Miguel Nicolelis: A monkey that controls a robot with its thoughts. No, really.

Translator: Timothy Covell Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Shibin Li 校对人员: Cho Lena

The kind of neuroscience that I do and my colleagues do

我和我同事们所从事的神经科学研究

is almost like the weatherman.

就像天气预报

We are always chasing storms.

我们总在追逐风暴

We want to see and measure storms -- brainstorms, that is.

我们想要观测的是头脑风暴

And we all talk about brainstorms in our daily lives,

平日里我们总在谈论头脑风暴

but we rarely see or listen to one.

但我们很少真正看到，或听到它

So I always like to start these talks

所以每当我谈到头脑风暴时

by actually introducing you to one of them.

总希望能先让你们真实体验一下

Actually, the first time we recorded more than one neuron --

实际上，这是我们第一次记录到多个神经细胞：

a hundred brain cells simultaneously --

同时观测100个脑细胞时

we could measure the electrical sparks

我们所测到的电火花

of a hundred cells in the same animal,

来自同一个动物的100个细胞

this is the first image we got,

我们第一次记录到的

the first 10 seconds of this recording.

就是这段录音的前10秒

So we got a little snippet of a thought,

我们撷取到了思想的一个小片段

and we could see it in front of us.

它就这样呈现在我们面前。

I always tell the students

我总是告诉学生们

that we could also call neuroscientists some sort of astronomer,

某种意义上讲，我们可以把神经学家叫做天文学家

because we are dealing with a system

因为我们所处理的这个系统

that is only comparable in terms of number of cells

包含数量巨大的细胞

to the number of galaxies that we have in the universe.

数量大到只有宇宙中的星系数量可以比拟

And here we are, out of billions of neurons,

现在，在数十亿计的神经元中

just recording, 10 years ago, a hundred.

我们可以记录到的，已经从10 年前的100个

We are doing a thousand now.

到了现在的1000个

And we hope to understand something fundamental about our human nature.

我们想理解人性的基础

Because, if you don't know yet,

因为，你可能不知道

everything that we use to define what human nature is comes from these storms,

我们用来确立人性的一切，都源于这些头脑风暴

comes from these storms that roll over the hills and valleys of our brains

这些席卷我们大脑沟回的风暴

and define our memories, our beliefs,

它确立了我们的记忆，信仰

our feelings, our plans for the future.

情感，以及我们的未来规划

Everything that we ever do,

我们所做的一切

everything that every human has ever done, do or will do,

每一个人曾经做，正在做和将要做的一切

requires the toil of populations of neurons producing these kinds of storms.

都基于大量的神经细胞工作所产生的这些风暴

And the sound of a brainstorm, if you've never heard one,

而头脑风暴的声音，如果你们没听过的话，

is somewhat like this.

就是这个样子的。

You can put it louder if you can.

需要的话，你们可以放大音量来听。

My son calls this "making popcorn while listening to a badly-tuned A.M. station."

我儿子说这就像"一边听着没调准的收音机，一边做爆米花"。

This is a brain.

这就是大脑。

This is what happens when you route these electrical storms to a loudspeaker

这是这些电风暴在扬声器中播放的声音。

and you listen to a hundred brain cells firing,

你可以听到一百个脑细胞同时开火的声音，

your brain will sound like this -- my brain, any brain.

你我的大脑听起来都像这样，任何大脑都如此。

And what we want to do as neuroscientists in this time

此时，作为神经学家，我们想做的

is to actually listen to these symphonies, these brain symphonies,

实际上就是欣赏这些交响乐，头脑的交响乐

and try to extract from them the messages they carry.

试着获取这其中承载的信息。

In particular, about 12 years ago

需要特别提一句的是，大概12 年前

we created a preparation that we named brain-machine interfaces.

我们创建了一个模式，我们把它叫做 脑-机 介面。

And you have a scheme here that describes how it works.

我可以在这里介绍一下它的工作原理。

The idea is, let's have some sensors that listen to these storms, this electrical firing,

想法就是，使用某些传感器，去聆听这些风暴，电风暴，

and see if you can, in the same time that it takes

我们能否与此同时

for this storm to leave the brain and reach the legs or the arms of an animal --

在这些风暴离开大脑达到动物四肢的

about half a second --

半秒左右的时间内

let's see if we can read these signals,

我们能否读取这些信号

extract the motor messages that are embedded in it,

将其中携带的运动信息提取出来

translate it into digital commands

转化成数字命令

and send it to an artificial device

并发送到人工设备上

that will reproduce the voluntary motor wheel of that brain in real time.

设备将同步做出大脑指令的动作

And see if we can measure how well we can translate that message

通过比较设备和动物身体所做的动作

when we compare to the way the body does that.

我们可以衡量这种“信息翻译”的准确程度

And if we can actually provide feedback,

如果我们可以提供反馈

sensory signals that go back from this robotic, mechanical, computational actuator

把大脑控制下的

that is now under the control of the brain,

人工机械执行器发出的信号

back to the brain,

再次传回大脑

how the brain deals with that,

大脑将如何处理

of receiving messages from an artificial piece of machinery.

这些从人工设备接收回的信息

And that's exactly what we did 10 years ago.

这就是我们 10 年前做的事情。

We started with a superstar monkey called Aurora

我们在一只名叫Aurora的猴子身上开始试验

that became one of the superstars of this field.

它现在已经成了这个领域的一个超级巨星了。

And Aurora liked to play video games.

Aurora喜欢玩电子游戏。

As you can see here,

就像你们现在看到的，

she likes to use a joystick, like any one of us, any of our kids, to play this game.

就像我们和我们的孩子一样，它喜欢用操纵杆玩这个游戏

And as a good primate, she even tries to cheat before she gets the right answer.

作为优秀的灵长类动物，找到正确答案前它甚至还会试着作弊

So even before a target appears that she's supposed to cross

它需要用操纵杆控制光标穿过目标

with the cursor that she's controlling with this joystick,

但在目标出现之前

Aurora is trying to find the target, no matter where it is.

Aurora就已经开始到处寻找目标了

And if she's doing that,

只要它这么做，

because every time she crosses that target with the little cursor,

当它每次操作光标穿过目标，

she gets a drop of Brazilian orange juice.

就可以得到一滴巴西橙汁。

And I can tell you, any monkey will do anything for you

我可以跟你们说，只需一小滴巴西橙汁，

if you get a little drop of Brazilian orange juice.

任何猴子都肯为你赴汤蹈火。

Actually any primate will do that.

这适用于任何灵长类动物。

Think about that.

想想吧。

Well, while Aurora was playing this game, as you saw,

玩你们看到的这种游戏

and doing a thousand trials a day

每天进行一千次判断

and getting 97 percent correct and 350 milliliters of orange juice,

达到 97%的正确率， 获得350 毫升橙汁奖励。

we are recording the brainstorms that are produced in her head

我们记录它大脑中产生的头脑风暴

and sending them to a robotic arm

将它们发送到一个机器手臂

that was learning to reproduce the movements that Aurora was making.

机械手臂学习如何重现Aurora正在进行的动作。

Because the idea was to actually turn on this brain-machine interface

因为我们的想法是开启 脑-机 介面

and have Aurora play the game just by thinking,

让Aurora通过思考就可以玩游戏

without interference of her body.

不需要肢体的加入

Her brainstorms would control an arm

它的头脑风暴将控制机械臂

that would move the cursor and cross the target.

机械臂移动光标穿过目标

And to our shock, that's exactly what Aurora did.

我们惊讶地发现，Aurora正是这么做的

She played the game without moving her body.

它玩游戏时，完全无需移动自己的身体

So every trajectory that you see of the cursor now,

你们目前看到的每一条光标轨迹

this is the exact first moment she got that.

都是来自它第一次做到这点的时候

That's the exact first moment

都来自那一刻

a brain intention was liberated from the physical domains of a body of a primate

一个意识可以被灵长类动物从物理意义的身体中解放出来

and could act outside, in that outside world,

可以通过控制人工设备

just by controlling an artificial device.

在外部世界进行动作

And Aurora kept playing the game, kept finding the little target

Aurora一直玩游戏，不断寻找目标

and getting the orange juice that she wanted to get, that she craved for.

并得到它渴望的橙汁

Well, she did that because she, at that time, had acquired a new arm.

那个时候，它已经获得了“新”手臂

The robotic arm that you see moving here 30 days later,

你们在这里看到机械手臂的动作

after the first video that I showed to you,

是在第一个视频的30天后录制的

is under the control of Aurora's brain

在Aurora的大脑的控制之下

and is moving the cursor to get to the target.

它正将光标移到目标

And Aurora now knows that she can play the game with this robotic arm,

Aurora现在知道，它可以用机械臂玩这个游戏，

but she has not lost the ability to use her biological arms to do what she pleases.

同时还可以随心所欲使用自己的生物手臂去干别的

She can scratch her back, she can scratch one of us, she can play another game.

用自己的手臂挠自己的背，可以挠我们，还可以玩另一个游戏

By all purposes and means,

总而言之

Aurora's brain has incorporated that artificial device

Aurora的大脑已经整合了这个人工设备

as an extension of her body.

作为它身体的延伸

The model of the self that Aurora had in her mind

Aurora意识里的自我已经扩展

has been expanded to get one more arm.

多出了一只手臂

Well, we did that 10 years ago.

这就是我们 10 多年所做的事

Just fast forward 10 years.

让我们快进随后的10 年

Just last year we realized that you don't even need to have a robotic device.

就在去年我们意识到，你甚至不需要有一个机械设备

You can just build a computational body, an avatar, a monkey avatar.

你可以只生成一个计算意义的身体，一个化身，猴子化身

And you can actually use it for our monkeys to either interact with them,

实际上，你就可以使用这个化身与猴子互动

or you can train them to assume in a virtual world

或者训练猴子，让它们学会在一个虚拟的世界中

the first-person perspective of that avatar

以化身的角度

and use her brain activity to control the movements of the avatar's arms or legs.

用大脑活动控制化身的肢体动作

And what we did basically was to train the animals

基本上，我们所做的就是训练动物

to learn how to control these avatars

学习如何控制这些化身

and explore objects that appear in the virtual world.

探索出现在虚拟世界中的对象

And these objects are visually identical,

这些对象看上去一样

but when the avatar crosses the surface of these objects,

但当化身穿过对象表面

they send an electrical message that is proportional to the microtactile texture of the object

对象就会发出与自身表面微结构触感对应的电信息

that goes back directly to the monkey's brain,

这些电信息直接返回猴子的大脑

informing the brain what it is the avatar is touching.

告诉大脑，化身触摸到了什么

And in just four weeks, the brain learns to process this new sensation

短短四个星期内，大脑就学会处理这种新的感觉

and acquires a new sensory pathway -- like a new sense.

并建立起了新的感官通路 — 就像一种新的感觉

And you truly liberate the brain now

现在你真正地解放了大脑

because you are allowing the brain to send motor commands to move this avatar.

因为可以让大脑发送运动命令来移动化身

And the feedback that comes from the avatar is being processed directly by the brain

同时来自化身的反馈可以直接通过大脑处理

without the interference of the skin.

无需皮肤的参与

So what you see here is this is the design of the task.

这里看到的是设计的任务

You're going to see an animal basically touching these three targets.

你将看到实验动物触摸这三个目标

And he has to select one because only one carries the reward,

但它只能选择其中一个，因为只有正确选中携带奖励的目标

the orange juice that they want to get.

才能获得它们想要的橙汁

And he has to select it by touch using a virtual arm, an arm that doesn't exist.

它必须使用并不实际存在的一只虚拟手臂触摸和选择

And that's exactly what they do.

它们就是这么做的

This is a complete liberation of the brain

这是对大脑的彻底解放

from the physical constraints of the body and the motor in a perceptual task.

从实际身体的限制中获得解放，完成知觉任务

The animal is controlling the avatar to touch the targets.

这只实验动物正控制化身去触摸目标

And he's sensing the texture by receiving an electrical message directly in the brain.

它通过大脑直接接收电信息来感觉纹理

And the brain is deciding what is the texture associated with the reward.

大脑判断哪种纹理会带来奖励

The legends that you see in the movie don't appear for the monkey.

猴子看不见这个视频上的标示

And by the way, they don't read English anyway,

顺便说一句，反正它们也不懂英语

so they are here just for you to know that the correct target is shifting position.

这里的标示只是为了显示，正确的目标始终在变换位置

And yet, they can find them by tactile discrimination,

然而，动物仍然可以通过触感的区别

and they can press it and select it.

找到并选择它

So when we look at the brains of these animals,

所以，当我们看看这些动物的大脑

on the top panel you see the alignment of 125 cells

上方的图像中，你可以看到125个神经细胞的排列

showing what happens with the brain activity, the electrical storms,

显示当动物使用操纵杆时

of this sample of neurons in the brain

大脑的活动

when the animal is using a joystick.

产生的电风暴的情况

And that's a picture that every neurophysiologist knows.

这是每个神经生物学家都熟知的图像

The basic alignment shows that these cells are coding for all possible directions.

神经元的排列方式显示这些细胞正在编码所有的可能方向

The bottom picture is what happens when the body stops moving

下面的图像是在身体停止移动

and the animal starts controlling either a robotic device or a computational avatar.

实验动物开始控制机械设备或者计算化身时的情况

As fast as we can reset our computers,

就像我们重置电脑一样快

the brain activity shifts to start representing this new tool,

大脑的活动发生变化，开始表达这个新工具

as if this too was a part of that primate's body.

就像新工具本来就是这个灵长类动物身体的一部分一样

The brain is assimilating that too, as fast as we can measure.

大脑以最快速度同化了它

So that suggests to us that our sense of self

这说明，我们的感觉本身

does not end at the last layer of the epithelium of our bodies,

并不会中止于身体的最外层皮肤

but it ends at the last layer of electrons of the tools that we're commanding with our brains.

而是中止于我们大脑控制的，最终端的设备工具

Our violins, our cars, our bicycles, our soccer balls, our clothing --

我们的小提琴、汽车、自行车、足球、衣服等等

they all become assimilated by this voracious, amazing, dynamic system called the brain.

它们都被这个称作大脑的，贪婪而令人惊叹的动态系统同化了

How far can we take it?

我们还能走得更远么？

Well, in an experiment that we ran a few years ago, we took this to the limit.

在前几年的实验中，我们达到了新的高度

We had an animal running on a treadmill

我们曾让一只实验动物

at Duke University on the East Coast of the United States,

在美国东海岸杜克大学的跑步机上运动

producing the brainstorms necessary to move.

产生运动所需要的头脑风暴

And we had a robotic device, a humanoid robot,

同时，我们有了人形机器人设备

in Kyoto, Japan at ATR Laboratories

放置在日本京都 ATR 实验室

that was dreaming its entire life to be controlled by a brain,

机器人一生的梦想就是

a human brain, or a primate brain.

获得一个人类或其它灵长类动物的大脑指令

What happens here is that the brain activity that generated the movements in the monkey

猴子大脑的活动发出运动指令

was transmitted to Japan and made this robot walk

传到日本，并且控制这个机器人的行走

while footage of this walking was sent back to Duke,

行走的镜头被发送回杜克

so that the monkey could see the legs of this robot walking in front of her.

所以，猴子能看到机器人的双腿就在眼前行走

So she could be rewarded, not by what her body was doing

它因此获得奖励，但并不是因为它自己身体的动作

but for every correct step of the robot on the other side of the planet

而是来源于地球另一端的机器人

controlled by her brain activity.

在它大脑活动控制下正确走的每一步

Funny thing, that round trip around the globe took 20 milliseconds less

有趣的是，这个环绕地球的往返行程

than it takes for that brainstorm to leave its head, the head of the monkey,

比猴子的头脑风暴离开大脑

and reach its own muscle.

达到其本身的肌肉所花的时间还要短20毫秒

The monkey was moving a robot that was six times bigger, across the planet.

这只猴子正在移动地球另一端一个六倍于它身体的机器人

This is one of the experiments in which that robot was able to walk autonomously.

这就是机器人自主行走的实验之一

This is CB1 fulfilling its dream in Japan

这是 CB1 正在在日本

under the control of the brain activity of a primate.

在灵长类动物大脑活动的控制下，完成自己的梦想

So where are we taking all this?

我们所谈的所有这一切是为了什么？

What are we going to do with all this research,

除了学习我们双耳间的这个动态宇宙，

besides studying the properties of this dynamic universe that we have between our ears?

这项研究还可以用来做什么？

Well the idea is to take all this knowledge and technology

我们的想法是，使用所有的这些知识和技术

and try to restore one of the most severe neurological problems that we have in the world.

尝试解决世界上最严重的神经问题。

Millions of people have lost the ability to translate these brainstorms

数以百万计的人失去了将头脑风暴

into action, into movement.

翻译成动作，翻译成运动的能力。

Although their brains continue to produce those storms and code for movements,

虽然他们的大脑还在产生这些风暴，为运动编码，

they cannot cross a barrier that was created by a lesion on the spinal cord.

但他们无法跨越脊髓病变所制造的障碍。

So our idea is to create a bypass,

所以我们的理念是绕道而行，

is to use these brain-machine interfaces to read these signals,

用 脑-机 介面来读取这些信号，

larger-scale brainstorms that contain the desire to move again,

放大这些携带重新运动愿望的头脑风暴，

bypass the lesion using computational microengineering

利用计算机微工程绕过病变

and send it to a new body, a whole body called an exoskeleton,

将它发送到一个新身体，一个可以称为外骨骼的完整身体

a whole robotic suit that will become the new body of these patients.

这个完整的机器人设备，将成为这些患者的全新躯体。

And you can see an image produced by this consortium.

你们眼前的这个图景

This is a nonprofit consortium called the Walk Again Project

由一个叫做“再次行走项目”的非营利组织制作

that is putting together scientists from Europe,

这个组织聚集了来自欧洲，

from here in the United States, and in Brazil

美国和巴西的科学家，

together to work to actually get this new body built --

为构建这个全新躯体而共同努力。

a body that we believe, through the same plastic mechanisms

我们相信，与Aurora和其它猴子在 脑-机 介面中

that allow Aurora and other monkeys to use these tools through a brain-machine interface

所使用的相同的合成设备

and that allows us to incorporate the tools that we produce and use in our daily life.

我们可以把它们整合并应用于日常生活

This same mechanism, we hope, will allow these patients,

通过同样的合成设备，我们希望，能让这些病人

not only to imagine again the movements that they want to make

不仅能够把他们想要做的动作

and translate them into movements of this new body,

翻译成新身体的动作

but for this body to be assimilated as the new body that the brain controls.

同时还可以与这个大脑控制的新身体完美融合

So I was told about 10 years ago

10 年前，别人告诉我

that this would never happen, that this was close to impossible.

这是痴人说梦，几乎是不可能的。

And I can only tell you that as a scientist,

作为一个科学家，我只能告诉你

I grew up in southern Brazil in the mid-'60s

60年代中期，我在巴西南部长大

watching a few crazy guys telling [us] that they would go to the Moon.

看着几个疯狂的家伙告诉 [我们] 说他们会去月球。

And I was five years old,

那时我五岁

and I never understood why NASA didn't hire Captain Kirk and Spock to do the job;

我想不通美国国家航空航天局（NASA）为什么不雇柯克船长和斯波克（电影《星际迷航》中的两个著名角色）去登月。

after all, they were very proficient --

毕竟，这方面他们才是专家。

but just seeing that as a kid

但儿时所见的这一切

made me believe, as my grandmother used to tell me,

令我相信，我祖母曾经告诉过我的话

that "impossible is just the possible

"所有不可能其实都是可能的，

that someone has not put in enough effort to make it come true."

只是人们还没有付出足够的努力让它们成真。"

So they told me that it's impossible to make someone walk.

所以，当有人告诉我，让一个人恢复行走能力是不可能的时候。

I think I'm going to follow my grandmother's advice.

我觉得我还是会相信我祖母的建议。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）