Michael Merzenich: Growing evidence of brain plasticity

譯者: Chih Hung Lin 審譯者: Geoff Chen

This machine, which we all have residing in our skulls,

在我們的頭裡，都有著這樣的一部機器，

reminds me of an aphorism, of a

這讓我想起了

comment of Woody Allen

伍迪艾倫評論中的格言:

to ask about what is the very best thing to have within your skull.

"在我們的頭顱裡，最棒的是什麼?"

And it's this machine.

而答案就是這部機器。

And it's constructed for change. It's all about change.

他是為了改變而建造的。一切都是為了改變。

It confers on us the ability to do things tomorrow that we can't do today,

它讓我們明天可以做今天原本不會做的東西。

things today that we couldn't do yesterday.

今天可以做昨天不會的事。

And of course it's born stupid.

當然他在初生時是很愚笨的。

The last time you were in the presence of a baby --

出現在你們面前的這個嬰兒

this happens to be my granddaughter, Mitra.

這恰好是我的孫女，Mitra。

Isn't she fabulous?

他看起來是不是很棒?

(Laughter)

笑聲

But nonetheless when she popped out

在從子宮蹦出來時，

despite the fact that her brain had actually been progressing

雖然她的大腦早已經

in its development for several months before

開始發展，

on the basis of her experiences in the womb --

並持續了數個月。

nonetheless she had very limited abilities,

然而，就如同每個正常

as does every infant

出生的嬰兒一樣，

at the time of normal, natural full-term birth.

她的能力還是很有限。

If we were to assay her perceptual abilities, they would be crude.

假如我們想要去檢驗他們的感知能力，可能會發現它還是相當原始，粗糙。

There is no real indication that there is any real thinking going on.

因為沒有實際證明顯示他們在進行真實的思考。

In fact there is little evidence that there is any

事實上，沒有什麼證據顯示

cognitive ability in a very young infant.

小嬰兒有任何的認知能力。

Infants don't respond to much.

他們通常不會對外在的事物有太多反應。

There is not really much of an indication in fact that there is a person on board.

事實上沒有太多的跡象指出，有人在大腦中指揮。

(Laughter)

笑聲

And they can only in a very primitive way, and in a very limited way

而他們只能用很原始的方式，有限的方式來

control their movements.

控制自己的動作。

It would be several months before this infant

他們需要數個月的時間

could do something as simple as reach out and grasp

來練習簡單的動作，

under voluntary control an object and retrieve it,

如到達某個物體的位置，

usually to the mouth.

並把它拿起來(通常是放到嘴裡)。

And it will be some months beforeward,

而需要再幾個月的時間，

and we see a long steady progression

我們可以看到持續性的進步，

of the evolution from the first wiggles,

從一開始的蠕動，翻身，

to rolling over, and sitting up, and crawling,

到坐起來，

standing, walking,

爬行，站立，行走，

before we get to that magical point

直到最後能夠恣意的

in which we can motate in the world.

在所處的環境活動。

And yet, when we look forward in the brain

然而，當我們觀察大腦時，

we see really remarkable advance.

此時，我們可以看到大腦顯著的進步。

By this age the brain can actually store.

大腦在這個時候才真正可以的儲存訊息。

It has stored, recorded,

它可以儲存，紀錄，

can fastly retrieve

快速的提取

the meanings of thousands,

世上數以千計

tens of thousands of objects,

數以萬計

actions, and their relationships in the world.

個物體的意義,動作以及彼此之間的關係。

And those relationships can in fact be constructed in hundreds of thousands,

而事實上，這些關係可以用上百種，

potentially millions of ways.

上千種，甚至百萬的方式建構起來。

By this age the brain controls very refined perceptual abilities.

而在這個時候，大腦會發展出精密的感知能力。

And it actually has a growing repertoire of cognitive skills.

並且會逐漸的發展出多樣不同的認知技巧。

This brain is very much a thinking machine.

它很像是個會思考的機器。

And by this age there is absolutely no question

而在這個年紀，甲板上已經有人在指揮，

that this brain, it has a person on board.

是絕對毫無疑問的。

And in fact at this age it is substantially controlling its own self-development.

事實上，在這個年紀的大腦幾乎可以完全控制自己的發展。

And by this age we see a remarkable evolution

並且我們可以看到大腦在

in its capacity to control movement.

控制動作能力方面明顯的進步。

Now movement has advanced to the point

現在移動的精密度

where it can actually control movement simultaneously,

已經進步到

in a complex sequence, in complex ways

它可以立即的，

as would be required for example

同時控制

for playing a complicated game,

一連串複雜的動作，

like soccer.

例如玩足球。

Now this boy can bounce a soccer ball on his head.

在這個年紀，男孩已經可以把足球放在頭上旋轉。

And where this boy comes from, Sao Paulo, Brazil,

這個男孩來自巴西的聖保羅，

about 40 percent of boys of his age have this ability.

當地有40%的男孩都具有這樣的能力。

You could go out into the community in Monterey,

你可以到位於Monterey的社區，

and you'd have difficulty finding a boy that has this ability.

在那裏可能很難找的到有這樣能力的男孩，

And if you did he'd probably be from Sao Paulo.

而如果真的找到了,那他可能也是來自聖保羅。

(Laughter)

笑聲

That's all another way of saying

透過這個例子，我們可以知道，

that our individual skills and abilities

大腦在認知方面獨特的技巧與能力，

are very much shaped by our environments.

常常是由環境形塑的。

That environment extends into our contemporary culture,

環境擴展了我們所在的文化情境，

the thing our brain is challenged with.

那個使我們大腦面臨挑戰的文化情境。

Because what we've done in our personal evolutions

因為我們已經完成建構

is build up a large repertoire of specific skills and abilities

在個體進化歷程中，所需的

that are specific to our own individual histories.

特定技巧與能力。

And in fact they result in a wonderful

而這樣的結果導致

differentiation in humankind,

了人類個體間令人驚奇的差異，

in the way that, in fact, no two of us

事實上，沒有兩個人

are quite alike.

會很相像。

Every one of us has a different set of acquired skills and abilities

我們每一個人由於需要不同的彈性與適應力,因此需要不同的技能，

that all derive out of the plasticity,

而這些技能都來自於這個

the adaptability of this really remarkable adaptive machine.

可塑性極高的機器。

In an adult brain of course we've built up

在一個成人的大腦中，已經建立一個大型的

a large repertoire of mastered skills and abilities

技能資料庫，我們可以從記憶中

that we can perform more or less automatically from memory,

自動提取一些技能，使我們成為有行為，動作以及

and that define us as acting, moving, thinking creatures.

思考能力的生物。

Now we study this,

目前我們研究這方面的議題，

as the nerdy, laboratory, university-based scientists that we are,

我們主要是大學實驗室的研究者所組成，

by engaging the brains

藉由了解地球上

of animals like rats, or monkeys,

某些特殊的

or of this particularly curious creature --

小動物的大腦，例如老鼠，猴子，

one of the more bizarre forms of life on earth --

或者此類具有好奇心的動物，

to engage them in learning new skills and abilities.

促使牠們學習新的技能。

And we try to track the changes that occur

而現在我們嘗試追蹤並觀察當

as the new skill or ability is acquired.

新技巧或能力形成時，這些小動物大腦產生的變化。

In fact we do this in individuals

事實上，我們針對不同年齡層，

of any age, in these different species --

以及不同的種族的個體進行此項追蹤研究。

that is to say from infancies,

也就是從嬰兒，

infancy up to adulthood and old age.

成年到老年。

So we might engage a rat, for example,

因此我們會觀察當一隻老鼠學習新的技能時，

to acquire a new skill or ability

會產生何種改變，

that might involve the rat using its paw

例如:當牠學習用爪子做一個特殊的抓取動作時，大腦的變化。

to master particular manual grasp behaviors

就好像我們會去注意幼童的能力，

just like we might examine a child

如他們學習某些小技巧

and their ability to acquire the sub-skills,

或者達成某種事物時

or the general overall skill of accomplishing something

採用的一般能力，

like mastering the ability to read.

例如精熟閱讀的能力。

Or you might look in an older individual

亦或許你會看到個老人，

who has mastered a complex set of abilities

有某一方面

that might relate to reading musical notation

精熟的能力，

or performing the mechanical acts of performance

例如：閱讀樂譜

that apply to musical performance.

或操作樂器。

From these studies we defined two great epochs

從這些研究，我們可以確立

of the plastic history of the brain.

兩個有關大腦可塑性歷史事件。

The first great epoch is commonly called the "Critical Period."

第一個重要的時期通常被稱為「關鍵期」。

And that is the period in which the brain is setting up

而那也正是大腦正初始化設置的時期，

in its initial form its basic processing machinery.

大腦的基本運作模式形成的時期。

This is actually a period of dramatic change

這實在是個戲劇性的改變，

in which it doesn't take learning, per se, to drive

而這樣的改變不需要學習，相同的，

the initial differentiation of the machinery of the brain.

驅使大腦進行不同的初始設定，也是不需要學習。

All it takes for example in the sound domain,

以聲音為例，你需要做的,

is exposure to sound.

就是讓自己持續接觸聲音, 實際上，

And the brain actually is at the mercy

此時大腦就在這樣的

of the sound environment in which it is reared.

聲音環境下成長。

So for example I can rear an animal

也就是說，我可以模擬ㄧ個無意義，

in an environment in which there is meaningless dumb sound,

吵雜的聲音環境，

a repertoire of sound that I make up,

在這樣的環境下飼養動物。

that I make, just by exposure, artificially important

藉由人為的方式，創造出讓動物

to the animal and its young brain.

與它新生的大腦覺得重要的聲音。

And what I see is that the animal's brain sets up

而我認為動物的大腦能夠在牠有限的處理能量內，

its initial processing of that sound

以有組織有次序的方式

in a form that's idealized, within the limits of its processing achievements

表徵這個聲音刺激，

to represent it in an organized and orderly way.

並以理想的方式初始化對這聲音的處理。

The sound doesn't have to be valuable to the animal:

然而，這樣的聲音並不需要是對動物有價值的。

I could raise the animal in something that could be hypothetically valuable,

我也可以利用某些假設是有價值的事物

like the sounds that simulate

來飼養動物，例如模擬

the sounds of a native language of a child.

一個幼童的母語可能的發音。

And I see the brain actually develop a processor that is specialized --

並且可以看到大腦真的會發展特定的處理模式，來處理這一連串複雜的聲音。

specialized for that complex array, a repertoire of sounds.

專為處理這些複雜聲音的特定處理模式。

It actually exaggerates their separateness of representation,

實際上，藉由多維度神經的表徵方式，它會放大呈現

in multi-dimensional neuronal representational terms.

這些聲音表徵上的差異。

Or I can expose the animal to a completely meaningless and destructive sound.

或者，我也可以使動物暴露在完全無意義，且有害的聲音環境之下。

I can raise an animal under conditions

我可以採取像扶養嬰兒

that would be equivalent to raising a baby

一樣的方式來飼養動物。

under a moderately loud ceiling fan,

或是以連續的方式呈現聲音

in the presence of continuous noise.

例如像風扇持續，適當音量的聲音。

And when I do that I actually specialize the brain

而當我這麼做的時候，事實上我正在訓練大腦，

to be a master processor for that meaningless sound.

使它轉變成處理這個無意義聲音的處理器。

And I frustrate its ability

這麼做的結果，會讓我對大腦表徵

to represent any meaningful sound as a consequence.

任何有意義聲音的能力感到失望。

Such things in the early history of babies

諸如此類的情況，會發生在

occur in real babies.

新生嬰兒的早期階段。

And they account for, for example

而這些能力是負責重要的功能的，

the beautiful evolution of a language-specific processor

例如在每個正常發展的小孩身上，

in every normally developing baby.

能夠處理特定語言的能力。

And so they also account for

然而這些能力是否也與某些

development of defective processing

具有先天缺陷的幼童族群，

in a substantial population of children

長大之後在

who are more limited, as a consequence,

語言能力發展上受限的

in their language abilities at an older age.

原因有關呢?

Now in this early period of plasticity

在大腦具有可塑性的初期，

the brain actually changes outside of a learning context.

大腦實際上是隨著外在學習情境而改變的。

I don't have to be paying attention to what I hear.

我不需要注意我聽到的是什麼。

The input doesn't really have to be meaningful.

而這些輸入的訊息也不需要具有什麼意義。

I don't have to be in a behavioral context.

也不需要在一個有行為的情境。

This is required so the brain sets up it's processing

這是必須的，如此一來，

so that it can act differentially,

大腦才能設定它獨特的處理程序，

so that it can act selectively,

也可以選擇性的執行各項動作，

so that the creature that wears it, that carries it,

擁有這樣大腦的生物，才能夠以

can begin to operate on it in a selective way.

因應不同需求，選擇合適的動作。

In the next great epoch of life, which applies for most of life,

第二個重要的關鍵時期，

the brain is actually refining its machinery

是大部分生活中常做的事，

as it masters a wide repertoire of skills and abilities.

就是大腦會提升執行各式各樣不同技能的熟悉度。

And in this epoch,

這個階段是從生命一開始，

which extends from late in the first year of life to death;

一直到死亡。

it's actually doing this under behavioral control.

而且這個動作的執行，是在個體行為控制的情況下發生的。

And that's another way of saying

這是另一種解釋方式，

the brain has strategies that define

來說明大腦有自己的策略去定義

the significance of the input to the brain.

輸入刺激的不同重要程度。

And it's focusing on skill after skill,

而它的重點是特定注意力控制下，

or ability after ability,

大腦如何去定義

under specific attentional control.

一個接著一個的技能。

It's a function of whether a goal in a behavior is achieved

這個功能關注的是，執行某些動作後，目標能否達成。

or whether the individual is rewarded in the behavior.

或者個體是否會因為這個行為而得到獎賞。

This is actually very powerful.

而這樣的特性是非常有威力的。

This lifelong capacity for plasticity, for brain change,

大腦的可改變性，或者說可塑性，其實是終身的能力，

is powerfully expressed.

會是強而有力被呈現出來。

It is the basis of our real differentiation,

這也是人類不同個體具有

one individual from another.

差異的基本原因。

You can look down in the brain of an animal

你可以注視某一個正進行某種

that's engaged in a specific skill,

特定能力養成的動物大腦裡，

and you can witness or document this change on a variety of levels.

並且可以目睹或是紀錄大腦中不同層次的改變。

So here is a very simple experiment.

有一個非常簡單的實驗。

It was actually conducted about five years ago

事實上，這是大概五年前，位於馬賽的

in collaboration with scientists from the University of Provence

普羅旺斯大學的一群科學家

in Marseilles.

所進行的一項實驗。

It's a very simple experiment where a monkey has been trained

這是個很簡單的實驗，

in a task that involves it manipulating a tool

在實驗中猴子被

that's equivalent in its difficulty

訓練去操作一個工具，

to a child learning to manipulate or handle a spoon.

難度相當於要幼童去握湯匙。

The monkey actually mastered the task

在大概700次的練習之後，

in about 700 practice tries.

猴子可以熟練的完成這個動作。

So in the beginning the monkey could not perform this task at all.

而一開始猴子是完全無法執行這個任務的。

It had a success rate of about one in eight tries.

剛開始成功機率大概是八分之一。

Those tries were elaborate.

這些練習使牠的動作更加熟練。

Each attempt was substantially different from the other.

每一次的嘗試對猴子來說，實際上都是不同的動作。

But the monkey gradually developed a strategy.

但猴子逐漸發展出自己的策略。

And 700 or so tries later

歷經700次以上的練習後，猴子可以完美無瑕的執行此動作，

the monkey is performing it flawlessly -- never fails.

不會有任何的失誤。

He's successful in his retrieval of food with this tool every time.

每次都可以用這個工具成功的取回食物。

At this point the task is being performed

此時，這個任務已經成為一個

in a beautifully stereotyped way:

完美的動作範本。

very beautifully regulated and highly repeated, trial to trial.

藉由一次又一次的重複練習，猴子可以調整這個動作，使動作達到完美。

We can look down in the brain of the monkey.

一開始，我們可以觀察猴子的大腦。

And we see that it's distorted.

而我們可以看到它是紊亂的。

We can track these changes, and have tracked these changes

我們隨著時間的經過，

in many such behaviors across time.

在許多諸如此類的行為中追蹤這些變化。

And here we see the distortion

而這裡我們可以看到猴子手掌中的皮膚表面圖像，

reflected in the map of the skin surfaces of the hand of the monkey.

反映出來的紊亂。

Now this is a map, down in the surface of the brain,

此時，圖樣連結到大腦表面，我們透過這個精密的實驗，

in which, in a very elaborate experiment we've reconstructed the responses,

重新建立了大腦各區的反應，

location by location,

這些反應精密的對應到

in a highly detailed response mapping of the responses of its neurons.

產生反射的神經部位。

We see here a reconstruction of how

在這裡我們可以看到大腦裡面，

the hand is represented in the brain.

手的各動作是如何被重新表徵。

We've actually distorted the map by the exercise.

事實上，我們是透過練習，來使這個圖樣變得不一樣。

And that is indicated in the pink. We have a couple fingertip surfaces that are larger.

如粉紅部位所示，你會發現有幾個指尖會比較大。

These are the surfaces the monkey is using to manipulate the tool.

這些部分是猴子用來操作這個工作的表面皮膚對應區。

If we look at the selectivity of responses

假如我們看到猴子的大腦皮層中，

in the cortex of the monkey,

對應這些動作的區域有反應，

we see that the monkey has actually changed the filter characteristics

我們可以看到猴子正利用從指尖皮膚

which represents input from the skin

執行動作時的回饋訊號，

of the fingertips that are engaged.

來調整，建立適當的過濾器。

In other words there is still a single, simple representation of the fingertips

換句話說，指尖上單一，簡單的刺激，

in this most organized of cortical areas

會有組織的傳回到到大腦對應身體皮膚

of the surface of the skin of the body.

表面的皮質上。

Monkey has like you have.

你也具有類似猴子的這種能力。

And yet now it's represented in substantially finer grain.

而現在我們以手指的例子呈現。

The monkey is getting more detailed information from these surfaces.

猴子可以從這些表層皮膚得到更多詳細的資訊。

And that is an unknown -- unsuspected, maybe, by you --

而當你學習某項技能時，這樣的改變

part of acquiring the skill or ability.

或許你是感覺不出來的。

Now actually we've looked in several different cortical areas

事實上，我們現在正在找尋猴子大腦中，

in the monkey learning this task.

用來學習這項任務的幾個不同的皮質區域。

And each one of them changes in ways that are specific

而每一個區域會由於不同的技能，

to the skill or ability.

產生不同的改變。

So for example we can look to the cortical area

例如我們可以看到控制猴子

that represents input that's controlling the posture of the monkey.

手勢的皮質區域。

We look in cortical areas that control specific movements,

也可以看到控制

and the sequences of movements

一系列特定動作的

that are required in the behavior, and so forth.

對應的皮質區域，等等。

They are all remodeled. They all become specialized for the task at hand.

這些部分被重新建構。牠們會由於執行任務時手部的動作而特殊化。

There are 15 or 20 cortical areas that are changed specifically

當你學習像拿東西等簡單的技能時，

when you learn a simple skill like this.

大腦中約有15到20個特定皮質區域會產生變化。

And that represents in your brain, really massive change.

而這些表徵會使你的大腦產生明顯的改變。

It represents the change in a reliable way

這樣的改變，

of the responses of tens of millions,

意味著你大腦裡數以億計，

possibly hundreds of millions of neurons in your brain.

無數個神經元會因而產生變化。

It represents changes

意味這大腦中將有

of hundreds of millions, possibly billions

數百萬個,甚至數億個

of synaptic connections in your brain.

突觸會產生變化。

This is constructed by physical change.

這些是由於身體動作的改變而建立的。

And the level of construction that occurs is massive.

而這個建構的層級是相當巨大的。

Think about the changes that occur in the brain of a child

想想一個在學習運動等行為課程裡的小孩，

through the course of acquiring their movement behavior abilities in general.

其腦中會產生的變化。

Or acquiring their native language abilities.

或是他們在學習母語時，同樣的，

The changes are massive.

大腦也會產生巨大的變化。

What it's all about is the selective representations

總括來說，這些都是由於大腦會對認為

of things that are important to the brain.

重要的事物產生選擇性的表徵。

Because in most of the life of the brain

因為大腦的大部分工作，

this is under control of behavioral context.

都是在產生不同情境的所需要的行為。

It's what you pay attention to.

這也就是為什麼當你注意某個事件或物體時。

It's what's rewarding to you.

大腦會給予回饋。

It's what the brain regards, itself,

大腦關切的東西，對它來說是正向的，

as positive and important to you.

對你來說也是重要的。

It's all about cortical processing

這些都與皮質處理程序，

and forebrain specialization.

以及前腦特殊化發展有關。

And that underlies your specialization.

而這些是你變得特別的基礎。

That is why you, in your many skills and abilities,

這也是為什麼你會因為你學會某些技能，

are a unique specialist:

而變成專家。

a specialist that's vastly different

專家的大腦會與

in your physical brain in detail

100年前的人類的大腦，

than the brain of an individual 100 years ago;

在生理結構上有很大差異。

enormously different in the details

與1000年前的人類相比，

from the brain of the average individual 1,000 years ago.

有更大的差異。

Now, one of the characteristics of this change process

現在，在這樣的處理模式的改變中，其中一個特點就是

is that information is always related

改變方式總是與

to other inputs or information that is occurring

它在真實情境，

in immediate time, in context.

即時收到的訊息有關。

And that's because the brain is constructing representations of things

這是因為大腦會以時間順序，

that are correlated in little moments of time

建立連續時間點上，

and that relate to one another in little moments of successive time.

有關聯事件的表徵。

The brain is recording all information

大腦會紀錄所有的訊息，

and driving all change

並且因應瞬間情境下的

in temporal context.

變化來產生回應。

Now overwhelmingly the most powerful context

而在大腦中發生的最強而有力

that's occurred in your brain is you.

的情境就是---你自己。

Billions of events have occurred in your history

隨著時間的演進，數十億相關的事件

that are related in time to yourself

持續的發生，進行著，

as the receiver,

而你扮演的角色是接收者，

or yourself as the actor, yourself as the thinker,

或是行動者，思考著如何回應，

yourself as the mover.

如何產生行為。

Billions of times little pieces of sensation have come in

從你的皮膚上，數十億微小的感覺刺激

from the surface of your body

會傳遞到你的大腦，

that are always associated with you as the receiver,

使得你成為接受者，

and that result in

並使得你

the embodiment of you.

成為大腦的化身。

You are constructed, your self is constructed

此時你被建立起來，

from these billions of events.

藉由無數的事件，你被建立起來。

It's constructed. It's created in your brain.

在你的大腦中，你被建立起來。

And it's created in the brain via physical change.

透過生理上的變化，使你的大腦中產生改變。

This is a marvelously constructed thing

由於每個個體都有非常不同的成長歷史，

that results in individual form

因此不同個體彼此間會有

because each one of us has vastly different histories,

相當不同的差異。

and vastly different experiences,

由於個體之間經驗的顯著不同，

that drive in to us this marvelous differentiation of self,

導致每個人大腦都具有

of personhood.

不同的特質。

Now we've used this research

如今我們藉由這些相關研究，

to try to understand not just how a normal person develops,

嘗試去了解一個正常人的

and elaborates their skills and abilities,

大腦是如何逐漸的

but also try to understand

精熟所會的技能，

the origins of impairment,

以及腦部損傷的原因，

and the origins of differences or variations

與大腦的不同發展將會如何

that might limit the capacities of a child, or an adult.

限制成人或兒童身上的能力。

I'm going to talk about using these strategies

接下來我將要討論，如何利用這些策略來

to actually design brain plasticity-based

設計以大腦可塑性為導向的研究，

approach to drive corrections in the machinery of a child

如何修正幼童大腦的認知缺陷，

that increases the competence of the child

增加他們在語言學習上的能力，

as a language receiver and user

如語言使用，

and, thereafter, as a reader.

或是閱讀。

And I'm going to talk about experiments that involve

此外，我將要討論實際上使用

actually using this brain science,

這些腦科學的相關實驗。

first of all to understand how it contributes to the loss of function as we age.

首先，我們要先瞭解大腦的功能是如何隨著年紀增長而消失。

And then, by using it in a targeted approach

接下來我們主要研究目標是

we're going to try to differentiate

試著鑑別老年時，

the machinery to recover function in old age.

如何讓大腦功能復原的機制。

So the first example I'm going to talk about

第一個例子我將要探討

relates to children with learning impairments.

與學障幼童有關的議題。

We now have a large body of literature

從許多文獻中，我們可以看到

that demonstrates that the fundamental

大部分有早期語言學習困難的幼童，

problem that occurs in the majority of children

在大腦的功能上都

that have early language impairments,

具有功能性的問題，

and that are going to struggle to learn to read,

也因此在學習閱讀方面，

is that their language processor

遭遇到很大的困難，我們的疑問是:

is created in a defective form.

是否他們大腦中的語言處理機制是有缺陷的?

And the reason that it rises in a defective form

會有這樣疑問的原因是

is because early in the baby's brain's life

由於大腦嬰兒早期的

the machine process is noisy.

主要功能是處理雜訊。

It's that simple.

很簡單的功能。

It's a signal-to-noise problem. Okay?

這是一個關於訊號與雜訊的問題。

And there are a lot of things that contribute to that.

而有許多的事物都對這樣的機制有幫助。

There are numerous inherited faults

然而，有許多遺傳基因上的錯誤，

that could make the machine process noisier.

會使得這個處理程序更吵雜。

Now I might say the noise problem could also occur

現在，我可以說這個雜訊問題

on the basis of information provided

也可能發生在當耳朵

in the world from the ears.

接收到世界上提供的資訊時。

If any -- those of you who are older in the audience know

年紀比較大的聽眾都會知道，當我是個小孩子的時候，

that when I was a child we understood that a child born with a cleft palate

如果看到一個有裂顎的小孩，

was born with what we called mental retardation.

表示他有心智上的發展遲緩的現象。

We knew that they were going to be slow cognitively;

我們知道他們在認知上的發展會比較緩慢。

we knew they were going to struggle to learn to develop normal language abilities;

我們也知道他們在發展正常的語言能力時， 會遭遇到很大困難。

and we knew that they were going to struggle to learn to read.

而學習如何閱讀對他們來說也很困難。

Most of them would be intellectual and academic failures.

大部分這樣的小孩在智力跟學業上的表現會比較不理想。

That's disappeared. That no longer applies.

然而這情況消失了。 不再發生了。

That inherited weakness, that inherited condition

這種遺傳上的缺陷

has evaporated.

已經消失了。

We don't hear about that anymore. Where did it go?

我們再也沒有聽到這樣的問題。到底發生了什麼事?

Well, it was understood by a Dutch surgeon,

在35年前，一個荷蘭的外科醫生

about 35 years ago,

發現了一件事，

that if you simply fix the problem early enough,

他發現假如我們能夠在大腦還有可塑性的階段，

when the brain is still in this initial plastic period

就趕快修正這個問題，

so it can set up this machinery adequately,

那麼大腦就可以用適當的方式來設定，

in this initial set up time in the critical period,

如此一來，上述的缺陷

none of that happens.

就不會發生了。

What are you doing by operating on the cleft palate to correct it?

那麼我們要在這些裂顎兒童身上採取什麼措施，才能修正這個問題呢?

You're basically opening up

基本上，你要打開位於中耳，

the tubes that drain fluid from the middle ears,

負責排除液體的管路，

which have had them reliably full.

這些管路通常是充滿液體的。

Every sound the child hears uncorrected is muffled.

如此一來，當幼童聽到不相關的聲音時，這些聲音會被排除，

It's degraded.

接收雜訊的程度會降低。

The child's native language is such a case is not English.

當幼童接收到雜訊時，幼童的母語不是英語，

It's not Japanese.

也不是日語

It's muffled English. It's degraded Japanese.

那是模糊不清的英語，或是模糊不清的日語。

It's crap.

那是垃圾。

And the brain specializes for it.

而我們的大腦會因為經常接受到這些雜訊，而將它特殊化。

It creates a representation of language crap.

他會為這些無用的語言建立表徵。

And then the child is stuck with it.

最後小孩子就無法擺脫它了。

Now the crap doesn't just happen in the ear.

如今這樣的垃圾不會在大腦裡出現了。

It can also happen in the brain.

類似的情況也會發生在大腦裡。

The brain itself can be noisy. It's commonly noisy.

大腦本身可能是很吵雜的，它通常都是吵雜的。

There are many inherited faults that can make it noisier.

有許多遺傳上的錯誤會使得它變得更吵雜。

And the native language for a child with such a brain

而在具有這樣情形的小孩大腦中，

is degraded.

它的母語是無法被清楚的表徵。

It's not English. It's noisy English.

那不是英語，而是有很多雜訊的英語。

And that results in defective representations of sounds of words --

而由於這部機器有不同的空間參數，

not normal -- a different strategy,

因此不正常，

by a machine that has different time constants and different space constants.

不同的發音策略將會導致字的發音有缺陷。

And you can look in the brain of such a child and record those time constants.

而你可以在這樣的小孩大腦中看到，並且一直觀察到這些時間參數的變化。

They are about an order of magnitude longer,

那是關於較長測量順序，

about 11 times longer in duration on average,

平均來說，大概比

than in a normal child.

正常小孩的平均高11倍。

Space constants are about three times greater.

空間參數大概大3倍。

Such a child will have memory and cognitive deficits

這樣的兒童當然會在閱讀上產生

in this domain.

記憶與認知的缺陷。

Of course they will. Because as a receiver of language,

因為做為一個語言的接受者，

they are receiving it and representing it,

他們需要接收語言並且把它們表徵出來。

and in information it's representing crap.

然而當訊息會被表示成垃圾(無用的雜訊)時。

And they are going to have poor reading skills.

他們將不會有好的閱讀技巧，

Because reading is dependent upon the translation of word sounds

因為閱讀要依靠將字的聲音

into this orthographic or visual

轉換成到圖形或是

representational form.

視覺表徵。

If you don't have a brain representation of word sounds

假如大腦對這些字的聲音沒有表徵，

that translation makes no sense.

這樣的轉譯是沒有任何意義的。

And you are going to have corresponding abnormal neurology.

而你將會產生無法表徵一般語言的神經元。

Then these children increasingly

然後這些小孩在一次又一次的練習

in evaluation after evaluation,

語言方面的操作

in their operations in language, and their operations in reading --

與閱讀方面的操作，而且是透過

we document that abnormal neurology.

那些我們把它視為不正常發展的神經元組織。

The point is is that you can train the brain out of this.

關鍵是你可以藉由訓練大腦來擺脫它。

A way to think about this is you can actually re-refine

就如同藉由重新定義機器的

the processing capacity of the machinery

處理程序來改變一台

by changing it.

機器一樣。

Changing it in detail. It takes about 30 hours on the average.

如果要徹底地改變。平均大概需要30個小時。

And we've accomplished that in about 430,000 kids today.

如今我們已經成功改變了43萬個小孩。

Actually, probably about 15,000 children are being trained as we speak.

事實上，當我們正在說話的時候，大約有1萬5千個小孩正進行此訓練。

And actually when you look at the impacts, the impacts are substantial.

實際上，當我們看到這些影響時，這些影響其實是相當重要的。

So here we're looking at the normal distribution.

我們現在正在看的是一個常態分佈圖。

What we're most interested in is these kids on the left side of the distribution.

我們對這分佈左半部的小孩非常感興趣。

This is from about 3,000 children.

大約是3000個小孩。

You can see that most of the children on the left side of the distribution

你可以看到左半部大部份的小孩正往

are moving into the middle or the right.

中間或右半部移動。

This is in a broad assessment of their language abilities.

這是評估他們語言能力的樣板。

This is like an IQ test for language.

就像是語言的智力測驗。

The impact in the distribution, if you trained every child

對於這分佈的影響，假如你訓練每一個美國的小孩，

in the United States, would be to shift the whole distribution to the right

將會把整個分佈往右移

and narrow the distribution.

並且變尖。

This is a substantially large impact.

這實在是一個巨大，且重要的影響，

Think of a classroom of children in the language arts.

試想在一個充滿小孩的語言學習教室中，

Think of the children on the slow side of the class.

試想在這樣一個班上學得比較慢的兒童。

We have the potential to move most of those children

我們其實是有能力，來把這樣的小孩

to the middle or to the right side.

移動到中間或者是右邊。

In addition to accurate language training

除了可以讓他們更準確接受語言訓練，

it also fixes memory and cognition

他也可以修正說話流暢度及說話能力在記憶與認知的方面的問題。

speech fluency and speech production.

藉由這樣的訓練，

And an important language dependent skill is enabled by this training --

也可以讓重要的語言使用技巧，

that is to say reading.

例如閱讀，使用的更好。

And to a large extent it fixes the brain.

從巨觀來說，這也修復了大腦。

You can look down in the brain of a child

你可以看到這樣的一個小孩子的大腦。

in a variety of tasks that scientists have at Stanford,

藉由一些各種知名領域科學家的試驗，如史丹佛大學、

and MIT, and UCSF, and UCLA, and a number of other institutions.

麻省理工學院、加州大學舊金山分校、加州大學洛杉磯分校、以及其他許多的機構。

And children operating in various language behaviors,

而幼童在不同語言方面的操作，

or in various reading behaviors,

或是在不同閱讀的操作，

you see for the most extent,

你可以看到在大部分小孩的大部分情境中，

for most children, their neuronal responses,

他們神經上的反應，

complexly abnormal before you start,

會從訓練前的完全不正常，

are normalized by the training.

到訓練後的正常。

Now you can also take the same approach

現在你也可以藉由這項研究的成果來修正

to address problems in aging.

老化過程中產生的問題。

Where again the machinery is deteriorating now

在老化過程中這個機制逐漸的損壞，

from competent machinery, it's going south.

每況愈下。

Noise is increasing in the brain.

在大腦中，雜音逐漸的增加。

And learning modulation and control is deteriorating.

並且學習的模組與控制功能逐漸的損壞。

And you can actually look down on the brain of such an individual

在這樣的個體中，當你看到他們的大腦時，

and witness a change in the time constants and space constants

你可以親眼看到時間與空間參數的改變。

with which, for example, the brain is representing language again.

例如:大腦在表徵語言時的情形，

Just as the brain came out of chaos at the beginning,

就如同大腦在一出生開始的混沌情形一樣，

it's going back into chaos in the end.

隨著年齡的增長，最後它又會回到混沌的情況。

This results in declines in memory

這會導致記憶與認知的衰退，

in cognition, and in postural ability and agility.

以及運動方面，姿勢靈活度的衰退。

It turns out you can train the brain of such an individual --

現在情況是你可以訓練這樣的一個人，

this is a small population of such individuals --

這些人所占的比例不多，

train equally intensively for about 30 hours.

訓練的時間大概是30個小時。

These are 80- to 90-year-olds.

這些是80到90歲的老人。

And what you see are substantial improvements of their immediate memory,

而你現在看到的是他們一些短期記憶區效能的顯著改善，

of their ability to remember things after a delay,

如短暫延遲後記住事情的能力，

of their ability to control their attention,

控制注意力的能力，

their language abilities and visual-spatial abilities.

語言能力，空間視覺方面的能力。

The overall neuropsychological index

在這樣的母體中，受訓練的個人

of these trained individuals in this population

神經心理方面能力的分佈範圍

is about two standard deviations.

大約是2個標準差。

That means that if you sit at the left side of the distribution,

意思就是假如你位於這個分佈的左邊，

and I'm looking at your neuropyschological abilities,

而我正在觀察你的神經心理能力，

the average person has moved to the middle

平均能力已經移動

or the right side of the distribution.

到分佈的右邊了。

It means that most people who are at risk for senility,

這意味著大部分的人有衰老危機的人，

more or less immediately,

可以藉由這種方式，

are now in a protected position.

多少保護他們的心智能力。

My issues are to try to get to rescuing

我的研究方向主要是試著盡量的拯救這些年紀較大的人們，

older citizens more completely and in larger numbers,

並且可以拯救大部分這樣的人。

because I think this can be done in this arena on a vast scale --

因為我覺得在這樣大規模的計畫施行中，是可以做到這樣的事。

and the same for kids.

同樣的，對於小孩，我也希望做到一樣的事。

My main interest is how to elaborate this science to address other maladies.

我的主要興趣是能希望更清楚的了解其他功能是如何喪失的相關知識。

I'm specifically interested in things like autism,

特別對自閉症，以及腦性麻痺等

and cerebral palsy, these great childhood catastrophes.

重大的幼童疾病有興趣。

And in older age conditions like Parkinsonism,

還有老年時期常發生的情況，如帕金森氏症

and in other acquired impairments like schizophrenia.

還有其他大腦方面的損壞如精神分裂症

Your issues as it relates to this science,

這類科學與你有關係的部分是，

is how to maintain your own high-functioning learning machine.

如何讓你的大腦維持在高學習效率。

And of course, a well-ordered life

當然，關鍵是在規律的生活中

in which learning is a continuous part of it, is key.

持續不斷的學習。

But also in your future is brain aerobics.

並且將來也要記的常常腦力激盪。

Get ready for it. It's going to be a part of every life

為建立高學習效能的大腦做好準備。

not too far in the future,

在不久的將來，那將會是你日常生活的一部份。

just like physical exercise

就如同在今日的世界中，

is a part of every well organized life in the contemporary period.

運動是規律生活的一部分一樣，

The other way that we will ultimately come to consider this

另一方面，我們終將會認為文獻以及科學對

literature and the science that is important to you

自己是很重要，原因是

is in a consideration of how to nurture yourself.

他們可以讓我們了解如何提供培育自己的大腦。

Now that you know, now that science is telling us

如今，這些腦科學正在告訴你，

that you are in charge,

培育自己大腦的方式

that it's under your control,

取決於自己。

that your happiness, your well-being,

快樂、幸福感、

your abilities, your capacities,

各種能力是

are capable of continuous modification,

得以持續修正與改善的，

continuous improvement,

而你可以完全決定

and you're the responsible agent and party.

它們修改的方向。

Of course a lot of people will ignore this advice.

當然會有許多人忽略這個忠告。

It will be a long time before they really understand it.

他們可能要很久才能了解這件事。

(Laughter)

笑聲

Now that's another issue and not my fault.

那又是另一個議題，而且也不是我的責任了。

Okay. Thank you.

好的，謝謝大家。

(Applause)

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