TED2014
Nancy Kanwisher: A neural portrait of the human mind
Nancy Kanwisher: 人类心理的神经元描绘
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大脑成像领域的先锋Nancy Kanwisher 经常使用fMIR 扫描技术来研究大脑区域里的活动（通常是她自己的大脑）。她分享了她看到的和他的同事们学到的：大脑是有高度专门化的组分和功能宽泛的机件共同构成的。令人意想不到的是，还有很多尚待研究。
Nancy Kanwisher - Brain researcher
Using fMRI imaging to watch the human brain at work, Nancy Kanwisher’s team has discovered cortical regions responsible for some surprisingly specific elements of cognition. Full bio
Using fMRI imaging to watch the human brain at work, Nancy Kanwisher’s team has discovered cortical regions responsible for some surprisingly specific elements of cognition. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Today I want to tell you
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今天我想告诉大家一个
00:13
about a project being carried out
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由全世界各地科学家一起完成的项目。
00:15
by scientists all over the world
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这个项目希望用神经系统图景
00:18
to paint a neural portrait of the human mind.
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来描绘人类思想。
00:21
And the central idea of this work
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这一项目的中心论点，
00:23
is that the human mind and brain
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就是人类的思想和大脑
00:25
is not a single, general-purpose processor,
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不是一个独立、普通的处理器，
00:28
but a collection of highly specialized components,
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而是一个许多高度专业化的组分的集合。
00:31
each solving a different specific problem,
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其中的每一个组分都专门处理不同的问题，
00:34
and yet collectively making up
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最终这些组分合在一起，
00:37
who we are as human beings and thinkers.
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成就了我们人类，思考者们。
00:41
To give you a feel for this idea,
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为了让你们更好地感受这一理论，
00:43
imagine the following scenario:
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请想象一下接下来的场景：
00:45
You walk into your child's day care center.
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你走进了你孩子的托管中心。
00:47
As usual, there's a dozen kids there
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像往常一样，那里有许多的孩子
00:50
waiting to get picked up,
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等待着被家长接走。
00:51
but this time,
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但是在这时，
00:53
the children's faces look weirdly similar,
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这些孩子们的脸庞看起来奇怪地相似，
00:56
and you can't figure out which child is yours.
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你无法分辨出哪一个才是你的孩子。
00:59
Do you need new glasses?
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你是需要一副新眼镜吗？
01:00
Are you losing your mind?
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你是精神错乱了吗？
01:02
You run through a quick mental checklist.
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你的脑海中快速地过了一遍自己的精神状况清单
01:05
No, you seem to be thinking clearly,
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不，你看起来脑子很清楚，
01:07
and your vision is perfectly sharp.
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你的视力也十分锐利。
01:09
And everything looks normal
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所有事都看起来非常正常，
01:11
except the children's faces.
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除了那些孩子们的脸。
01:13
You can see the faces,
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你看着这些脸庞，
01:15
but they don't look distinctive,
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可它们竟没什么差别，
01:17
and none of them looks familiar,
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而且没有一张看起来熟悉。
01:18
and it's only by spotting an orange hair ribbon
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你只是因为发现了一只橘色发带，
01:21
that you find your daughter.
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才得以找到你的女儿。
01:23
This sudden loss of the ability to recognize faces
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这种对于认脸能力的突然缺失，
01:26
actually happens to people.
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经常在人们身上发生。
01:28
It's called prosopagnosia,
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这种现象叫做面容失认症，
01:30
and it results from damage
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它是由脑部一个特定部分损伤
01:31
to a particular part of the brain.
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而引起的。
01:33
The striking thing about it
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这种现象最显著的特征就是，
01:35
is that only face recognition is impaired;
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只有认脸的能力被损害了，
01:37
everything else is just fine.
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其他的一切都看起来很正常。
01:40
Prosopagnosia is one of many surprisingly specific
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面容失认证是许多很特别的
01:44
mental deficits that can happen after brain damage.
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脑部损伤产生的精神缺陷的其中一种。
01:48
These syndromes collectively
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这些症状一起
01:49
have suggested for a long time
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在很早之前就显示出
01:52
that the mind is divvied up into distinct components,
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人的头脑是被均分成了不同的组分的。
01:55
but the effort to discover those components
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但是研究这些组分的努力，
01:58
has jumped to warp speed
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却因为大脑成像技术，
01:59
with the invention of brain imaging technology,
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特别是MRI技术的发明
02:02
especially MRI.
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而快速发展，进展迅猛。
02:05
So MRI enables you to see internal anatomy
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所以MRI让你能够很清晰地
02:08
at high resolution,
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看到内在的结构。
02:10
so I'm going to show you in a second
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我接下来会给你们看看
02:11
a set of MRI cross-sectional images
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一系列常见物体的
02:15
through a familiar object,
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MRI跨区域影像。
02:16
and we're going to fly through them
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我们将快速地翻动图片，
02:17
and you're going to try to figure out what the object is.
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让你们试着猜猜那些是什么物体。
02:20
Here we go.
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接下来开始了。
02:24
It's not that easy. It's an artichoke.
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这个不太容易。这是一朵菊芋。
02:26
Okay, let's try another one,
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试试另外一个。
02:27
starting from the bottom and going through the top.
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从底部开始向顶部移动。
02:32
Broccoli! It's a head of broccoli.
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花椰菜！这一一朵花椰菜的顶部。
02:33
Isn't it beautiful? I love that.
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它很漂亮，不是吗？我很喜欢。
02:35
Okay, here's another one. It's a brain, of course.
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这里还有一个。当然，这是大脑。
02:38
In fact, it's my brain.
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实际上，这是我的大脑。
02:39
We're going through slices through my head like that.
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我们在一部分一部分看透我的大脑。
02:41
That's my nose over on the right, and now
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刚才右边的是我的鼻子，
02:43
we're going over here, right there.
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现在我们已经到了这里，就是这里。
02:46
So this picture's nice, if I do say so myself,
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要我说，这张照片挺好，
02:51
but it shows only anatomy.
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可是它只展示了内部构造。
02:53
The really cool advance with functional imaging
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功能性影像最酷的进步在于
02:55
happened when scientists figured out how to make
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科学家找到制作出
02:57
pictures that show not just anatomy but activity,
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不仅展示构造，更展示内部活动的图片。
03:00
that is, where neurons are firing.
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也就是神经元的活动。
03:03
So here's how this works.
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那么接下来是这项技术的原理。
03:04
Brains are like muscles.
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大脑就像肌肉，
03:05
When they get active,
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当大脑变得活跃时，
03:07
they need increased blood flow to supply that activity,
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他们需要更多的血液来支撑这样的活动。
03:10
and lucky for us, blood flow
control to the brain is local,
control to the brain is local,
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正好，控制大脑的血液就存在与大脑中。
03:14
so if a bunch of neurons, say, right there
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所以比如说这儿的一些神经元
03:16
get active and start firing,
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变得活跃，开始传输信号，
03:17
then blood flow increases just right there.
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接下来这儿的血液流量就会增加。
03:20
So functional MRI picks up
on that blood flow increase,
on that blood flow increase,
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所以功能性MRI专门探测血流量的增加，
03:24
producing a higher MRI response
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当神经活动增强时，
03:26
where neural activity goes up.
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就产生更高的MRI回应。
03:29
So to give you a concrete feel
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为了让你们更直观的感受
03:30
for how a functional MRI experiment goes
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功能性MRI实验如何运作，
03:33
and what you can learn from it
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还有你们能从中学到什么，学不到什么，
03:34
and what you can't,
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让我给你们讲一讲我做过的第一个研究。
03:36
let me describe one of the first studies I ever did.
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我们想要弄清楚大脑中到底有没有
03:39
We wanted to know if there was a special
part of the brain for recognizing faces,
part of the brain for recognizing faces,
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一个特定的部分帮助人们分辨脸庞。
03:43
and there was already reason to
think there might be such a thing
think there might be such a thing
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基于我先前提到的面容失认症的现象，
03:46
based on this phenomenon of prosopagnosia
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我们有理由相信，
03:48
that I described a moment ago,
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大脑中这样的部位确实存在。
03:50
but nobody had ever seen that part of the brain
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但是没有人在常人的大脑中
03:52
in a normal person,
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看见过这个部位。
03:54
so we set out to look for it.
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所以我们开始寻找那个部位。
03:56
So I was the first subject.
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我是第一个实验对象。
03:58
I went into the scanner, I lay on my back,
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我走进扫描仪，平躺下。
04:01
I held my head as still as I could
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我尽量让我的头保持静止
04:03
while staring at pictures of faces like these
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看着像这些照片上的脸庞，
04:08
and objects like these
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和像这些照片上的物体。
04:10
and faces and objects for hours.
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人脸，物体，重复了几个小时。
04:15
So as somebody who has
pretty close to the world record
pretty close to the world record
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作为一个已经接近
04:18
of total number of hours spent inside an MRI scanner,
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在MRI扫描仪内待的时间的世界纪录的人
04:22
I can tell you that one of the skills
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我能告诉你，MRI研究中其中一个
04:23
that's really important for MRI research
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重要的技巧就是
04:26
is bladder control.
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憋尿的本领。
04:28
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
04:29
When I got out of the scanner,
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我走出扫描仪后，
04:31
I did a quick analysis of the data,
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我快速分析了那些数据，
04:33
looking for any parts of my brain
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寻找有没有任何大脑的部分
04:35
that produced a higher response
when I was looking at faces
when I was looking at faces
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在我看人脸时产生了比我看物体时
04:38
than when I was looking at objects,
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更高的反应。
04:39
and here's what I saw.
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这是我看到的数据。
04:42
Now this image looks just awful by today's standards,
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这些图像以今天的标准来看很糟，
04:45
but at the time I thought it was beautiful.
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但在当时我看来，它很漂亮。
04:48
What it shows is that region right there,
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它展示了这里的一块区域，
04:50
that little blob,
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这里的一小团。
04:51
it's about the size of an olive
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大概和一颗橄榄差不多大。
04:53
and it's on the bottom surface of my brain
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这部分在我大脑的底层，
04:55
about an inch straight in from right there.
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大概从这里向里一英寸。
04:58
And what that part of my brain is doing
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当我看到人脸的时候
05:01
is producing a higher MRI response,
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我的大脑的这一部分
05:04
that is, higher neural activity,
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比我看到物体的时候
05:06
when I was looking at faces
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产生了更高的MRI反应，
05:07
than when I was looking at objects.
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也就是更高的神经活动。
05:10
So that's pretty cool,
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这个结果令人振奋，
05:11
but how do we know this isn't a fluke?
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但我们怎么能知道这是不是偶然呢？
05:13
Well, the easiest way
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当然，最简单的方法，
05:15
is to just do the experiment again.
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就是重复做这个实验。
05:17
So I got back in the scanner,
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所以我回到了扫描仪里。
05:18
I looked at more faces and I looked at more objects
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我盯着更多的人脸和更多的物体，
05:21
and I got a similar blob,
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也得到了相似的结果。
05:23
and then I did it again
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我又重复，
05:25
and I did it again
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又重复
05:27
and again and again,
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重复再重复。
05:30
and around about then
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直到那时，
05:31
I decided to believe it was for real.
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我才决定相信，实验结果是正确的。
05:34
But still, maybe this is
something weird about my brain
something weird about my brain
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但是，仍然有可是事我的大脑有些不同寻常。
05:38
and no one else has one of these things in there,
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有可能其他人都没有我那种问题。
05:40
so to find out, we scanned a bunch of other people
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为了证实实验结果，我们又扫描了其他很多人的大脑。
05:43
and found that pretty much everyone
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最后发现几乎每个人的大脑里，
05:45
has that little face-processing region
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在相似的位置上，
05:47
in a similar neighborhood of the brain.
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都有那一小块识别人脸的区域。
05:50
So the next question was,
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那么下一个问题来了，
05:52
what does this thing really do?
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这个区域到底做些什么？
05:53
Is it really specialized just for face recognition?
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它是专门只用来识别人脸吗？
05:57
Well, maybe not, right?
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或许有可能不是这样的。
05:58
Maybe it responds not only to faces
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也许它不仅仅对人脸有反应，
06:00
but to any body part.
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也会对任何的人体部位有反应。
06:02
Maybe it responds to anything human
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也许它会对任何与人类相关的
06:05
or anything alive
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或者任何生物
06:07
or anything round.
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或者任何圆形的东西起反应。
06:08
The only way to be really sure that that region
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为了确定那块小区域
06:10
is specialized for face recognition
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是专门用来识别人脸的，
06:13
is to rule out all of those hypotheses.
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必须排除掉刚才提到的所有假设。
06:15
So we spent much of the next couple of years
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所以我们花了接下来的好几年，
06:18
scanning subjects while they looked at lots
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在实验对象看着许多不同种类图像时
06:20
of different kinds of images,
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扫描他们的大脑。
06:21
and we showed that that part of the brain
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我们证明了大脑的那一区域
06:23
responds strongly when you look at
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在你看着任何种类的脸的任何图像时
06:25
any images that are faces of any kind,
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会起强烈的反应。
06:29
and it responds much less strongly
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当你看的是非脸庞的图像时，
06:31
to any image you show that isn't a face,
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那块区域的反应会弱很多
06:34
like some of these.
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就像这些图像。
06:35
So have we finally nailed the case
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那么我们是不是已经确定
06:37
that this region is necessary for face recognition?
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脸庞识别必须依靠这一区域了呢？
06:41
No, we haven't.
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不，我们没有。
06:42
Brain imaging can never tell you
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大脑图像永远不能告诉你
06:44
if a region is necessary for anything.
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任何东西是否依靠一块区域。
06:46
All you can do with brain imaging
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大脑图像能让你做的
06:48
is watch regions turn on and off
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只有看着当人们想着不同东西时，
06:50
as people think different thoughts.
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他们大脑各个区域变得活跃或不活跃。
06:52
To tell if a part of the brain is
necessary for a mental function,
necessary for a mental function,
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为了确定大脑的一部分是否对于精神功能至关重要，
06:55
you need to mess with it and see what happens,
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你需要干扰那一部分的功能，看看会发生什么。
06:58
and normally we don't get to do that.
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一般我们无法那样做。
07:00
But an amazing opportunity came about
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但是，一个绝好的机会出现了。
07:03
very recently when a couple of colleagues of mine
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最近我的一些同事
07:05
tested this man who has epilepsy
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测试了这个在病床上躺着的
07:08
and who is shown here in his hospital bed
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患有癫痫的男人。
07:11
where he's just had electrodes placed
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在他大脑的表层
07:12
on the surface of his brain
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刚刚被装上了电极，
07:14
to identify the source of his seizures.
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来弄清他癫痫发作的来源。
07:17
So it turned out by total chance
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结果是非常碰巧地，
07:20
that two of the electrodes
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其中两个电极
07:22
happened to be right on top of his face area.
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正好在他面部区域的顶端。
07:25
So with the patient's consent,
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所以经过了患者的同意，
07:27
the doctors asked him what happened
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医生问他，当电极刺激大脑那个区域时，
07:30
when they electrically stimulated
that part of his brain.
that part of his brain.
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发生了什么。
07:34
Now, the patient doesn't know
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那时，患者还不知道
07:35
where those electrodes are,
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那些电极在哪儿，
07:37
and he's never heard of the face area.
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他也从未听说过面部区域。
07:39
So let's watch what happens.
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让我们来看看发生了什么。
07:41
It's going to start with a control condition
192
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一开始，会有一个控制条件。
07:43
that will say "Sham" nearly invisibly
193
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当没有电流被输送时
07:45
in red in the lower left,
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左下角会出现一个几乎看不见的
07:47
when no current is delivered,
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红色字“假装的”。
07:49
and you'll hear the neurologist speaking
to the patient first. So let's watch.
to the patient first. So let's watch.
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你会听到神经学家对患者讲话。我们来看看吧。
07:53
(Video) Neurologist: Okay, just look at my face
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（视频）神经学家：好的，看着我的脸。
07:55
and tell me what happens when I do this.
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当我这样做的时候告诉我发生了些什么。
07:59
All right?
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好吗？
08:00
Patient: Okay.
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患者：好的。
08:02
Neurologist: One, two, three.
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神经学家：一，二，三。
08:07
Patient: Nothing.
Neurologist: Nothing? Okay.
Neurologist: Nothing? Okay.
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患者：什么也没有发生
神经学家：什么也没有？好的，我会再做一次。
08:10
I'm going to do it one more time.
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08:12
Look at my face.
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看着我的脸。
08:15
One, two, three.
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一，二，三。
08:20
Patient: You just turned into somebody else.
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患者：你变成了另外一个人。
08:23
Your face metamorphosed.
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你的脸变形了。
08:25
Your nose got saggy, it went to the left.
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你的鼻子变得松弛，偏向了左边。
08:28
You almost looked like somebody I'd seen before,
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你看起来就像一个我以前见过的人，
08:31
but somebody different.
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但其实又不是。
08:34
That was a trip.
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那是幻觉
08:36
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
08:39
Nancy Kanwisher: So this experiment —
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Nancy Kanwisher：那么这个实验—
08:41
(Applause) —
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（掌声）—
08:45
this experiment finally nails the case
215
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这个实验最终证实
08:48
that this region of the brain is not only
216
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大脑这块区域
08:49
selectively responsive to faces
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不仅仅有选择性地对脸庞起反应，
08:52
but causally involved in face perception.
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还因此牵涉到脸的感知。
08:55
So I went through all of these details
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我快速过了一遍有关
08:57
about the face region to show you what it takes
220
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面部识别区域的细节来向你们展示
08:59
to really establish that a part of the brain
221
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是什么真正证实大脑的一部分
09:02
is selectively involved in a specific mental process.
222
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有选择地参与了特别的心理过程。
09:05
Next, I'll go through much more quickly
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接下来我会讲得更快一些。
09:07
some of the other specialized regions of the brain
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我会讲我们和其他人发现的
09:10
that we and others have found.
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其他有专门功能的大脑区域。
09:12
So to do this, I've spent a lot of time
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过去的一个月里，为了做这件事
09:14
in the scanner over the last month
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我已经在扫描仪里呆了很长时间，
09:16
so I can show you these things in my brain.
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来给你们看看我大脑里的这些东西。
09:18
So let's get started. Here's my right hemisphere.
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我们开始吧。这是我的右半脑。
09:21
So we're oriented like that.
You're looking at my head this way.
You're looking at my head this way.
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我们的方向是这样的。你们在从这个方向看我的大脑。
09:24
Imagine taking the skull off
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想象一下把头骨拿走，
09:25
and looking at the surface of the brain like that.
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像那样看着大脑的皮层。
09:27
Okay, now as you can see,
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那么，现在如你所见，
09:29
the surface of the brain is all folded up.
234
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大脑的皮层都是有褶皱的。
09:30
So that's not good. Stuff could be hidden in there.
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这可不太好，可能有东西会藏在里面。
09:32
We want to see the whole thing,
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我们想看看到完整的图像。
09:34
so let's inflate it so we can see the whole thing.
237
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那我们就展开它来看到完整的东西吧。
09:37
Next, let's find that face area I've been talking about
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接下来，我们来找一找一直都在说的那个
09:40
that responds to images like these.
239
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对像这些图像有反应的区域吧。
09:42
To see that, let's turn the brain around
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为了能看见它，我们把大脑转一圈，
09:43
and look on the inside surface on the bottom,
241
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从底部看大脑的内部表层，
09:45
and there it is, that's my face area.
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就是这了，这就是我的脸庞识别区域。
09:48
Just to the right of that is another region
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在它的右边是另一个
09:50
that is shown in purple
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标示成紫色的区域。
09:52
that responds when you process color information,
245
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当你在处理颜色信息时它会有反应。
09:55
and near those regions are other regions
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在这些区域的附近还有其他
09:58
that are involved in perceiving places,
247
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参与感知地点的区域。
10:00
like right now, I'm seeing
this layout of space around me
this layout of space around me
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就像现在，我正在看着我周围的布局，
10:03
and these regions in green right there
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在那这些绿色的区域
10:05
are really active.
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非常的活跃。
10:06
There's another one out on the outside surface again
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还有一个区域在外部的大脑皮层，
10:08
where there's a couple more face regions as well.
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这儿也还有几个脸庞识别区域。
10:11
Also in this vicinity
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在这附近
10:14
is a region that's selectively involved
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有一个区域，专门参与
10:15
in processing visual motion,
255
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处理可视的物体移动
10:17
like these moving dots here,
256
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1504
像这些移动的小点。
10:19
and that's in yellow at the bottom of the brain,
257
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就是这个在大脑底部的黄色部分。
10:21
and near that is a region that responds
258
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在那附近有一个区域，
10:25
when you look at images of bodies and body parts
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它在你看着身体或身体的部分时会有反应
10:27
like these, and that region is shown in lime green
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就是这些在大脑底部
10:30
at the bottom of the brain.
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2003
标注成酸橙绿色的区域。
10:32
Now all these regions I've shown you so far
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目前为止我给你们展示的区域
10:35
are involved in specific aspects of visual perception.
263
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都参与了特定视觉感知的处理。
10:39
Do we also have specialized brain regions
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那么我们是否有大脑区域，
10:41
for other senses, like hearing?
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专门处理其他感官，比如听感呢？
10:44
Yes, we do. So if we turn the brain around a little bit,
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是的，我们有。如果我们稍微转转大脑。
10:47
here's a region in dark blue
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这有一个深蓝色区域。
10:50
that we reported just a couple of months ago,
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2346
我们几个月前才报告了它的存在。
10:52
and this region responds strongly
269
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1634
当你听到像这样的有音高的声音时，
10:54
when you hear sounds with pitch, like these.
270
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3429
这个区域会强烈反应。
10:57
(Sirens)
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(警报)
10:59
(Cello music)
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（大提琴声）
11:01
(Doorbell)
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（门铃）
11:03
In contrast, that same region
does not respond strongly
does not respond strongly
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相比之下，当你听到一些
11:07
when you hear perfectly familiar sounds
275
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像这些没有音高的熟悉的声音时，
11:08
that don't have a clear pitch, like these.
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这个区域反应不会那么强烈。
11:11
(Chomping)
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（咀嚼声）
11:13
(Drum roll)
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（鼓声）
11:15
(Toilet flushing)
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（马桶水声）
11:18
Okay. Next to the pitch region
280
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好的。在这个区域旁边
11:21
is another set of regions that
are selectively responsive
are selectively responsive
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是另一堆专门对
11:23
when you hear the sounds of speech.
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说话声起反应的区域。
11:26
Okay, now let's look at these same regions.
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现在我们来看一看这些一样的区域。
11:28
In my left hemisphere, there's a similar arrangement —
284
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2468
在我的左半脑，有相似的排列——
11:30
not identical, but similar —
285
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不是完全一样，但是很相似——
11:32
and most of the same regions are in here,
286
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大多数区域，尽管有时大小不同，
11:34
albeit sometimes different in size.
287
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2002
都排列在这里。
11:36
Now, everything I've shown you so far
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2014
目前为止我给你们展示的东西
11:38
are regions that are involved in
different aspects of perception,
different aspects of perception,
289
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3026
都是参与了不同感官，视觉和听觉，
11:41
vision and hearing.
290
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1833
处理的区域。
11:43
Do we also have specialized brain regions
291
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1660
那我们还有没有专门处理
11:44
for really fancy, complicated mental processes?
292
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3435
很复杂的心理活动的区域呢？
11:48
Yes, we do.
293
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1429
是的，我们有。
11:49
So here in pink are my language regions.
294
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3389
这个粉色区域是我的语言区。
11:53
So it's been known for a very long time
295
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很早，人们就知道
11:54
that that general vicinity of the brain
296
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2035
大脑中的这一片区域
11:56
is involved in processing language,
297
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2193
参与了语言的处理，
11:58
but we showed very recently
298
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1732
但是我们最近才证实
12:00
that these pink regions
299
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1710
这些粉色区域
12:02
respond extremely selectively.
300
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2205
极有选择性地起反应。
12:04
They respond when you understand
the meaning of a sentence,
the meaning of a sentence,
301
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2812
它们在你理解一句话的意思时起反应，
12:07
but not when you do other complex mental things,
302
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2838
却不在你做其他复杂心理活动起反应，
12:10
like mental arithmetic
303
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2179
比如说心算，
12:12
or holding information in memory
304
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2396
或者试着记住一条信息，
12:14
or appreciating the complex structure
305
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2655
或者在欣赏一段音乐的
12:17
in a piece of music.
306
725406
2284
复杂结构。
12:21
The most amazing region that's been found yet
307
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2889
迄今为止发现的最神奇的区域
12:24
is this one right here in turquoise.
308
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3307
是这一片青绿色的部分。
12:27
This region responds
309
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2190
这片区域在你思考别人在思考什么的时候
12:30
when you think about what another person is thinking.
310
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4268
会有反应。
12:34
So that may seem crazy,
311
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1644
这可能看起来很疯狂，
12:35
but actually, we humans do this all the time.
312
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3868
但事实上，我们人类一直都在做这样的事。
12:39
You're doing this when you realize
313
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2193
当你意识到
12:42
that your partner is going to be worried
314
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1631
如果你不打电话回家
12:43
if you don't call home to say you're running late.
315
751654
2507
说你会跑步跑很晚，你的同伴会担心时
你的大脑在这样做。
12:46
I'm doing this with that region of my brain right now
316
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3469
我现在就在用这块区域这样做。
12:49
when I realize that you guys
317
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2281
我在想你们在座各位
12:51
are probably now wondering about
318
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1598
可能会琢磨
12:53
all that gray, uncharted territory in the brain,
319
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2547
剩下的那块灰色的没标识的区域
12:56
and what's up with that?
320
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1964
到底是起什么作用的？
12:58
Well, I'm wondering about that too,
321
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1685
我也在琢磨这个问题。
12:59
and we're running a bunch of
experiments in my lab right now
experiments in my lab right now
322
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2395
我们现在在实验室里做大量的实验
13:02
to try to find a number of other
323
770100
2013
来试着寻找其他
13:04
possible specializations in the brain
324
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2032
大脑可能存在的有特殊功能的
13:06
for other very specific mental functions.
325
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3368
高度专门化区域。
13:09
But importantly, I don't think we have
326
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2621
但是很重要的一点是，我不认为我们的大脑
13:12
specializations in the brain
327
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1564
对每一个重要的功能
13:13
for every important mental function,
328
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2746
甚至是关乎生存的功能
13:16
even mental functions that may be critical for survival.
329
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3409
都有专门处理的区域。
13:19
In fact, a few years ago,
330
787853
2102
事实上，几年前，
13:21
there was a scientist in my lab
331
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1117
有一位在我实验室的科学家，
13:23
who became quite convinced
332
791072
1409
非常确信地说
13:24
that he'd found a brain region
333
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1749
他发现了一块大脑区域
13:26
for detecting food,
334
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1912
专门用来识别食物。
13:28
and it responded really strongly in the scanner
335
796142
1918
在扫描仪里当人们看见这些图像时
13:30
when people looked at images like this.
336
798060
2728
这块区域会强烈反应。
13:32
And further, he found a similar response
337
800788
2912
此外，他还在12个对象的10个中的大脑中
13:35
in more or less the same location
338
803700
1939
几乎同样的区域
13:37
in 10 out of 12 subjects.
339
805639
2001
发现了相同的反应。
13:39
So he was pretty stoked,
340
807640
2294
他兴奋得不得了
13:41
and he was running around the lab
341
809934
1260
在实验室里跑跑跳跳
13:43
telling everyone that he was going to go on "Oprah"
342
811194
2002
告诉每一个人他就要带着他的研究成果
13:45
with his big discovery.
343
813196
2018
上奥普拉的脱口秀了。
13:47
But then he devised the critical test:
344
815214
3022
但接下来他做了一个修正实验：
13:50
He showed subjects images of food like this
345
818236
3183
他给实验对象展示了像这样的食物图片，
13:53
and compared them to images with very similar
346
821419
2741
并用了一些在形状和颜色上相似
13:56
color and shape, but that weren't food, like these.
347
824160
3810
但不是食物的图片做对比。
13:59
And his region responded the same
348
827970
2131
结果是那片区域对于两套图片的
14:02
to both sets of images.
349
830101
1949
反应强度是一样的。
14:04
So it wasn't a food area,
350
832050
1327
那么那就不是一块识别食物的区域了
14:05
it was just a region that liked colors and shapes.
351
833377
2771
只是一块会对颜色和形状产生反应的区域。
14:08
So much for "Oprah."
352
836148
2561
不过这也够拿上奥普拉脱口秀的台面了。
14:12
But then the question, of course, is,
353
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2225
但接下来的问题就是
14:14
how do we process all this other stuff
354
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2126
我们怎样用非专门化的大脑区域
14:16
that we don't have specialized brain regions for?
355
844834
2970
来处理其他的信息呢？
14:19
Well, I think the answer is that in addition
356
847804
1811
我认为答案就是
14:21
to these highly specialized components
that I've been describing,
that I've been describing,
357
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3554
在我刚才说到的那些高度专门化部分以外
14:25
we also have a lot of very general-
purpose machinery in our heads
purpose machinery in our heads
358
853169
3679
我们大脑里还有很多非专业化的机件
14:28
that enables us to tackle
359
856848
1494
他们让我们能够处理
14:30
whatever problem comes along.
360
858342
2106
任何出现的困难。
14:32
In fact, we've shown recently that
361
860448
2055
事实上，我们最近证实了
14:34
these regions here in white
362
862503
2068
这些白色的区域
14:36
respond whenever you do any difficult mental task
363
864571
3411
会在你做任何困难的大脑工作时起反应。
14:39
at all —
364
867982
1101
在我们测试的七个中
14:41
well, of the seven that we've tested.
365
869083
3571
都是这样的结果。
14:44
So each of the brain regions that I've described
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所以今天我给你们描述的
14:46
to you today
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每一个大脑区域，
14:48
is present in approximately the same location
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在正常的实验对象的大脑上
14:50
in every normal subject.
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都在大概相同的位置。
14:52
I could take any of you,
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我能挑你们其中的任意一个人，
14:54
pop you in the scanner,
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把你塞进扫描仪，
14:55
and find each of those regions in your brain,
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然后发现你大脑的那些区域
14:57
and it would look a lot like my brain,
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和我大脑的区域非常相似。
14:59
although the regions would be slightly different
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尽管可能这两者间
15:01
in their exact location and in their size.
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会在准确的位置和大小上有所不同。
15:05
What's important to me about this work
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对我而言这项工作最重要的
15:07
is not the particular locations of these brain regions,
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不是那些大脑区域的准确位置，
15:10
but the simple fact that we have
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而是我们得出的结论：
15:13
selective, specific components of mind and brain
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我们的大脑和思想从一开始就由
15:15
in the first place.
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选择性的和精细的各部分组成。
15:17
I mean, it could have been otherwise.
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我的意思是，我们的大脑大可不必成为这样。
15:19
The brain could have been a single,
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大脑可以是一个独立的，
15:21
general-purpose processor,
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功能宽泛的处理器，
15:23
more like a kitchen knife
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看起来更像一把菜刀
15:24
than a Swiss Army knife.
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而不是瑞士军刀。
15:26
Instead, what brain imaging has delivered
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但是，大脑成像呈现给我们的
15:29
is this rich and interesting picture of the human mind.
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是人类思想的丰富的和有趣的图景。
15:33
So we have this picture of very general-purpose
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这样这图片展示了大脑中
15:35
machinery in our heads
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既有功能宽泛的机件，
15:37
in addition to this surprising array
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也有令人惊讶的数量的
15:39
of very specialized components.
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高度专门化的组分。
15:43
It's early days in this enterprise.
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我们仍在这项研究的初期，
15:45
We've painted only the first brushstrokes
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我们只在人类思想的神经学解释上
15:48
in our neural portrait of the human mind.
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迈出了第一步。
15:51
The most fundamental questions remain unanswered.
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最基本的问题仍然没有解答。
15:54
So for example, what does each
of these regions do exactly?
of these regions do exactly?
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比如说，每个这些区域究竟是做什么的？
15:58
Why do we need three face areas
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为什么我们需要三个脸部区域
16:00
and three place areas,
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和三个地点区域？
16:02
and what's the division of labor between them?
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它们之间的分工是怎么样的？
16:04
Second, how are all these things
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第二，这些东西
16:07
connected in the brain?
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和大脑又是怎样联系起来的？
16:09
With diffusion imaging,
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借助弥散成像，
16:10
you can trace bundles of neurons
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你能够追踪许多连接到
16:13
that connect to different parts of the brain,
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大脑各个部分的神经元。
16:15
and with this method shown here,
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通过这里展示的方法，
16:17
you can trace the connections of
individual neurons in the brain,
individual neurons in the brain,
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你就能找到单个神经元和大脑的联系。
16:20
potentially someday giving us a wiring diagram
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这样也许有一天就能给我们
16:23
of the entire human brain.
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一幅大脑的线路状图象。
16:25
Third, how does all of this
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第三，这些非常系统的结构
16:27
very systematic structure get built,
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是怎样在幼年的成长
16:30
both over development in childhood
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和在物种的进化中
16:33
and over the evolution of our species?
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被建立起来的呢？
16:36
To address questions like that,
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为了解答这样的问题，
16:38
scientists are now scanning
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科学家们现在在扫描
16:40
other species of animals,
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其他种类的动物。
16:42
and they're also scanning human infants.
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他们也在扫描人类婴孩。
16:48
Many people justify the high
cost of neuroscience research
cost of neuroscience research
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许多人为神经元科学研究的高成本辩护，
16:52
by pointing out that it may help us someday
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他们指出这项研究也许某天会帮助我们
16:55
to treat brain disorders like Alzheimer's and autism.
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治疗如阿兹海默症和自闭症这些神经紊乱。
16:58
That's a hugely important goal,
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这是极其重要的目标，
17:00
and I'd be thrilled if any of my work contributed to it,
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如果我的工作能够给予帮助，我将非常激动。
17:03
but fixing things that are broken in the world
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但是修理世上已经坏掉的东西
17:06
is not the only thing that's worth doing.
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不是唯一值得去做的事。
17:09
The effort to understand the human mind and brain
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为了了解人类心理和大脑而做出的努力
17:12
is worthwhile even if it never led to the treatment
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即使无法用于治疗某种疾病
17:15
of a single disease.
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也是有价值的。
17:17
What could be more thrilling
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还有什么事
17:19
than to understand the fundamental mechanisms
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能比了解人类体验的基础机制
17:22
that underlie human experience,
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和本质上了解“我们是谁”
17:24
to understand, in essence, who we are?
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更令人激动的呢？
17:27
This is, I think, the greatest scientific quest
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我认为，这是有史以来
17:31
of all time.
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最伟大的科学探寻
17:34
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nancy Kanwisher - Brain researcherUsing fMRI imaging to watch the human brain at work, Nancy Kanwisher’s team has discovered cortical regions responsible for some surprisingly specific elements of cognition.
Why you should listen
Does the brain use specialized processors to solve complex problems, or does it rely instead on more general-purpose systems?
This question has been at the crux of brain research for centuries. MIT researcher Nancy Kanwisher seeks to answer this question by discovering a “parts list” for the human mind and brain. "Understanding the nature of the human mind," she says, "is arguably the greatest intellectual quest of all time."
Kanwisher and her colleagues have used fMRI to identify distinct sites in the brain for face recognition, knowing where you are, and thinking about other people’s thoughts. Yet these discoveries are a prelude to bigger questions: How do these brain regions develop and function? What are the actual computations that go on in each region, and how are these computations implemented in circuits of neurons? And how do these work together to produce human intelligence?
To learn more, see Kanwisher's collection of short talks on how scientists actually study the human mind and brain and what they have learned so far.
Nancy Kanwisher | Speaker | TED.com