Molly Crockett: Beware neuro-bunk

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Prevoditelj: Senzos Osijek Recezent: Katarina Smetko

I'm a neuroscientist, and I study decision-making.

Ja sam neuroznanstvenica i proučavam proces donošenja odluka.

I do experiments to test how different chemicals

Provodim eksperimente kako bih ispitala utjecaj

in the brain influence the choices we make.

različitih kemikalija u mozgu na naše odluke.

I'm here to tell you the secret to successful decision-making:

Došla sam vam odati tajnu uspješnog donošenja odluka:

a cheese sandwich.

sendvič sa sirom.

That's right. According to scientists, a cheese sandwich

Tako je. Znanstvenici tvrde da je sendvič sa sirom

is the solution to all your tough decisions.

rješenje za sve vaše teške odluke.

How do I know? I'm the scientist who did the study.

Kako znam? Ja sam provela to istraživanje.

A few years ago, my colleagues and I were interested

Prije nekoliko godina moje kolege i mene zanimalo je

in how a brain chemical called serotonin

kako će kemikalija serotonin u mozgu

would influence people's decisions in social situations.

utjecati na to kako ljudi donose odluke u društvenim situacijama.

Specifically, we wanted to know how serotonin would affect

Konkretno, željeli smo znati kako će serotonin utjecati

the way people react when they're treated unfairly.

na način na koji ljudi reagiraju kad se prema njima postupa nepravedno.

So we did an experiment.

Zato smo proveli eksperiment.

We manipulated people's serotonin levels by giving them

Manipulirali smo razinama serotonina u mozgu dajući ljudima

this really disgusting-tasting artificial lemon-flavored drink

piće s umjetnim okusom limuna odvratnog okusa,

that works by taking away the raw ingredient for serotonin

koje oduzima sirovi sastojak za serotonin

in the brain.

u mozgu.

This is the amino acid tryptophan.

To je aminokiselina triptofan.

So what we found was, when tryptophan was low,

Otkrili smo da, kad je razina triptofana niska,

people were more likely to take revenge

vjerojatnije je da će se ljudi osvećivati

when they're treated unfairly.

kad se prema njima postupa nepravedno.

That's the study we did, and here are some of the headlines

To je istraživanje koje smo proveli, a ovo su neki od naslova

that came out afterwards.

koji su se pojavili nakon toga.

("A cheese sandwich is all you need for strong decision-making")

("Sendvič sa sirom sve je što vam treba za snažno donošenje odluka")

("What a friend we have in cheeses")

("Sirevi su nam pravi prijatelji")

("Eating Cheese and Meat May Boost Self-Control") At this point, you might be wondering, did I miss something?

("Sir i meso mogu poboljšati samokontrolu") Sad se možda pitate je li vam što promaklo.

("Official! Chocolate stops you being grumpy") Cheese? Chocolate? Where did that come from?

("Službeno je! Čokolada sprečava mrzovolju") Sir? Čokolada? Odakle sad to?

And I thought the same thing myself when these came out,

I ja sam mislila isto to kad su ti naslovi objavljeni

because our study had nothing to do with cheese or chocolate.

jer naše istraživanje nije imalo nikakve veze sa sirom ili čokoladom.

We gave people this horrible-tasting drink

Dali smo ljudima piće odvratnog okusa,

that affected their tryptophan levels.

koje je utjecalo na njihove razine triptofana.

But it turns out that tryptophan also happens to be found

No, pokazalo se da se triptofan nalazi

in cheese and chocolate.

i u siru i čokoladi.

And of course when science says cheese and chocolate

I naravno, kad znanost kaže da će vam sir i čokolada

help you make better decisions, well, that's sure to grab people's attention.

pomoći da donosite bolje odluke, to će zasigurno privući pozornost ljudi.

So there you have it:

I tako to ide -

the evolution of a headline.

evolucija naslova.

When this happened, a part of me thought, well,

Kad se to dogodilo, dio mene je mislio, u redu,

what's the big deal?

čemu frka?

So the media oversimplified a few things, but in the end,

Mediji su pojednostavili nekoliko stvari, ali na kraju,

it's just a news story.

to je samo vijest.

And I think a lot of scientists have this attitude.

Mislim da mnogo znanstvenika ima taj stav.

But the problem is that this kind of thing happens all the time,

No, problem je što se ovako nešto događa neprestano

and it affects not just the stories you read in the news

i to utječe na priče koje ste pročitali u vijestima,

but also the products you see on the shelves.

ali i na proizvode koje vidite na policama.

When the headlines rolled, what happened was,

Kad su se pojavili ti naslovi,

the marketers came calling.

trgovci su počeli dolaziti s pozivima.

Would I be willing to provide a scientific endorsement

Bih li bila spremna znanstveno podržati

of a mood-boosting bottled water?

flaširanu vodu za poboljšanje raspoloženja?

Or would I go on television to demonstrate,

Nadalje, bih li na televiziji pokazala,

in front of a live audience,

uživo, pred publikom,

that comfort foods really do make you feel better?

da se od nezdrave hrane zaista osjećamo bolje?

I think these folks meant well, but had I taken them up on their offers,

Mislim da su ti ljudi imali dobre namjere, ali da sam prihvatila njihove ponude,

I would have been going beyond the science,

išla bih izvan znanosti,

and good scientists are careful not to do this.

a dobri znanstvenici paze da to ne učine.

But nevertheless, neuroscience is turning up more and more in marketing.

Ali ipak, neuroznanost se sve više pojavljuje u marketingu.

Here's one example: Neuro drinks,

Evo jedan primjer: pića Neuro,

a line of products, including Nuero Bliss here,

linija proizvoda, uključujući i Neuro Bliss,

which according to its label helps reduce stress,

prema svojem opisu proizvoda, ublažava stres,

enhances mood, provides focused concentration,

poboljšava raspoloženje, pruža usmjerenu koncentraciju

and promotes a positive outlook.

i promovira pozitivan stav.

I have to say, this sounds awesome. (Laughter)

Priznajem, to zvuči super. (Smijeh)

I could totally have used this 10 minutes ago.

Dobro bi mi došlo prije 10 minuta.

So when this came up in my local shop, naturally I was

Kad se to pojavilo u mojoj lokalnoj trgovini, naravno,

curious about some of the research backing these claims.

zanimalo me na kojim se istraživanjima temelje te tvrdnje.

So I went to the company's website looking to find

Otišla sam na internetske stranice tvrtke kako bih pronašla

some controlled trials of their products.

kontrolirana ispitivanja njihovih proizvoda.

But I didn't find any.

Ali nisam pronašla nijedno.

Trial or no trial, these claims are front and center

S ispitivanjem ili bez njega, te se tvrdnje nalaze na prednjem i središnjem dijelu etikete,

on their label right next to a picture of a brain.

odmah pokraj slike mozga.

And it turns out that pictures of brains have special properties.

Pokazalo se da slike mozga imaju posebne sposobnosti.

A couple of researchers asked a few hundred people

Nekoliko istraživača pitalo je nekoliko stotina ljudi

to read a scientific article.

da pročitaju znanstveni članak.

For half the people, the article included a brain image,

Pola ljudi imalo je u članku sliku mozga,

and for the other half, it was the same article

a druga polovina imala je isti članak,

but it didn't have a brain image.

ali bez slike mozga.

At the end — you see where this is going —

Na kraju - možete već pretpostaviti -

people were asked whether they agreed

pitali su ljude slažu li se

with the conclusions of the article.

sa zaključcima članka.

So this is how much people agree with the conclusions

Ovoliko se ljudi slaže sa zaključcima

with no image.

bez slike.

And this is how much they agree with the same article

A ovoliko se slaže s istim člankom

that did include a brain image.

koji je uključivao sliku mozga.

So the take-home message here is,

Dakle, ovdje treba zapamtiti sljedeće:

do you want to sell it? Put a brain on it.

ako želite nešto prodati, stavite na to sliku mozga.

Now let me pause here and take a moment to say that

Sada bih napravila stanku i napomenua

neuroscience has advanced a lot in the last few decades,

da je neuroznanost mnogo napredovala u posljednjih nekoliko desetljeća,

and we're constantly discovering amazing things

te neprestano otkrivamo nevjerojatne stvari

about the brain.

o mozgu.

Like, just a couple of weeks ago, neuroscientists at MIT

Primjerice, prije samo nekoliko tjedana, neuroznanstvenici na MIT-u

figured out how to break habits in rats

otkrili su kako prekinuti navike u štakora

just by controlling neural activity in a specific part of their brain.

samo kontroliranjem neuralne aktivnosti u određenom dijelu mozga.

Really cool stuff.

Stvarno super stvar.

But the promise of neuroscience has led to some really

No, obećanje neuroznanosti dovelo je do nekih

high expectations and some overblown, unproven claims.

zaista visokih očekivanja i nekih prenapuhanih, nedokazanih tvrdnji.

So what I'm going to do is show you how to spot

Zato ću vam sada pokazati kako otkriti

a couple of classic moves, dead giveaways, really,

nekoliko tipičnih poteza, zaista očitih znakova,

for what's variously been called neuro-bunk,

za ono što ima različite nazive, primjerice kao neuro-besmislice,

neuro-bollocks, or, my personal favorite, neuro-flapdoodle.

neuro-gluposti, ili, meni najdraži, neuro-bezvezarije.

So the first unproven claim is that you can use brain scans

Prva nedokazana tvrdnja jest da skeniranjem mozga

to read people's thoughts and emotions.

možete čitati tuđe misli i emocije.

Here's a study published by a team of researchers

Ovo je studija koju je objavio tim istraživača

as an op-ed in The New York Times.

u The New York Timesu.

The headline? "You Love Your iPhone. Literally."

Naslov? "Vi volite svoj iPhone. Doslovno."

It quickly became the most emailed article on the site.

To je ubrzo postao članak koji se najviše prosljeđivao e-poštom na toj stranici.

So how'd they figure this out?

Kako su oni to otkrili?

They put 16 people inside a brain scanner

Skenirali su mozak 16-ero ljudi

and showed them videos of ringing iPhones.

i pokazali im snimku iPhonea koji zvoni.

The brain scans showed activation in a part of the brain

Snimke mozga pokazale su aktivaciju u dijelu mozga

called the insula, a region they say

pod imenom insula, područjem mozga koje se

is linked to feelings of love and compassion.

povezuje s osjećajima ljubavi i suosjećanja.

So they concluded that because they saw activation in the insula,

Tako su, zbog aktivacije u insuli,

this meant the subjects loved their iPhones.

zaključili da ispitanici vole svoje iPhoneove.

Now there's just one problem with this line of reasoning,

No, postoji jedan problem s takvim načinom razmišljanja,

and that's that the insula does a lot.

a to je da insula ima mnogo funkcija.

Sure, it is involved in positive emotions

Naravno, ona jest uključena u pozitivne emocije

like love and compassion,

poput ljubavi i suosjećanja,

but it's also involved in tons of other processes,

ali uključena je i u brojne druge procese,

like memory, language, attention,

poput pamćenja, jezika, pažnje,

even anger, disgust and pain.

čak i ljutnje, gađenja i boli.

So based on the same logic, I could equally conclude

Dakle, po istoj logici, podjednako sam mogla zaključiti

you hate your iPhone.

da mrzite svoj iPhone.

The point here is, when you see activation in the insula,

Poanta je ovdje da, kad vidite aktivaciju u insuli,

you can't just pick and choose your favorite explanation

ne možete izabrati koje vam se objašnjenje najviše sviđa

from off this list, and it's a really long list.

s tog popisa, a to je stvarno dugačak popis.

My colleagues Tal Yarkoni and Russ Poldrack

Moji kolege Tal Yarkoni i Russ Poldrack

have shown that the insula pops up in almost a third

pokazali su da je insula aktivna u gotovo trećini

of all brain imaging studies that have ever been published.

svih studija sa slikovnim prikazom mozga koje su ikad bile objavljene.

So chances are really, really good

Dakle, šanse su vrlo, vrlo velike

that your insula is going off right now,

da je vaša insula aktivna upravo sada,

but I won't kid myself

ali neću se zavaravati

to think this means you love me.

da to znači da me volite.

So speaking of love and the brain,

Kad smo već na temi ljubavi i mozga,

there's a researcher, known to some as Dr. Love,

postoji istraživač, nekima poznat i kao dr. Ljubav,

who claims that scientists have found the glue

koji tvrdi da su znanstvenici otkrili ljepilo

that holds society together,

koje drži društvo na hrpi,

the source of love and prosperity.

izvor ljubavi i blagostanja.

This time it's not a cheese sandwich.

Ovaj put to nije sendvič sa sirom.

No, it's a hormone called oxytocin.

Ne, to je hormon oksitocin.

You've probably heard of it.

Vjerojatno ste čuli za njega.

So, Dr. Love bases his argument on studies showing

Dakle, dr. Ljubav temelji svoju tvrdnju na istraživanjima koja pokazuju

that when you boost people's oxytocin,

da povećanje razine oksitocina

this increases their trust, empathy and cooperation.

povećava i povjerenje, suosjećanje i suradnju ljudi.

So he's calling oxytocin "the moral molecule."

On oksitocin naziva "moralnom molekulom".

Now these studies are scientifically valid,

Ta su istraživanja znanstveno valjana

and they've been replicated, but they're not the whole story.

i replicirana, ali to nije cijela priča.

Other studies have shown that boosting oxytocin

Druga istraživanja pokazala su da povišenje razine oksitocina

increases envy. It increases gloating.

povećava zavist. Povećava i likovanje.

Oxytocin can bias people to favor their own group

Oksitocin može imati utjecaj na pristranost ljudi u korist vlastite grupe,

at the expense of other groups.

a na račun drugih skupina.

And in some cases, oxytocin can even decrease cooperation.

U nekim slučajevima, oksitocin može čak i smanjiti suradnju.

So based on these studies, I could say oxytocin

Dakle, na temelju tih istraživanja, mogla bih reći da je oksitocin

is an immoral molecule, and call myself Dr. Strangelove.

nemoralna molekula, i prozvati sebe dr. Strangelove

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So we've seen neuro-flapdoodle all over the headlines.

Viđamo neuro-bezvezarije u brojnim naslovima.

We see it in supermarkets, on book covers.

Viđamo ih i u supermarketima, na koricama knjiga.

What about the clinic?

Kakvo je stanje sa klinikama?

SPECT imaging is a brain-scanning technology

Slikovni prikaz SPECT tehnologija je skeniranja mozga

that uses a radioactive tracer

koja koristi radioaktivne supstance

to track blood flow in the brain.

koje prate protok krvi u mozgu.

For the bargain price of a few thousand dollars,

Za samo nekoliko tisuća dolara,

there are clinics in the U.S. that will give you

postoje klinike u SAD-u koje će vam

one of these SPECT scans and use the image

skenirati mozak tehnologijom SPECT

to help diagnose your problems.

i koristiti slike kako bi se dijagnosticirali vaši problemi.

These scans, the clinics say, can help

Ta skeniranja, kažu klinike, mogu pomoći

prevent Alzheimer's disease,

u prevenciji Alzheimerove bolesti,

solve weight and addiction issues,

rješavanju problema ovisnosti i pretjerane težine,

overcome marital conflicts,

prevladavanju bračnih sukoba

and treat, of course, a variety of mental illnesses

i liječiti, naravno, niz psihičkih bolesti

ranging from depression to anxiety to ADHD.

u rasponu od depresije i anksioznosti do ADHD-a.

This sounds great. A lot of people agree.

To zvuči odlično. Mnogi se slažu.

Some of these clinics are pulling in tens of millions

Neke od tih klinika broje desetke milijuna

of dollars a year in business.

dolara godišnje u poslovanju.

There's just one problem.

Postoji samo jedan problem.

The broad consensus in neuroscience

Konsenzus u neuroznanosti

is that we can't yet diagnose mental illness

jest da se još ne može dijagnosticirati psihička bolest

from a single brain scan.

iz samo jednog skeniranja mozga.

But these clinics have treated

No, te su klinike do danas

tens of thousands of patients to date,

tretirale desetke tisuća pacijenata,

many of them children,

među njima mnogo djece.

and SPECT imaging involves a radioactive injection,

Slikovni prikazi SPECT uključuju radioaktivnu injekciju,

so exposing people to radiation, potentially harmful.

što znači da ljude izlažu potencijalno štetnom zračenju.

I am more excited than most people, as a neuroscientist,

Ja sam, kao neuroznanstvenica, uzbuđenija od većine ljudi

about the potential for neuroscience to treat mental illness

zbog potencijala neuroznanosti za liječenje psihičkih bolesti.

and even maybe to make us better and smarter.

Možda nas ona čak može i učiniti boljima i pametnijima.

And if one day we can say that cheese and chocolate

Ako ćemo jednog dana moći reći da nam sir i čokolada

help us make better decisions, count me in.

pomažu da donesemo bolje odluke, ja sam za.

But we're not there yet.

No, nismo to još postigli.

We haven't found a "buy" button inside the brain,

Nismo našli gumb "kupi" u mozgu,

we can't tell whether someone is lying or in love

ne možemo znati laže li netko ili je zaljubljen

just by looking at their brain scans,

samo na temelju skeniranja mozga

and we can't turn sinners into saints with hormones.

i ne možemo pretvoriti grešnike u svece pomoću hormona.

Maybe someday we will, but until then,

Možda jednog dana hoćemo, ali do tada,

we have to be careful that we don't let overblown claims

moramo biti oprezni i ne dopustiti da prenapuhane tvrdnje

detract resources and attention away from the real science

odvlače sredstva i pozornost daleko od prave znanosti

that's playing a much longer game.

koja igra na duge pruge.

So here's where you come in.

Tu vi nastupate.

If someone tries to sell you something with a brain on it,

Ako vam netko pokuša prodati nešto sa slikom mozga,

don't just take them at their word.

nemojte odmah povjerovati.

Ask the tough questions. Ask to see the evidence.

Pitajte teška pitanja. Tražite dokaze.

Ask for the part of the story that's not being told.

Pitajte za dio priče koji vam nisu rekli.

The answers shouldn't be simple, because the brain isn't simple.

Odgovori ne bi trebali biti jednostavni jer ni mozak nije jednostavan.

But that's not stopping us from trying to figure it out anyway.

No, to nas ne sprečava da ga svejedno pokušamo shvatiti.

Thank you. (Applause)

Hvala. (Pljesak)