1 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind. 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 1: My name is Robert Lamb, and I'm Julie Douglas. You know, Julie, 4 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:21,440 Speaker 1: we're setting here using our brains to speak and uh, 5 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: and listeners are out there using their brains to to 6 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: hear or to interpret the sounds coming through their ears 7 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 1: and uh. And it just really gets crazy mind blowing 8 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: when you start thinking about about ourselves as a brain 9 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 1: and and and and think about the walls that are 10 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,839 Speaker 1: off and up when the brain tries to look at 11 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: itself and tries to view itself and understand itself. WHOA, 12 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,480 Speaker 1: hold on a second, when you're shattering my brain right now. 13 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: But yeah, there's also often this this kind of cognitive 14 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: blindness that it sets in when we when we're trying 15 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: to understand what we are, I mean, you know, will, 16 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: we're also guts, were also all these things we leave, 17 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: as we've explained in another podcast. But are you telling 18 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:10,319 Speaker 1: about consciousness? Yeah, consciousness itself? YEA, what are we? What's 19 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: going on in our mind? And so recently we actually decided, hey, 20 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: let's go ask an expert on this, right, Yeah, we did. 21 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: We actually talked to neurosurgeon Dr T. Glenn Pate from 22 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,639 Speaker 1: the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and we wanted 23 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: to talk to him about one of the biggest myths 24 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,479 Speaker 1: out there about the brain, um, which is I'm sure 25 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: everybody knows, is that that we only use ten percent 26 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: of our brain. And he's actually been in brains, right, 27 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: I mean he has been like elbow deep in brains before. 28 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: That's right. He yeah, he's he's, uh, he's I was 29 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: about to use some sort of fly fishing metaphor, but 30 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: I'm sure he doesn't have to wear fly fishing kids. 31 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: But yeah, he's deep in there, and um, he's the 32 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: guy to ask about this. So we do know that 33 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: this was perpetuated by psychologist William James, who in the 34 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: early nineteen hundred said that the quote the average person 35 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: early achieved but a small portion of his or her potential. 36 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,119 Speaker 1: So I mean that seems you know, yeah, okay, that's 37 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: that's true, right, that's yeah. Everybody has great ideas, not 38 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:14,920 Speaker 1: everybody acts on them, that kind of thing, right, But 39 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: somehow that got perverted into this, well, we really only used, 40 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: you know, one part of our brain, which we know 41 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,119 Speaker 1: is not true? Yeah, or the tim percent right, that's 42 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: the ten percent has been thrown out there. It's all 43 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,799 Speaker 1: over the place. Like sci fi and comic books love 44 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: to run wild with it. You're always encountering that. It's 45 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 1: like the normal. We don't normally we only use ten 46 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 1: percent of our brain. But you know, but in this 47 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 1: summer movie, our hero will learn to use another five percent. 48 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, as as evidenced by the recent movie Limitless, right, 49 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: Oh is there is there psychic craziness and that well, 50 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:51,799 Speaker 1: they take it. He takes a magic pill, the hero 51 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 1: of that, and and then all of a sudden he's 52 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: on He's firing on all cylinders and writing books overnight, 53 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,359 Speaker 1: like Stephen King in the eighties. Yeah, I know, right, 54 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: we just need to tap into Stephen King's brain, see 55 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: what's going on? Tell us a lot more. Um. But 56 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 1: so we do know three brain scans we can verify 57 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: and say, no, it's not just one part of your 58 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: brain working and everybody else is just hanging out up 59 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: there being lazy. Um. Brain scans tell us that our 60 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: brains are always active, with some parts more active than 61 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: others depending on the activity that we're engaging in. Right, 62 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: So we talked to Dr Patar said, please tell us 63 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: why this continues to persist, And this is what he 64 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: had to say. You know, with every myth, you know, 65 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: it gets repeated over and over again. Every generation will 66 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: have it. It will change perhaps a little bit of 67 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: a band or it's leaning, uh and it it's just perpetuated. 68 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: And you know some of them, as you know, they're 69 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: couch and what seems to be a little bit of 70 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: common sense, right, um, but we need something to hold 71 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 1: onto and if we do not understand um, our environment, Um, 72 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: we need some to explain and the beliefs and in 73 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: the world around us. So you get to the brain, 74 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: which is a land of mystery for a lot of us. 75 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: The concept mind is still a mystery for us. So 76 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: we think that, well, we're not using all of our brain, So, um, 77 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: can we light up New York City with our brain 78 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: because we're only using ten That's that's a myth. No, 79 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: that's that's not the case at all, um, Because the 80 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: brain is such an incredible mystery environment. In factually, hear 81 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:38,479 Speaker 1: all the time. We hear it on television and radio 82 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,039 Speaker 1: and all the broadcasters will say, well, this is not 83 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: this isn't brain surgery. Correct. You hear it every day 84 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: on television, just the end of day. And I think 85 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 1: because of the mystery of the brain not knowing what's 86 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,600 Speaker 1: what's going on with the rain, we have incredible expectations 87 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: of it. Beth is absolutely incorrect, And I think it's 88 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,720 Speaker 1: an expectation appointing us to achieve or the brass that 89 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: we already have. And it's a way in which we 90 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:06,240 Speaker 1: cannot explain to all the mysteries of the brain that 91 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,359 Speaker 1: we hope the mysteries will be unrattled and once we 92 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: reach our capacity, we will be able to, you know, 93 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,840 Speaker 1: become super people. Okay, So basically the comic books in 94 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: the sci fi films are just completely full of it. Yeah, yeah, 95 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: and and and but it makes a really interesting point 96 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: about this whole wish fulfill fantasy that we have, you 97 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: know that if we could just it's sort of an 98 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,159 Speaker 1: excuse and a hope, right like, oh, yeah, I'm not 99 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,440 Speaker 1: getting to that book I meant to write overnight because 100 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: I'm just not using all my brain. But maybe one 101 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 1: day I could. Yeah. And and also the kind of 102 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 1: like a sense of guilt too, I don't know, it 103 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: kind of reminds me of there's sort of like an 104 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: original sin kind of a thing to it. You know. 105 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: It's kind of like like there's here's this creature with 106 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 1: all this potential, but oh, it's held back because it's 107 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,719 Speaker 1: lazy or something. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah, but then again, 108 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: not to bring up that movie Limitless, but I just 109 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: keep thinking about it because again, it's such an interesting 110 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 1: seductive idea. Who's in this somehow? Mr Bradley Cooper's in it? Um? 111 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 1: I think for provert de Niro's in it. I haven't 112 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: seen it. You thought I thought you'd loved it and 113 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: to keep talking about it. No, No, I just think 114 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,560 Speaker 1: it as an example of or we're talking about right now. 115 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: I mean, I've I've read about the plot. Obviously, that's 116 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: not all I know that he takes a superpill and 117 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:26,599 Speaker 1: becomes Superman. I'm not I'm not judging it. It's it's fine, okay. 118 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:29,360 Speaker 1: It's not that I don't like Bradley Cooper, Robert Denier. 119 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:33,280 Speaker 1: I just haven't seen it. All right, So the movie, though, 120 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: it made me think, could you actually through science, could 121 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:40,839 Speaker 1: could you create some sort of magic pill? And a 122 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 1: lot of people have asked that question too since that 123 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,479 Speaker 1: movie came out, and we do know that researchers have 124 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:48,919 Speaker 1: been working on memory enhancing drugs for Alzheimer's patients and 125 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: that a memory boosting molecule in the brain has been identified. 126 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: But I mean, this is a far cry from enhanced 127 00:06:55,400 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: cognitive development or even know, super crazy cogitive thinking. Now 128 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: when I go to the health food store, though they 129 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:08,599 Speaker 1: are countless um little bottles that claim to supply this 130 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,160 Speaker 1: kind of power. Well, I mean, you know that if 131 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: you take riddle in right, you're gonna become more focused. 132 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: So there are certainly things that you can do that 133 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:19,880 Speaker 1: can help you, but it's not gonna turn you into 134 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: a super brain overnight. I'm sorry, And you don't need 135 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: any more super brains over there. I need all the 136 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: brains I can get. I don't know, I don't know. 137 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: So you know, once again, we talked to Dr pat 138 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: about this. We wanted to say, well, okay, so we 139 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: know why why this myth has persisted, But how has 140 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,520 Speaker 1: technology changed the way that we actually think about the brain. 141 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: And he had this to say, It's it's allowed us 142 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 1: to appreciate the anatomy the brain is better and as 143 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: a surgeon, we thrive for anatomical consistency. You know, it's 144 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: like compendix. It didn't have consistency, so it sort of 145 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: confused us for a while. But we look for m 146 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:04,480 Speaker 1: anatomical consistency as surgeons whom in or asurgence, and that's 147 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: what I want. So the imaging allowed us to better 148 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 1: appreciate the anatomy of an incredible orgy of the brain. 149 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: And then from that we went once that further, we 150 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: got into the function of the brain, and now we 151 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 1: have functioning imaging, and this has given us better insight 152 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: into the normal function of the brain, because if you 153 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: don't know the normal, it's difficult to understand the abnormal. 154 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:32,080 Speaker 1: And the imaging has allowed us to better appreciate the 155 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:36,679 Speaker 1: brain and normal and abnormal states, therefore allowing us to 156 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: unravel some of those mysteries of diseases or at least 157 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:45,040 Speaker 1: begin to attack them before they announced themselves in such figure. 158 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:49,840 Speaker 1: So neuro imaging has managed to actually really bust some 159 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: of these, uh these myths we have right, we're actually 160 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: see what's going on, or at least get get a 161 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: visual um perspective on brain activity, what's going on, what's 162 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: going going on, where it's going on, and how much 163 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: activity is taking place. Well, and it's definitely busted some 164 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: of the assumptions that we have about the way that 165 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: we operate. And one of the things that I was 166 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: thinking about is this study about love and hate that 167 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:16,319 Speaker 1: we talked about love hating robots, and this was um 168 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: research because the research scientists was thinking, you know what, 169 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:22,959 Speaker 1: there's this guy at work that I know he hates me, 170 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: and so I want to see, um, what's going on, 171 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: you know, with people when they hate. Because his his 172 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:33,680 Speaker 1: thought was, it's got to be some sort of impassioned, 173 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: irrational thing that's happening, that part of the brain has 174 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:39,960 Speaker 1: got to be connected to this emotion. But what he 175 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,079 Speaker 1: found is that it was actually um that hate is 176 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: actually hanging out in the part of the brain that's 177 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: very rational and calculating. So it makes us have just 178 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:52,599 Speaker 1: a different view on what exactly is going on or 179 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:55,560 Speaker 1: how we perceived the way that our behavior is being 180 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 1: expressed around us. And then there's another thing too, that 181 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: brain damage permanent. Right. We used always think, okay, well, 182 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 1: if if you're getting a horrible accident or something happens, 183 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: you know it's permanent. But we know about neuroplasticity and 184 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: that's the ability to bring to heal itself. And of course, 185 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: if you've got extreme damages um then you probably do 186 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:18,959 Speaker 1: are are going to sustain permanent damage. But if you've 187 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:22,360 Speaker 1: got low level to mid level damage, your brain can 188 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: actually kind of go in there and start reforming synaptic connections. 189 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,720 Speaker 1: It can't recover neurons that have been lost or damage, 190 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:34,719 Speaker 1: but those synaptic connections can be rebrown, which is really incredible. 191 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 1: I feel like that's one that that's still has has 192 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: some has some spreading to do, because I feel like 193 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:40,800 Speaker 1: there's still that idea out there that if like I 194 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 1: would have walked behind a horse and get kicked in 195 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: the head, whatever damage I've suffered would be permanent. I 196 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:48,400 Speaker 1: think that we've seen this in other areas too, and 197 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 1: we've talked about this with the music and U Can 198 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:52,920 Speaker 1: Music Rebuild Your Brain in that podcast, and we we 199 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: looked at Alzheimer's patients and people who have had strokes, 200 00:10:56,679 --> 00:11:00,160 Speaker 1: and again we saw these examples of neuroplasticity where their 201 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 1: parts of the brain could pick up and help you 202 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:07,079 Speaker 1: to relearn words, for instance, as a stroke patient. A 203 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,200 Speaker 1: stroke patient might not be able to to speak, but 204 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,800 Speaker 1: she may be able to sing and eventually be able 205 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,440 Speaker 1: to speak again through music because that part of her 206 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 1: brain is taken over the faculties, which is pretty interesting, right, 207 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: Or or people who really learned to to speak via say, 208 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: using their tongue to to to draw the letters on 209 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:29,000 Speaker 1: the roof of their mouths. I've heard of that as 210 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:33,079 Speaker 1: a as an example of someone overcoming stroke. Yeah yeah, so, 211 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:34,880 Speaker 1: but like Dr Pat says, I mean, this is it's 212 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:37,240 Speaker 1: still very much a mystery to us, the brain. Um. 213 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: But you know, we've got all of this exciting technology 214 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:42,720 Speaker 1: in front of us today that can really help us 215 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:48,000 Speaker 1: to better understand ourselves and maybe even consciousness, right, like 216 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:50,040 Speaker 1: what it means to be a conscious being or as 217 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 1: sentient being just you know, not not nothing, No, but 218 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 1: it's a that one's that one is on is one 219 00:11:57,920 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: of the uh, I don't know. It kind of feels 220 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: like a Pandora's box at times. You know, I wonder 221 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,319 Speaker 1: the more we unlock about consciousness and the more we understand, 222 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,319 Speaker 1: you know, what we are and who we are? Uh? 223 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:13,960 Speaker 1: Do we do we stand the risk of demystifying ourselves 224 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 1: too much. This presentation is brought to you by Intel, 225 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:29,360 Speaker 1: sponsors of Tomorrow UM I think I've mentioned it before. 226 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,960 Speaker 1: There's a there's a quote from author Are Scott Baker 227 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: who makes the argument that that consciousness is um It's 228 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:41,200 Speaker 1: it's like a coin trick and uh and if you 229 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 1: explain the coin trick, then you can no longer see 230 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 1: the magic. And in this scenario, we are the magic. UM. 231 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: So I don't know. I think about this sometimes. Well, 232 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 1: there's actually that We'll get to this in a little bit, 233 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:54,959 Speaker 1: but there's actually something called the Blue Brain Project that 234 00:12:55,120 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 1: is exploring this this very idea. Who's in that is that? No, No, 235 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:07,679 Speaker 1: this is an actual project that's going on. Oh this 236 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: is the model. Yeah. Yeah. But before we talk about that, 237 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,280 Speaker 1: we wanted to talk with Dr Pete a little bit 238 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:16,600 Speaker 1: more about the future of neuroscience and as a neurosurgeon, 239 00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:20,520 Speaker 1: what he would love to see. Let's find out technology 240 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,720 Speaker 1: has has prompted UM or the disease process has prompted, 241 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: you know, the blossoming of technology. As soon as we 242 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: get a handle on one item, there's always another question 243 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 1: to be answered. And so I'm always cautious to say 244 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 1: I think as a as a physician, surgeon, UM, an educator, 245 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,200 Speaker 1: we always think that we're at at that the greatest 246 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:49,000 Speaker 1: point of discovery, UM, and at this time of our 247 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,520 Speaker 1: being we are that's the greatest thing, and one would 248 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: hope for marvelous things to come about. UM. The best 249 00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:59,320 Speaker 1: thing I think we're gonna be looking at in the 250 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,920 Speaker 1: future is uh is uh is um at least with 251 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:09,200 Speaker 1: the brain is continued understanding and to define you know, pathology, 252 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:13,719 Speaker 1: how the brain responds to tumors, whether their primary tumors 253 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: or their tumor on the outside of the brain is 254 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:18,199 Speaker 1: pushing on the brain. How the how the brain responds 255 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,400 Speaker 1: to pathology. Execondly, I think the great thing that I 256 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 1: would hope to see in my lifetime is the ability 257 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 1: of the spinal cord and the brain to come about 258 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: with as you put down the plasticity, the ability to 259 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,240 Speaker 1: repair itself and every turn of functioning. To have a 260 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:37,320 Speaker 1: stroke patient UM as a dobbin he is very in fact, 261 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 1: the ability to communicate or speak better the spinal cord 262 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:45,480 Speaker 1: injured patient who's uh, who's destined today to be on 263 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:49,000 Speaker 1: the ventilator, wheelchair, dependent for life and and rely upon 264 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 1: others for all care, to be able to arise independently 265 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: from a chair. That's what I would hope. So I 266 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:56,960 Speaker 1: think that's that's actually I can see as a certain 267 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: how he would really want to see the spinal cord 268 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: and the brain be able to better talk to each other. 269 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: Um and for eventually patients to be able to walk. 270 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:07,440 Speaker 1: It makes a lot of sense that that is what 271 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: he's after right now. Um And and surely you know 272 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 1: we'll be making some good strides with that. But I 273 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: was thinking, you know, we should probably talk a little 274 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 1: bit about some existing technology right now as it relates 275 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 1: to the brain. And we know that there's a portable 276 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:25,720 Speaker 1: m r I available, and we know that there's a 277 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:28,760 Speaker 1: MEG scanner, which is super cool. This was I believe 278 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,040 Speaker 1: this came out in the two thousand one, two thousand 279 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:34,120 Speaker 1: two something like that. There's only about a hundred of 280 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: them in existence. But a MEG scanner is a magnetic anencephalography. 281 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 1: It's imaging technology that can non invasively detect brain electromagnetic 282 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: activity lasting only milliseconds and the speed of communications in 283 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: neural circuits, whereas other functioning brain imaging l fMRI I 284 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 1: technology can only capture activity that last seconds or minutes, 285 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: and some involve radiation exposure. So this is this we 286 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:03,480 Speaker 1: talk about this a little bit about when we were 287 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: talking about dogs and um people's connection to infants and puppies, 288 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:10,640 Speaker 1: and they actually put them in one of these mag 289 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,200 Speaker 1: scanners and within one seventh of a second they could 290 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:17,440 Speaker 1: detect that it was I believe it was the overallllle 291 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:21,600 Speaker 1: cortex was looking at these pictures of puppies and infants 292 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: and lighting up and going nuts. So it just gives 293 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: us a little a little bit more of a fine 294 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 1: tuning mechanism to look at the brain. And this is 295 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: some of the technology that we was we discussed in 296 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 1: the Eat Popcorn episode that could eventually lead to a 297 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: situation where you could have advertisements reading your mind and 298 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:43,360 Speaker 1: seeing what your reaction is to various uh physical on 299 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: that physical, visual or auditory stimuli. Yeah. Actually, and it 300 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,160 Speaker 1: was Paul root will Be. He's the director of ethics 301 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:52,720 Speaker 1: at Emery University, and he was the guy that said, look, 302 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,640 Speaker 1: it is possible right now to beam light into your 303 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: front cortex and that the receptors would get a reflection 304 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: of that light, essentially scanning your brain and interpreting your 305 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:06,439 Speaker 1: thoughts as you concentrated on something. And that's why we 306 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,040 Speaker 1: brought it up in the eat popcorn podcasts because it 307 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 1: was like, you know that that could be used in 308 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: marketing so very easily. Yeah, I mean it could be 309 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:17,679 Speaker 1: happening right now, who knows. Um, But I didn't want 310 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: to talk a little bit more about the Blue Brain Project, 311 00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 1: which is a model of the brain. Yes, yes, not 312 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 1: a Tom York song, not a Tom York song, and 313 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,840 Speaker 1: not a model of the brain like the little plastic 314 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:30,639 Speaker 1: one that comes out of the Visible Man skeleton right right, 315 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:33,399 Speaker 1: There's there's no plastic going on here. It was started 316 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,680 Speaker 1: in June two thousand and five and it's a ten 317 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:41,520 Speaker 1: year joint venture between IBM and ep f L, which 318 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: is short for Equal Polytechnique. I apologize for that. It 319 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:49,720 Speaker 1: was the best I could do there, and it's the 320 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: main focus is to reverse engineer the brain. And they're 321 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,359 Speaker 1: building a detailed, realistic computer model of the human brain 322 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:01,400 Speaker 1: and it's one hundred trillion synapses. Yeah. So the first 323 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 1: phase of this was actually completed in two thousand and seven. Um. 324 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 1: This is actually from the director of this project, and 325 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:13,680 Speaker 1: this quote is current technology is now allowing us to 326 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:17,639 Speaker 1: qualify that tabula rasa hypothesis which argues that our brains 327 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 1: are a blink slate at birth and we only gain 328 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 1: knowledge through experience. It's an idea that has permeated science 329 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:26,040 Speaker 1: for centuries. There is no question that knowledge in the 330 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:29,679 Speaker 1: sense that we typically understand it, reading and writing, recognizing 331 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:33,280 Speaker 1: our friends, learning a language is the result of our experiences. 332 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,119 Speaker 1: But the ep f l's teams work demonstrates that some 333 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: of our fundamental representations or basic knowledge is inscribed in 334 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: our genes, which is like whoa, Okay, because neuro scientists 335 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,400 Speaker 1: have been saying this for a long time. Okay, if 336 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,320 Speaker 1: you've if, um, if you have a d D or 337 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:53,119 Speaker 1: a d D h D. These are things that aren't 338 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 1: necessarily things that came from your environment, that you acquired 339 00:18:57,119 --> 00:18:59,800 Speaker 1: through your environment. So we should start looking at this 340 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:04,440 Speaker 1: and through neuroscience and ways to treat it, and start 341 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:09,000 Speaker 1: considering the person as a whole um, knowing that they 342 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:14,120 Speaker 1: came prepackaged with some of these things, which is pretty cool. Um. 343 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:17,160 Speaker 1: And this is from ned City News there their articles 344 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,720 Speaker 1: called brain stimulation is a goal of the Blue Brain 345 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:24,399 Speaker 1: supercomputing project. Blue Brain can model components of the mammalian 346 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 1: brain and precise cellular detail and simulate neuronal activity in 347 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:31,360 Speaker 1: three D. Soon blue Brain will be able to simulate 348 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 1: a whole rat brain in real time. Wow, I know. 349 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 1: I mean that's been a personal dream of mine to 350 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:40,119 Speaker 1: live long enough to see a rat brain, you know, 351 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,960 Speaker 1: generated in your Yeah. Yeah, yeah, well, I mean the again, 352 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,320 Speaker 1: the project director, Henry Markham. I don't believe that said 353 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:48,520 Speaker 1: his name before, but Henry Markham, he has a really 354 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:52,440 Speaker 1: good Ted dot Com talk on this. He was basically saying, well, 355 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 1: we can't use mice forever, and I don't know why. 356 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,760 Speaker 1: He thinks maybe we're going to run out of myce um, 357 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 1: But for him, obviously it's just a better way to 358 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,840 Speaker 1: look at the human brain. And so he thinks that 359 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:05,800 Speaker 1: this computer model is actually going to bear out a 360 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:08,360 Speaker 1: theory that the brain creates a version of the universe 361 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:12,000 Speaker 1: and then projects it like a bubble all around us. Yeah, 362 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,760 Speaker 1: so that that's the consciousness part, right, Well, that's pretty 363 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,199 Speaker 1: mind blowing right there. Yeah, it's crazy, and um, I 364 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:23,520 Speaker 1: mean it's basically basically like mathematics is animating our neurons 365 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: for us to look at. And Seed Magazine's article Out 366 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,399 Speaker 1: of the Blue says that if the project succeeds, it 367 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:31,840 Speaker 1: will have taken the self and turned it into something 368 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:34,960 Speaker 1: that we can see this sense of self and then 369 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:38,439 Speaker 1: will we be horrified will be enlightened? Well, I mean 370 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:40,560 Speaker 1: that's the whole thing, right, the magic trick. It's like 371 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 1: the jig is up. I mean, do you is it 372 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 1: what we thought it was? Or you know, do we 373 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:49,600 Speaker 1: are we just these you know, freeasembled packages. I mean, 374 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:52,680 Speaker 1: does it really matter the environments you know that we're 375 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:55,399 Speaker 1: in and how much we learn from that or you know, 376 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: it's that whole nature versus nurtural question. But John, you know, 377 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,119 Speaker 1: I don't think it's actually gonna answer it definitively. No, 378 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:05,879 Speaker 1: probably not. I mean, there's there's This is one of 379 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,679 Speaker 1: the things that we're gonna continue to chew on for 380 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,639 Speaker 1: quite some time. I feel like that the the technology 381 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,320 Speaker 1: is going to improve tremendously. It's gonna give us even 382 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:19,960 Speaker 1: more tools to better analyze. But uh, it just feels 383 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 1: like one of those things that we're just the more questions, 384 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 1: more questions are going to come up with every answer. Well, 385 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:27,679 Speaker 1: and there's always been the philosophical aspect of it too, right, 386 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:30,160 Speaker 1: that the brain is the seat of the soul essentially 387 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:33,240 Speaker 1: um when in fact we know that our guts are 388 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,520 Speaker 1: telling us a lot our guts right now are telling 389 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,200 Speaker 1: us how we feel, you know, in an emotional sense, 390 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:42,719 Speaker 1: like sending all sorts of signals. Um. So it's not 391 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,679 Speaker 1: just you know, the three pounds of gray matter sitting 392 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:49,920 Speaker 1: atop our next you know, doing everything. But it's certainly 393 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:54,880 Speaker 1: interesting that people are reverse engineering and looking at um, 394 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,719 Speaker 1: the seat of the soul, so to speak. Well, hey, 395 00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:59,719 Speaker 1: let's move on to some listener mail then, all right, 396 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,360 Speaker 1: and this one from a listening by the name of Malachi. 397 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,840 Speaker 1: Malachi gave us a rather long email and I don't 398 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:09,479 Speaker 1: I can't read it all, but um he picked up 399 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:13,320 Speaker 1: some some particularly mind blowing stuff from a pharmacology class 400 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:16,160 Speaker 1: that he was that he was a part of. And 401 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:18,560 Speaker 1: uh so, skipping a bit and getting right to the 402 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 1: chase here he says, where this starts, getting into the 403 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: area of blowing my mind, is that when you examine 404 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: all the molecules that make up living things, they are 405 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,919 Speaker 1: all left handed versions of molecules. All the amino acids 406 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,359 Speaker 1: in your body are composed of the l isomer form 407 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:37,760 Speaker 1: of that molecule. It appears that all of all life 408 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: on Earth evolved from an original common ancestor that just 409 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 1: happened to be using left handed amino acids, it would 410 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:46,280 Speaker 1: seem that it is pure chance that life evolved with 411 00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: the preference for left handed isomer's. After all, an organism 412 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 1: made entirely from right handed amino acids could function. In theory, 413 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:55,359 Speaker 1: it would just be a mirror image down to the 414 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:59,200 Speaker 1: molecular level of its counterpart, left handed version. Alien species 415 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,320 Speaker 1: in another world to be composed entirely of left me 416 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,440 Speaker 1: of right handed isomers. So yeah, that's pretty interesting. Yeah, 417 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:11,040 Speaker 1: thanks Malichai, And if you have anything mind blowing to share, 418 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:15,439 Speaker 1: or you have some thoughts on a recent episode, you 419 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,879 Speaker 1: can find us on Facebook and Twitter. We're blow the 420 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:20,160 Speaker 1: Mind on both of those, and you can also drop 421 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 1: us a note at Blow the Mind at how stuff 422 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:28,720 Speaker 1: works dot com. For more on this and thousands of 423 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: other topics, visit how stuff works dot com. To learn 424 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,359 Speaker 1: more about the podcast, click on the podcast icon in 425 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,399 Speaker 1: the upper right corner of our homepage. The How Stuff 426 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,920 Speaker 1: Works iPhone app has a ride. Download it today on iTunes.