Beware neuro-bunk
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0:01 - 0:05I'm a neuroscientist, and I study decision-making.
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0:05 - 0:07I do experiments to test how different chemicals
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0:07 - 0:11in the brain influence the choices we make.
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0:11 - 0:17I'm here to tell you the secret to successful decision-making:
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0:17 - 0:20a cheese sandwich.
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0:20 - 0:23That's right. According to scientists, a cheese sandwich
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0:23 - 0:27is the solution to all your tough decisions.
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0:27 - 0:32How do I know? I'm the scientist who did the study.
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0:32 - 0:34A few years ago, my colleagues and I were interested
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0:34 - 0:37in how a brain chemical called serotonin
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0:37 - 0:40would influence people's decisions in social situations.
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0:40 - 0:43Specifically, we wanted to know how serotonin would affect
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0:43 - 0:47the way people react when they're treated unfairly.
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0:47 - 0:48So we did an experiment.
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0:48 - 0:51We manipulated people's serotonin levels by giving them
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0:51 - 0:56this really disgusting-tasting artificial lemon-flavored drink
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0:56 - 1:00that works by taking away the raw ingredient for serotonin
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1:00 - 1:01in the brain.
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1:01 - 1:04This is the amino acid tryptophan.
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1:04 - 1:06So what we found was, when tryptophan was low,
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1:06 - 1:09people were more likely to take revenge
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1:09 - 1:12when they're treated unfairly.
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1:12 - 1:16That's the study we did, and here are some of the headlines
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1:16 - 1:19that came out afterwards.
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1:19 - 1:21("A cheese sandwich is all you need for strong decision-making")
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1:21 - 1:23("What a friend we have in cheeses")
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1:23 - 1:27("Eating Cheese and Meat May Boost Self-Control") At this point, you might be wondering, did I miss something?
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1:27 - 1:32("Official! Chocolate stops you being grumpy") Cheese? Chocolate? Where did that come from?
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1:32 - 1:34And I thought the same thing myself when these came out,
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1:34 - 1:38because our study had nothing to do with cheese or chocolate.
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1:38 - 1:41We gave people this horrible-tasting drink
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1:41 - 1:44that affected their tryptophan levels.
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1:44 - 1:47But it turns out that tryptophan also happens to be found
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1:47 - 1:50in cheese and chocolate.
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1:50 - 1:53And of course when science says cheese and chocolate
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1:53 - 1:57help you make better decisions, well, that's sure to grab people's attention.
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1:57 - 1:59So there you have it:
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1:59 - 2:02the evolution of a headline.
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2:02 - 2:05When this happened, a part of me thought, well,
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2:05 - 2:07what's the big deal?
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2:07 - 2:10So the media oversimplified a few things, but in the end,
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2:10 - 2:12it's just a news story.
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2:12 - 2:16And I think a lot of scientists have this attitude.
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2:16 - 2:20But the problem is that this kind of thing happens all the time,
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2:20 - 2:23and it affects not just the stories you read in the news
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2:23 - 2:26but also the products you see on the shelves.
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2:26 - 2:28When the headlines rolled, what happened was,
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2:28 - 2:31the marketers came calling.
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2:31 - 2:34Would I be willing to provide a scientific endorsement
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2:34 - 2:38of a mood-boosting bottled water?
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2:38 - 2:40Or would I go on television to demonstrate,
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2:40 - 2:41in front of a live audience,
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2:41 - 2:44that comfort foods really do make you feel better?
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2:44 - 2:48I think these folks meant well, but had I taken them up on their offers,
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2:48 - 2:51I would have been going beyond the science,
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2:51 - 2:54and good scientists are careful not to do this.
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2:54 - 2:58But nevertheless, neuroscience is turning up more and more in marketing.
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2:58 - 3:01Here's one example: Neuro drinks,
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3:01 - 3:04a line of products, including Nuero Bliss here,
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3:04 - 3:07which according to its label helps reduce stress,
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3:07 - 3:10enhances mood, provides focused concentration,
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3:10 - 3:13and promotes a positive outlook.
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3:13 - 3:18I have to say, this sounds awesome. (Laughter)
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3:18 - 3:22I could totally have used this 10 minutes ago.
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3:22 - 3:25So when this came up in my local shop, naturally I was
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3:25 - 3:29curious about some of the research backing these claims.
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3:29 - 3:32So I went to the company's website looking to find
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3:32 - 3:35some controlled trials of their products.
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3:35 - 3:37But I didn't find any.
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3:37 - 3:40Trial or no trial, these claims are front and center
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3:40 - 3:44on their label right next to a picture of a brain.
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3:44 - 3:50And it turns out that pictures of brains have special properties.
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3:50 - 3:53A couple of researchers asked a few hundred people
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3:53 - 3:55to read a scientific article.
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3:55 - 3:59For half the people, the article included a brain image,
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3:59 - 4:00and for the other half, it was the same article
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4:00 - 4:03but it didn't have a brain image.
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4:03 - 4:05At the end — you see where this is going —
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4:05 - 4:07people were asked whether they agreed
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4:07 - 4:10with the conclusions of the article.
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4:10 - 4:12So this is how much people agree with the conclusions
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4:12 - 4:14with no image.
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4:14 - 4:18And this is how much they agree with the same article
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4:18 - 4:21that did include a brain image.
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4:21 - 4:23So the take-home message here is,
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4:23 - 4:28do you want to sell it? Put a brain on it.
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4:28 - 4:30Now let me pause here and take a moment to say that
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4:30 - 4:33neuroscience has advanced a lot in the last few decades,
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4:33 - 4:36and we're constantly discovering amazing things
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4:36 - 4:37about the brain.
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4:37 - 4:40Like, just a couple of weeks ago, neuroscientists at MIT
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4:40 - 4:43figured out how to break habits in rats
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4:43 - 4:47just by controlling neural activity in a specific part of their brain.
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4:47 - 4:49Really cool stuff.
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4:49 - 4:52But the promise of neuroscience has led to some really
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4:52 - 4:57high expectations and some overblown, unproven claims.
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4:57 - 5:00So what I'm going to do is show you how to spot
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5:00 - 5:04a couple of classic moves, dead giveaways, really,
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5:04 - 5:07for what's variously been called neuro-bunk,
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5:07 - 5:12neuro-bollocks, or, my personal favorite, neuro-flapdoodle.
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5:12 - 5:17So the first unproven claim is that you can use brain scans
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5:17 - 5:21to read people's thoughts and emotions.
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5:21 - 5:24Here's a study published by a team of researchers
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5:24 - 5:26as an op-ed in The New York Times.
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5:26 - 5:31The headline? "You Love Your iPhone. Literally."
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5:31 - 5:35It quickly became the most emailed article on the site.
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5:35 - 5:37So how'd they figure this out?
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5:37 - 5:40They put 16 people inside a brain scanner
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5:40 - 5:44and showed them videos of ringing iPhones.
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5:44 - 5:47The brain scans showed activation in a part of the brain
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5:47 - 5:50called the insula, a region they say
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5:50 - 5:53is linked to feelings of love and compassion.
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5:53 - 5:57So they concluded that because they saw activation in the insula,
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5:57 - 6:01this meant the subjects loved their iPhones.
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6:01 - 6:04Now there's just one problem with this line of reasoning,
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6:04 - 6:07and that's that the insula does a lot.
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6:07 - 6:09Sure, it is involved in positive emotions
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6:09 - 6:12like love and compassion,
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6:12 - 6:14but it's also involved in tons of other processes,
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6:14 - 6:17like memory, language, attention,
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6:17 - 6:22even anger, disgust and pain.
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6:22 - 6:26So based on the same logic, I could equally conclude
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6:26 - 6:28you hate your iPhone.
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6:28 - 6:31The point here is, when you see activation in the insula,
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6:31 - 6:34you can't just pick and choose your favorite explanation
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6:34 - 6:39from off this list, and it's a really long list.
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6:39 - 6:41My colleagues Tal Yarkoni and Russ Poldrack
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6:41 - 6:44have shown that the insula pops up in almost a third
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6:44 - 6:49of all brain imaging studies that have ever been published.
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6:49 - 6:51So chances are really, really good
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6:51 - 6:54that your insula is going off right now,
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6:54 - 6:55but I won't kid myself
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6:55 - 6:59to think this means you love me.
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6:59 - 7:02So speaking of love and the brain,
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7:02 - 7:06there's a researcher, known to some as Dr. Love,
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7:06 - 7:09who claims that scientists have found the glue
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7:09 - 7:12that holds society together,
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7:12 - 7:16the source of love and prosperity.
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7:16 - 7:18This time it's not a cheese sandwich.
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7:18 - 7:22No, it's a hormone called oxytocin.
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7:22 - 7:24You've probably heard of it.
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7:24 - 7:27So, Dr. Love bases his argument on studies showing
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7:27 - 7:30that when you boost people's oxytocin,
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7:30 - 7:34this increases their trust, empathy and cooperation.
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7:34 - 7:38So he's calling oxytocin "the moral molecule."
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7:38 - 7:41Now these studies are scientifically valid,
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7:41 - 7:45and they've been replicated, but they're not the whole story.
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7:45 - 7:47Other studies have shown that boosting oxytocin
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7:47 - 7:52increases envy. It increases gloating.
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7:52 - 7:56Oxytocin can bias people to favor their own group
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7:56 - 7:59at the expense of other groups.
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7:59 - 8:03And in some cases, oxytocin can even decrease cooperation.
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8:03 - 8:07So based on these studies, I could say oxytocin
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8:07 - 8:11is an immoral molecule, and call myself Dr. Strangelove.
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8:11 - 8:15(Laughter)
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8:15 - 8:19So we've seen neuro-flapdoodle all over the headlines.
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8:19 - 8:22We see it in supermarkets, on book covers.
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8:22 - 8:24What about the clinic?
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8:24 - 8:28SPECT imaging is a brain-scanning technology
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8:28 - 8:30that uses a radioactive tracer
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8:30 - 8:33to track blood flow in the brain.
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8:33 - 8:36For the bargain price of a few thousand dollars,
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8:36 - 8:40there are clinics in the U.S. that will give you
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8:40 - 8:44one of these SPECT scans and use the image
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8:44 - 8:46to help diagnose your problems.
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8:46 - 8:49These scans, the clinics say, can help
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8:49 - 8:52prevent Alzheimer's disease,
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8:52 - 8:54solve weight and addiction issues,
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8:54 - 8:57overcome marital conflicts,
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8:57 - 9:00and treat, of course, a variety of mental illnesses
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9:00 - 9:03ranging from depression to anxiety to ADHD.
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9:03 - 9:06This sounds great. A lot of people agree.
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9:06 - 9:08Some of these clinics are pulling in tens of millions
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9:08 - 9:12of dollars a year in business.
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9:12 - 9:14There's just one problem.
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9:14 - 9:16The broad consensus in neuroscience
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9:16 - 9:19is that we can't yet diagnose mental illness
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9:19 - 9:22from a single brain scan.
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9:22 - 9:24But these clinics have treated
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9:24 - 9:27tens of thousands of patients to date,
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9:27 - 9:29many of them children,
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9:29 - 9:32and SPECT imaging involves a radioactive injection,
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9:32 - 9:38so exposing people to radiation, potentially harmful.
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9:38 - 9:41I am more excited than most people, as a neuroscientist,
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9:41 - 9:46about the potential for neuroscience to treat mental illness
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9:46 - 9:50and even maybe to make us better and smarter.
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9:50 - 9:53And if one day we can say that cheese and chocolate
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9:53 - 9:57help us make better decisions, count me in.
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9:57 - 10:00But we're not there yet.
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10:00 - 10:04We haven't found a "buy" button inside the brain,
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10:04 - 10:07we can't tell whether someone is lying or in love
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10:07 - 10:11just by looking at their brain scans,
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10:11 - 10:15and we can't turn sinners into saints with hormones.
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10:15 - 10:17Maybe someday we will, but until then,
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10:17 - 10:20we have to be careful that we don't let overblown claims
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10:20 - 10:23detract resources and attention away from the real science
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10:23 - 10:27that's playing a much longer game.
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10:27 - 10:30So here's where you come in.
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10:30 - 10:33If someone tries to sell you something with a brain on it,
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10:33 - 10:36don't just take them at their word.
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10:36 - 10:39Ask the tough questions. Ask to see the evidence.
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10:39 - 10:43Ask for the part of the story that's not being told.
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10:43 - 10:48The answers shouldn't be simple, because the brain isn't simple.
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10:48 - 10:52But that's not stopping us from trying to figure it out anyway.
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10:52 - 10:56Thank you. (Applause)
- Title:
- Beware neuro-bunk
- Speaker:
- Molly Crockett
- Description:
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Brains are ubiquitous in modern marketing: Headlines proclaim cheese sandwiches help with decision-making, while a “neuro” drink claims to reduce stress. There’s just one problem, says neuroscientist Molly Crockett: The benefits of these "neuro-enhancements" are not proven scientifically. In this to-the-point talk, Crockett explains the limits of interpreting neuroscientific data, and why we should all be aware of them.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 11:18
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Beware neuro-bunk | ||
Thu-Huong Ha approved English subtitles for Beware neuro-bunk | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Beware neuro-bunk | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Beware neuro-bunk | ||
Morton Bast accepted English subtitles for Beware neuro-bunk | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Beware neuro-bunk | ||
Joseph Geni added a translation |