.

There are other parts of the brain which are specifically involved

Hai outras partes do cerebro que están implicadas especificamente

with the recognition and hallucination of buildings and landscapes.

no recoñecemento e na alucinación

de edificios e paisaxes.

Around 1970, it was found that there were not only parts of the brain,

Ao redor de 1970, descubriuse que non só eran partes do cerebro,

but particular cells.

senón células particulares.

"Face cells" were discovered around 1970.

As "células cara" foron descobertas ao redor de 1970.

And now we know that there are hundreds of other sorts of cells,

E agora sabemos que hai centos

doutros tipos de células,

which can be very, very specific.

que poden ser moi, moi específicas.

So you may not only have "car" cells, you may have "Aston Martin" cells.

Así que podemos ter non só

células "coche",

tamén podemos ter células "Aston Martin".

(Laughter)

(Risos)

I saw an Aston Martin this morning. I had to bring it in.

Vin un Aston Martin esta mañá.

Tiña que contalo.

(Laughter)

E agora está nalgures aquí dentro.

And now it's in there, somewhere.

So --

(Risos)

(Laughter)

now, at this level, in what's called the inferotemporal cortex,

Ben, neste nivel, que chamamos córtex temporal inferior,

só hai imaxes visuais,

there are only visual images,

or figments or fragments.

ou representacións ou fragmentos.

It's only at higher levels that the other senses join in

É só nos niveis máis altos

cando se unen aos outros sentidos

and there are connections with memory and emotion.

e se conectan coa memoria e a emoción.

E na síndrome de Charles Bonnet,

And in the Charles Bonnet syndrome,

you don't go to those higher levels.

non se chega a eses niveis superiores.

You're in these levels of inferior visual cortex,

Quedamos nos niveis do córtex visual inferior

where you have thousands and tens of thousands

onde hai miles e decenas de miles

and millions of images,

e millóns de imaxes,

or figments or fragmentary figments,

ou representacións fragmentadas,

all neurally encoded in particular cells or small clusters of cells.

todas codificadas neuralmente

en células particulares ou en pequenos acios de células.

Normally, these are all part of the integrated stream of perception,

Normalmente, todas elas forman parte

do caudal integrado da percepción, ou da imaxinación,

or imagination,

and one is not conscious of them.

e ninguén é consciente delas.

It is only if one is visually impaired or blind

Só se un ten dificultades visuais ou está cego

that the process is interrupted.

interrómpese o proceso.

And instead of getting normal perception,

E, en vez de ter unha percepción normal,

you're getting an anarchic,

prodúcese unha estimulación ou liberación,

convulsive stimulation, or release,

anárquica e convulsiva,

of all of these visual cells in the inferotemporal cortex.

de todas estas células visuais

no córtex temporal inferior.

So, suddenly, you see a face. Suddenly, you see a car.

Así, de súpeto, vemos unha cara. De súpeto vemos un coche.

Suddenly this and suddenly that.

De súpeto isto e de súpeto aquilo.

The mind does its best to organize

A mente fai o que pode para organizar

and to give some sort of coherence to this,

e darlle algún tipo de coherencia a isto

but not terribly successfully.

pero non ten moito éxito.

Cando se describiron estes casos por primeira vez,

When these were first described,

it was thought that they could be interpreted like dreams.

pensouse que poderían ser interpretados como soños.

But, in fact, people say,

Pero, en realidade, a xente di:

"I don't recognize the people. I can't form any associations.

"Non recoñezo as persoas. Non podo facer ningunha asociación."

"Gustavo non significa nada para min."

Kermit means nothing to me."

You don't get anywhere, thinking of them as dreams.

Non imos a ningún lado pensando nelas como en soños.

Ben, máis ou menos xa dixen o que quería.

Well, I've more or less said what I wanted.

I think I just want to recapitulate and say this is common.

Penso que só me queda recapitular

e decir que isto é común.

Think of the number of blind people.

Pensemos na cantidade de persoas cegas.

There must be hundreds of thousands of blind people

Debe haber centos de miles de persoas cegas

who have these hallucinations

que teñen estas alucinacións,

but are too scared to mention them.

pero están moi asustadas para mencionalas.

So this sort of thing needs to be brought into notice,

Así que este tipo de cousas precisa divulgación

para os pacientes, para os médicos, para o público.

for patients, for doctors, for the public.

Finally, I think they are infinitely interesting and valuable,

Finalmente, creo que son

infinitamente interesantes e valiosas,

for giving one some insight as to how the brain works.

porque nos axudan a entender como funciona o cerebro.

Charles Bonnet said, 250 years ago --

Charles Bonnet preguntouse, hai 250 anos,

he wondered how, thinking of these hallucinations,

pensando nesas alucinacións,

how, as he put it, the theater of the mind

'o teatro da mente', nas súas palabras,

could be generated by the machinery of the brain.

como poderían ser xeradas pola maquinaria do cerebro.

Now, 250 years later,

Agora, 250 anos despois,

I think we're beginning to glimpse how this is done.

penso que estamos comezando a entrever como o fai.

Thanks very much.

Moitas grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplauso)

Chris Anderson: That was superb. Thank you so much.

Chris Anderson: Foi magnífico. Moitas grazas.

You speak about these things with so much insight

Falou desas cousas con tanta perspicacia

and empathy for your patients.

e tanta empatía cara aos seus pacientes.

Have you yourself experienced any of the syndromes you write about?

Vostede experimentou algunhas das síndromes que describe?

Oliver Sacks: I was afraid you would ask that.

Oliver Sacks: Temía que me preguntase iso.

(Laughter)

(Risos)

Well, yeah, a lot of them.

Ben, si, un montón delas.

And, actually, I'm a little visually impaired myself.

En realidade, teño algunhas dificultades visuais.

I'm blind in one eye and not terribly good in the other.

Estou cego dun ollo e non vexo moi ben do outro.

And I see the geometrical hallucinations.

E teño alucinacións xeométricas.

But they stop there.

Pero paran aí.

CA: And they don't disturb you?

CA: E non lle molestan?

Because you understand what's doing it, it doesn't make you worried?

Porque vostede entende o que ocorre, non lle preocupa?

OS: Ben, non me molestan máis que o meu acúfeno,

OS: Well, they don't disturb me any more than my tinnitus,

which I ignore.

- o pitido do oido- que ignoro.

They occasionally interest me,

De cando en vez interésanme,

and I have many pictures of them in my notebooks.

e teño moitos debuxos deles nos meus cadernos.

I've gone and had an fMRI myself,

Fixen unha resonancia magnética funcional

to see how my visual cortex is ticking over.

para ver como funciona o meu córtex visual.

And when I see all these hexagons

E cando vexo todos eses hexágonos

and complex things, which I also have,

e outras cousas complexas,

in visual migraine,

durante a xaqueca,

I wonder whether everyone sees things like this

pregúntome se todo o mundo ve cousas así

and whether things like cave art or ornamental art

e se cousas como a arte das cavernas ou a arte ornamental

may have been derived from them a bit.

poderían derivar un pouco disto.

CA: Esta foi unha charla total e absolutamente fascinante.

CA: That was an utterly, utterly fascinating talk.

Thank you so much for sharing.

Moitas grazas por compartila.

OS: Thank you. Thank you.

OS: Grazas, grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)