TED2009
Jim Fallon: Exploring the mind of a killer
Jim Fallon: 探索殺人犯的大腦
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精神變態殺人犯是一些必看電視節目的基本元素，但是到底是什麼原因讓他們發作？神經科學家Jim Fallon的演講是關於藉助腦部掃描及基因分析的方式，來揭露那些造成(或養成)殺人犯腦中錯亂地線路。而且比小說還曲折的是，他所分享的精彩家族史讓他的研究更顯異常的私人化。
Jim Fallon - Neurobiologist
Sloan Scholar, Fulbright Fellow, Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience, Jim Fallon looks at the way nature and nurture intermingle to wire up the human brain. Full bio
Sloan Scholar, Fulbright Fellow, Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience, Jim Fallon looks at the way nature and nurture intermingle to wire up the human brain. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:18
I'm a neuroscientist, a professor at the University of California.
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我是一個神經科學家，在加州大學任職的教授。
00:21
And over the past 35 years,
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在過去35年來，
00:24
I've studied behavior
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我致力於研究行為模式，
00:26
on the basis of everything from genes
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根據各式各樣的材料，從基因
00:29
through neurotransmitters, dopamine, things like that,
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到神經傳導物質，像多巴胺等，
00:31
all the way through circuit analysis.
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一直到電路分析。
00:33
So that's what I normally do.
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這些就是我平常在做的事。
00:35
But then, for some reason,
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但突然間為了某個理由，
00:37
I got into something else, just recently.
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最近我投入了另一個領域。
00:39
And it all grew out of one of my colleagues asking me
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這都是因為我的同事叫我
00:42
to analyze a bunch of brains
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分析一堆
00:44
of psychopathic killers.
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變態殺人犯的腦。
00:46
And so this would be the typical talk I would give.
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所以這就是我一般會講的演講內容。
00:49
And the question is, "How do you end up with a psychopathic killer?"
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問題是，“你到底是怎麼樣變成變態殺人犯的？”
00:52
What I mean by psychopathic killer
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我所說的變態殺人犯是指
00:54
are these people, these types of people.
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你在畫面上看到的這些人，這類的角色。
00:56
And so some of the brains that I've studied
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所以有些我所研究的腦
00:58
are people you know about.
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是來自你們所知道的人。
01:00
When I get the brains I don't know what I'm looking at.
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當我取得這些腦時，我不知道我要看什麼。
01:02
It's blind experiments. They also gave me normal people and everything.
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這些是盲性實驗，因為他們也提供正常人的腦和其他所有的材料給我。
01:04
So I've looked at about 70 of these.
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所以我看了約70個腦。
01:06
And what came up was a number of pieces of data.
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最後得到了幾張數據。
01:09
So we look at these sorts of things theoretically,
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所以我們以理論的角度來看這些數據，
01:12
on the basis of genetics,
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根據遺傳學，
01:14
and brain damage, and interaction with environment,
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腦部的損傷、和環境間的交互作用，
01:17
and exactly how that machine works.
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還有到底腦這個機器是怎麼運作的。
01:19
So we're interested in exactly where in the brain,
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所以我們感興趣的是到底是腦的哪個部位，
01:21
and what's the most important part of the brain.
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以及什麼是腦最重要的部分。
01:23
So we've been looking at this:
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所以這就是我們在觀察的事。
01:26
the interaction of genes,
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基因、
01:28
what's called epigenetic effects,
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所謂的表觀遺傳的影響、
01:30
brain damage, and environment,
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腦部損傷、和環境彼此之間的交互作用，
01:32
and how these are tied together.
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以及這些因子是怎麼串連在一起的。
01:34
And how you end up with a psychopath, and a killer,
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怎麼會變成一個變態，一個殺人犯
01:36
depends on exactly when the damage occurs.
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是要看傷害到底是何時發生的。
01:39
It's really a very precisely timed thing.
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這真的是和時機有絕對的關係，
01:42
You get different kinds of psychopaths.
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也會造成不一樣的心理變態。
01:44
So we're going along with this. And here's, just to give you the pattern.
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所以我們也相信這樣的理論。這張圖，只是要告訴你腦部的圖像模式是如何。
01:47
The pattern is that those people, every one of them I looked at,
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這些模式說明這些人，每一個我觀察過的人，
01:50
who was a murderer, and was a serial killer,
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如果是殺人犯，或是連續殺人犯，
01:53
had damage to their orbital cortex,
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他們的眼眶皮質都有受損。
01:55
which is right above the eyes, the orbits,
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也就是眼睛正上方的眼眶，
01:57
and also the interior part of the temporal lobe.
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還有顳葉內部。
01:59
So there is the pattern that every one of them had,
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這是他們每一個人都存在的模式。
02:01
but they all were a little different too.
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但是每個人也有一些不同，
02:03
They had other sorts of brain damage.
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他們還有一些別的腦部傷害。
02:05
A key thing is that
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最關鍵的是來自
02:07
the major violence genes,
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主要暴力基因的影響，
02:10
it's called the MAO-A gene.
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像是 MAO-A 基因。
02:13
And there is a variant of this gene that is in the normal population.
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這基因在正常人中有很多型態，
02:17
Some of you have this. And it's sex-linked.
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你們之中就有些人有這個基因。而且它是性聯遺傳，
02:20
It's on the X chromosome. And so in this way
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它位在X染色體上，因此，
02:22
you can only get it from your mother.
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你只會從你的母親那裏獲得這基因。
02:25
And in fact this is probably why mostly men, boys,
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事實上，這可能是為什麼大部分的變態殺人犯
02:29
are psychopathic killers,
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或是非常喜歡挑釁攻擊的人，
02:31
or are very aggressive.
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都是男性的原因。
02:33
Because a daughter can get one X from the father,
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因為女兒會從父親那裏得到一個X染色體，
02:36
one X from the mother, it's kind of diluted out.
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從母親獲得另一個X染色體，所以這基因表現有點被稀釋掉了。
02:38
But for a son, he can only get
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但如果是兒子，他只會從
02:40
the X chromosome from his mother.
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母親處獲得X染色體。
02:42
So this is how it's passed from mother to son.
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這就是這基因從母親傳到兒子的方式。
02:45
And it has to do with too much brain serotonin during development,
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這也和發展時期腦部的血清素有非常大的關係。
02:49
which is kind of interesting because serotonin
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這一點很有趣，因為血清素
02:51
is supposed to make you calm and relaxed.
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本來應該會讓你冷靜和放鬆，
02:54
But if you have this gene, in utero
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但是如果你有這個基因，在子宮內
02:57
your brain is bathed in this,
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你的腦就沉浸在血清素中。
02:59
so your whole brain becomes insensitive to serotonin,
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所以你整個腦對血清素就變得麻木不敏感，
03:01
so it doesn't work later on in life.
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使得它在往後的生命中失去作用。
03:04
And I'd given this one talk in Israel,
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就在去年，
03:07
just this past year.
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我也曾在以色列做過這個演講。
03:09
And it does have some consequences.
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這背後當然是有其一定重要的影響性。
03:11
Theoretically what this means
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理論上這表示的是，
03:13
is that in order to express this gene,
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如果要讓這個基因
03:16
in a violent way,
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以暴力的方式表現的話，
03:18
very early on, before puberty,
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在很小的時候，在青春期之前，
03:20
you have to be involved in something that is really traumatic --
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一定要經歷過對你來說是很慘痛的事，
03:23
not a little stress, not being spanked or something,
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不是一點點壓力，也不是被打屁股這類的小事。
03:25
but really seeing violence,
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而是真的親眼見到暴力，
03:27
or being involved in it, in 3D.
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或是被捲入其中，真正立體真實的經歷。
03:29
Right? That's how the mirror neuron system works.
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了解嗎？這就是鏡像神經元系統作用的方式。
03:31
And so, if you have that gene,
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因此，如果你有這個基因，
03:34
and you see a lot of violence
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然後你在某種狀態下
03:37
in a certain situation,
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親眼目睹了很多的暴力事件，
03:39
this is the recipe for disaster, absolute disaster.
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這就是引發悲劇的處方了，絕對是個災難。
03:42
And what I think might happen in these areas of the world,
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我認為世界上這些充滿暴力
03:45
where we have constant violence,
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的地區可能帶來的後果就是，
03:48
you end up having generations of kids
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世世代代的小孩
03:51
that are seeing all this violence.
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他們都得目睹週遭的這些暴力。
03:53
And if I was a young girl, somewhere in a violent area,
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假設我是一個生長在暴力籠罩地區的女孩，
03:56
you know, a 14 year old, and I want to find a mate,
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一個14歲的小女孩，如果我要找個對象，
03:58
I'd find some tough guy, right, to protect me.
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我當然會要找個很強壯，會保護我的男生，對吧!
04:01
Well what the problem is this tends to concentrate these genes.
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這樣帶來的問題就是，這些暴力基因就很容易就被集中在一起，
04:05
And now the boys and the girls get them.
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而這些男孩和女孩都會遺傳到這些基因，
04:07
So I think after several generations,
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我想在幾代之後，
04:09
and here is the idea, we really have a tinderbox.
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我們就真的會有個暴力的引爆箱了。
04:12
So that was the idea.
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這就是大概的概念。
04:14
But then my mother said to me, "I hear you've been going around talking
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但是有一天我媽媽對我說：「聽說你到處演講，
04:16
about psychopathic killers.
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討論關於變態殺人犯的事。
04:19
And you're talking as if you come from a normal family."
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然後你說得好像你是來自一個正常的家庭一樣。」
04:22
I said, "What the hell are you talking about?"
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我回答：「你到底在說什麼鬼？」
04:24
She then told me about our own family tree.
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她才告訴我關於我自己的族譜。
04:27
Now she blamed this on my father's side, of course.
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但是當然她把過錯都推到我爸爸那邊的家庭。
04:29
This was one of these cases, because she has no violence in her background,
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這就是這種狀況中的一個例子，因為她的家庭背景並沒有暴力的歷史，
04:33
but my father did.
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但是我父親這邊有。
04:35
Well she said, "There is good news and bad news.
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她就說：「有好消息也有壞消息。
04:37
One of your cousins is Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell university.
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好消息是，你的表哥之一叫Ezra Cornell，是康乃爾大學的創辦人。
04:40
But the bad news is that your cousin is also Lizzie Borden.
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但壞消息是，你另一個表姊叫Lizzi Borden。」
04:43
Now I said, "Okay, so what? We have Lizzie."
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我就說：「好啊，我們有 Lizzi 又怎麼樣？」
04:50
She goes, "No it gets worse, read this book."
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她回答：「狀況是越來越糟，看看這本書。」
04:52
And here is this "Killed Strangely," and it's this historical book.
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就是這本 “離奇謀殺案”，這是本描述歷史的書。
04:54
And the first murder
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第一樁媽媽被兒子殺死的
04:56
of a mother by a son
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謀殺案，
04:58
was my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.
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兇手就是我的曾曾曾曾曾曾曾祖父。
05:01
Okay, so that's the first case of matricide.
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好啦，這就是第一宗弒母案。
05:04
And that book is very interesting. Because it's about witch trials,
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這本書其實很有趣，它是在講女巫的審判，
05:07
and how people thought back then.
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還有當時的人們的思想。
05:09
But it doesn't stop there.
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事情不是簡單到此而已，
05:11
There were seven more men, on my father's side,
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還有七名男士，是我父親那邊的親戚，
05:14
starting then, Cornells, that were all murderers.
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從康乃爾家族那個時候開始，全都是殺人犯。
05:18
Okay, now this gives one a little pause.
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到這裡，不得不讓你停頓一下。
05:21
(Laughter)
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(笑聲)
05:23
Because my father himself,
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因為我父親自己，
05:25
and my three uncles, in World War II,
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還有我三個叔叔，在第二次世界大戰期間，
05:27
were all conscientious objectors, all pussycats.
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他們都是反戰主義者，都是很溫和的人。
05:30
But every once in a while, like Lizzie Borden, like three times a century,
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但是每隔一陣子就會冒出個Lizzi Borden，大約是每一百年出三個。
05:32
and we're kind of due.
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現在好像時間差不多到了。
05:34
(Laughter)
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(笑聲)
05:37
So the moral of the story is:
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所以這個故事的寓意就是：
05:39
people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
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住在玻璃屋裡的人不要互擲石頭。
05:41
But more likely is this.
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但其實真正的是；「我不管別人知道什麼關於我的事，只要我媽永遠都不發現就好。」
05:44
(Laughter)
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(笑聲)
05:48
And we had to take action. Now our kids found out about it.
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所以我們也不得不採取一些行動，尤其是現在我們的小孩都知道發生什麼事。
05:51
And they all seemed to be OK.
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他們看起來都沒什麼問題，
05:53
But our grandkids are going to be kind of concerned here.
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但是我們的孫子輩可能是我們要注意的。
05:56
So what we've done is I've started to do PET scans
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所以我們做的就是我開始對家裡所有的人
05:59
of everybody in the family.
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進行PET掃描 (正子掃描) 。
06:01
(Laughter)
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(笑聲)
06:02
We started to do PET scans, EEGs and genetic analysis
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我們做了PET掃描、EEG (腦波圖)、還有遺傳分析，
06:05
to see where the bad news is.
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看看問題出在哪裡。
06:07
Now the only person -- it turns out
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結果唯一有問題的是
06:09
one son and one daughter, siblings,
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一對兄妹。
06:12
didn't get along and their patterns are exactly the same.
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他們以前無法和睦相處，且他們的腦部掃描有同樣的模式圖像。
06:14
They have the same brain, and the same EEG.
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他們有同樣的大腦，同樣的腦波圖。
06:17
And now they are close as can be.
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但是他們現在比任何人的關係都緊密。
06:20
But there's gonna be bad news somewhere.
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不過將來一定會在某些地方出問題，
06:22
And we don't know where it's going to pop up.
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只是我們不知道它什麼時麼時候會跑出來。
06:24
So that's my talk.
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這就是我的演講。
06:26
(Laughter)
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(笑聲)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jim Fallon - NeurobiologistSloan Scholar, Fulbright Fellow, Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience, Jim Fallon looks at the way nature and nurture intermingle to wire up the human brain.
Why you should listen
Jim Fallon has taught neuroscience and psychiatry grand rounds at the University of California Irvine for thirty-five years. Through research he explores the way genetic and perinatal environmental factors affect the way the brain gets built -- and then how an individual's experience further shapes his or her development. He lectures and writes on creativity, consciousness and culture, and has made key contributions to our understanding of adult stems and stroke, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.
Only lately has Fallon turned his research toward the subject of psychopaths -- particularly those who kill. With PET scans and EEGs, he's beginning to uncover the deep, underlying traits that make people violent and murderous. In his talk at TEDDIY at TED@PalmSprings, he shared a surprise discovery about his own family that prompted him to bring his work home.
Watch his followup talk from The Moth at the 2011 World Science Festival >>
Jim Fallon | Speaker | TED.com