ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Carl Schoonover - Neuroscience PhD student + writer
Carl Schoonover is a neuroscientist and one of the founders of NeuWrite, a collaboration between writers and neuroscientist.

Why you should listen

Carl is a neuroscience PhD candidate at Columbia University, where he works on microanatomy and electrophysiology of rodent somatosensory cortex. He the author of Portraits of the Mind: Visualizing the Brain from Antiquity to the 21st Century, and has written for the New York Times, Le Figaro, the Huffington Post, Science, Scientific American, Design Observer, and Boing Boing. In 2008 he cofounded NeuWrite, a collaborative working group for scientists, writers, and those in between. He hosts a radio show on WkCR 89.9FM, which focuses on opera and classical music, and their relationship to the brain.

More profile about the speaker
Carl Schoonover | Speaker | TED.com
TED2012

Carl Schoonover: How to look inside the brain

Carl Schoonover: 如何观察大脑内部

Filmed:
962,022 views

人类对大脑的理解已经取得了显著进展,但到底如何研究大脑里的神经元呢?神经科学家、TED Fellow Carl Schoonover 用华丽的图像向我们展示如何使用工具,看到大脑内部的景象。
- Neuroscience PhD student + writer
Carl Schoonover is a neuroscientist and one of the founders of NeuWrite, a collaboration between writers and neuroscientist. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
This is a thousand-year-old千岁 drawing画画 of the brain.
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这是一张一千年前关于大脑的绘画
00:20
It's a diagram of the visual视觉 system系统.
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一个关于视觉系统的图像
00:22
And some things look very familiar today今天.
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有些东西在今天看来也很熟悉
00:24
Two eyes眼睛 at the bottom底部, optic视神经 nerve神经 flowing流动 out from the back.
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底下是两只眼睛,视觉神经从它们后面伸出来
00:29
There's a very large nose鼻子
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这是个很大的鼻子
00:31
that doesn't seem似乎 to be connected连接的 to anything in particular特定.
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看起来它并没有连接到特殊的部位
00:34
And if we compare比较 this
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如果我们把这个
00:36
to more recent最近 representations交涉 of the visual视觉 system系统,
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跟最近的视觉系统的表现形式进行对比
00:38
you'll你会 see that things have gotten得到 substantially基本上 more complicated复杂
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你会发现情况变得异常复杂
00:41
over the intervening介入 thousand years年份.
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在经历了几千年之后
00:43
And that's because today今天 we can see what's inside of the brain,
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这是因为今天我们可以看见大脑里面的东西
00:45
rather than just looking at its overall总体 shape形状.
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而不只是它大致的形状
00:48
Imagine想像 you wanted to understand理解 how a computer电脑 works作品
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想象下如果你想知道电脑是如何工作的
00:52
and all you could see was a keyboard键盘, a mouse老鼠, a screen屏幕.
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你能看到的只是键盘,鼠标和屏幕
00:55
You really would be kind of out of luck运气.
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你真的不会那么走运(明白它是怎么工作的)
00:58
You want to be able能够 to open打开 it up, crack裂纹 it open打开,
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你会想要打开它,拆开它
01:00
look at the wiring接线 inside.
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看看里面电线的连接
01:01
And up until直到 a little more than a century世纪 ago,
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直到一百多年以前
01:03
nobody没有人 was able能够 to do that with the brain.
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没有人能够这样对待大脑
01:05
Nobody没有人 had had a glimpse一瞥 of the brain's大脑的 wiring接线.
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没人看到过大脑的回路
01:07
And that's because if you take a brain out of the skull头骨
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那是因为如果你把大脑从头盖骨里拿出来
01:10
and you cut a thin slice of it,
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从中切出一个薄片
01:12
put it under even a very powerful强大 microscope显微镜,
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把它放在即便很强大的显微镜下面
01:14
there's nothing there.
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那里什么都没有
01:15
It's gray灰色, formless无形.
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它是灰色的,没有固定形状
01:17
There's no structure结构体. It won't惯于 tell you anything.
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没有结构。它不会告诉你任何东西
01:20
And this all changed in the late晚了 19th century世纪.
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这些都在19世纪末发生了改变
01:23
Suddenly突然, new chemical化学 stains for brain tissue组织 were developed发达
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忽然间,人们发明了新的大脑组织的化学染料
01:26
and they gave us our first glimpses瞥见 at brain wiring接线.
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这些染料让我们第一次看到大脑的回路
01:29
The computer电脑 was cracked破解 open打开.
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这个电脑被打开了
01:31
So what really launched推出 modern现代 neuroscience神经科学
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真正开启现代神经科学的是
01:34
was a stain弄脏 called the Golgi高尔基 stain弄脏.
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一种叫高尔基染色法的染料
01:36
And it works作品 in a very particular特定 way.
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它工作原理很特别
01:38
Instead代替 of staining染色 all of the cells细胞 inside of a tissue组织,
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它并不是对组织里面的所有细胞进行染色
01:41
it somehow不知何故 only stains about one percent百分 of them.
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而是只染对其中大约1%的细胞
01:44
It clears清零 the forest森林, reveals揭示 the trees树木 inside.
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它清除了森林的图像,展现了其中的树木
01:47
If everything had been labeled标记, nothing would have been visible可见.
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如果所有东西都被标记上的话,那什么都看不见了
01:50
So somehow不知何故 it shows节目 what's there.
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所有它以某种方式展示了大脑里的东西
01:52
Spanish西班牙语 neuroanatomist神经解剖学家 Santiago圣地亚哥 Ramon拉蒙 y Cajal卡哈尔,
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西班牙神经解剖学家圣地亚哥·拉蒙-卡哈尔
01:55
who's谁是 widely广泛 considered考虑 the father父亲 of modern现代 neuroscience神经科学,
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被普遍认为是现代神经科学之父
01:58
applied应用的 this Golgi高尔基 stain弄脏, which哪一个 yields产量 data数据 which哪一个 looks容貌 like this,
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他用高尔基染色法展示了这样的图像
02:02
and really gave us the modern现代 notion概念 of the nerve神经 cell细胞, the neuron神经元.
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这给了我们神经细胞,神经元的现代概念
02:05
And if you're thinking思维 of the brain as a computer电脑,
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如果你把大脑想象成一个电脑
02:08
this is the transistor晶体管.
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这就是晶体管
02:10
And very quickly很快 Cajal卡哈尔 realized实现
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卡哈尔很快意识到
02:12
that neurons神经元 don't operate操作 alone单独,
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神经元不是单独工作的
02:14
but rather make connections连接 with others其他
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而是与其它神经元互相连接
02:16
that form形成 circuits电路 just like in a computer电脑.
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形成像电脑一样的电路
02:19
Today今天, a century世纪 later后来, when researchers研究人员 want to visualize想象 neurons神经元,
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今天,一个世纪之后,当研究人员想要看神经元的时候
02:22
they light them up from the inside rather than darkening变黑 them.
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他们从内部点亮神经元,而不是让它们变暗
02:25
And there's several一些 ways方法 of doing this.
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它有几种做法
02:26
But one of the most popular流行 ones那些
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最流行的做法之一
02:28
involves涉及 green绿色 fluorescent protein蛋白.
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要用到荧光蛋白
02:30
Now green绿色 fluorescent protein蛋白,
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现在,绿色荧光蛋白
02:31
which哪一个 oddly奇怪 enough足够 comes from a bioluminescent生物发光 jellyfish海蜇,
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一种来自生物发光的水母中的荧光蛋白
02:35
is very useful有用.
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很有用处
02:36
Because if you can get the gene基因 for green绿色 fluorescent protein蛋白
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因为如果你能得到绿色荧光蛋白的基因
02:39
and deliver交付 it to a cell细胞,
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并把它运入一个细胞
02:40
that cell细胞 will glow辉光 green绿色 --
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那个细胞就会发出绿色荧光——
02:42
or any of the many许多 variants变种 now of green绿色 fluorescent protein蛋白,
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如果你使用任何这种绿色荧光蛋白的变体
02:46
you get a cell细胞 to glow辉光 many许多 different不同 colors颜色.
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你可以让一个细胞发出不同的颜色的荧光
02:47
And so coming未来 back to the brain,
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回到大脑的话题
02:49
this is from a genetically基因 engineered工程 mouse老鼠 called "BrainbowBrainbow."
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有一种叫“大脑彩虹”的转基因小鼠
02:53
And it's so called, of course课程,
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人们这样叫它
02:54
because all of these neurons神经元 are glowing泛着 different不同 colors颜色.
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当然是因为这些神经元在发出不同颜色的荧光
02:58
Now sometimes有时 neuroscientists神经学家 need to identify鉴定
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现在,神经科学家们有时候需要识别
03:01
individual个人 molecular分子 components组件 of neurons神经元, molecules分子,
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神经元的特定分子元件
03:04
rather than the entire整个 cell细胞.
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识别分子,而不是整个细胞
03:06
And there's several一些 ways方法 of doing this,
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这可以通过好几种方法做到
03:08
but one of the most popular流行 ones那些
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但是最流行的方法之一
03:09
involves涉及 using运用 antibodies抗体.
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用到了抗体
03:11
And you're familiar, of course课程,
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你们一定
03:13
with antibodies抗体 as the henchmen心腹 of the immune免疫的 system系统.
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对作为免疫系统的抗体十分熟悉
03:16
But it turns out that they're so useful有用 to the immune免疫的 system系统
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实际上它们在免疫系统中如此重要的原因是
03:18
because they can recognize认识 specific具体 molecules分子,
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它们可以识别特定的分子
03:21
like, for example, the code protein蛋白
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比如一个入侵身体的病毒的
03:23
of a virus病毒 that's invading入侵 the body身体.
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外壳蛋白
03:25
And researchers研究人员 have used this fact事实
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研究人员利用抗体的这个特性
03:27
in order订购 to recognize认识 specific具体 molecules分子 inside of the brain,
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来识别大脑内部的特定分子
03:32
recognize认识 specific具体 substructures of the cell细胞
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识别细胞的特定亚结构
03:34
and identify鉴定 them individually个别地.
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并将它们逐个分辨出来
03:37
And a lot of the images图片 I've been showing展示 you here are very beautiful美丽,
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我在这展示的很多图像都很漂亮
03:40
but they're also very powerful强大.
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但它们同时也很强大
03:41
They have great explanatory解释性 power功率.
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它们可以解释很多东西
03:43
This, for example, is an antibody抗体 staining染色
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比如说,这是一个
03:45
against反对 serotonin血清素 transporters转运 in a slice of mouse老鼠 brain.
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针对小鼠大脑切片里5-羟色胺转运体的抗体染色图象
03:49
And you've heard听说 of serotonin血清素, of course课程,
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你们肯定听说过5-羟色胺
03:50
in the context上下文 of diseases疾病 like depression萧条 and anxiety焦虑.
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它与忧虑、焦虑一类的疾病有关
03:53
You've heard听说 of SSRIsSSRIs类药物,
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你们也听说过 SSRIs (选择性5-羟色胺再摄取抑制剂)
03:55
which哪一个 are drugs毒品 that are used to treat对待 these diseases疾病.
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它被用来治疗以上几种疾病
03:57
And in order订购 to understand理解 how serotonin血清素 works作品,
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如果想了解5-羟色胺是怎么起作用的
04:00
it's critical危急 to understand理解 where the serontoninserontonin machinery机械 is.
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我们必须先明白5-羟色胺作用的部位在哪里
04:03
And antibody抗体 stainings染色 like this one
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而我们可以通过这样的抗体染色
04:05
can be used to understand理解 that sort分类 of question.
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来解答类似的问题
04:09
I'd like to leave离开 you with the following以下 thought:
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我想给你们留下这样一个信息:
04:11
Green绿色 fluorescent protein蛋白 and antibodies抗体
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绿色荧光蛋白和抗体
04:14
are both totally完全 natural自然 products制品 at the get-go一开始走.
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最早都是自然产物
04:17
They were evolved进化 by nature性质
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它们通过自然进化
04:20
in order订购 to get a jellyfish海蜇 to glow辉光 green绿色 for whatever随你 reason原因,
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以便使一个水母不论以什么原因发出绿色荧光
04:22
or in order订购 to detect检测 the code protein蛋白 of an invading入侵 virus病毒, for example.
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或是以便识别入侵身体的病毒的外壳蛋白
04:27
And only much later后来 did scientists科学家们 come onto the scene现场
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过了很久很久以后,科学家才出场
04:30
and say, "Hey, these are tools工具,
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说:“这些都是工具,
04:32
these are functions功能 that we could use
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我们可以把这些功能
04:34
in our own拥有 research研究 tool工具 palette调色板."
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用到我们自己的研究工具控制板上。”
04:36
And instead代替 of applying应用 feeble微弱 human人的 minds头脑
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与其用有限的人类智慧
04:39
to designing设计 these tools工具 from scratch,
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来从头设计工具
04:41
there were these ready-made现成 solutions解决方案 right out there in nature性质
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不如用这些在自然界中
04:44
developed发达 and refined精制 steadily稳步 for millions百万 of years年份
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经过几百万年的发展、改善并稳定下来的现成的工具来解答
04:47
by the greatest最大 engineer工程师 of all.
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它们是大自然的鬼斧神工
04:49
Thank you.
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谢谢
04:50
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Jia Zeng
Reviewed by Yuguo Zhang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Carl Schoonover - Neuroscience PhD student + writer
Carl Schoonover is a neuroscientist and one of the founders of NeuWrite, a collaboration between writers and neuroscientist.

Why you should listen

Carl is a neuroscience PhD candidate at Columbia University, where he works on microanatomy and electrophysiology of rodent somatosensory cortex. He the author of Portraits of the Mind: Visualizing the Brain from Antiquity to the 21st Century, and has written for the New York Times, Le Figaro, the Huffington Post, Science, Scientific American, Design Observer, and Boing Boing. In 2008 he cofounded NeuWrite, a collaborative working group for scientists, writers, and those in between. He hosts a radio show on WkCR 89.9FM, which focuses on opera and classical music, and their relationship to the brain.

More profile about the speaker
Carl Schoonover | Speaker | TED.com