[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.33,0:00:03.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The kind of neuroscience that I do and my colleagues do
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.18,0:00:05.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is almost like the weatherman.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.35,0:00:08.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are always chasing storms.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.86,0:00:13.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We want to see and measure storms -- brainstorms, that is.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.75,0:00:16.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we all talk about brainstorms in our daily lives,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.51,0:00:19.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we rarely see or listen to one.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.96,0:00:21.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I always like to start these talks
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.60,0:00:24.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by actually introducing you to one of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.58,0:00:28.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Actually, the first time we recorded more than one neuron --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.01,0:00:30.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a hundred brain cells simultaneously --
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.23,0:00:32.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we could measure the electrical sparks
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.70,0:00:35.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a hundred cells in the same animal,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.38,0:00:37.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is the first image we got,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.18,0:00:39.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the first 10 seconds of this recording.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.50,0:00:42.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we got a little snippet of a thought,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.85,0:00:45.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we could see it in front of us.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.75,0:00:46.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I always tell the students
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.76,0:00:50.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we could also call neuroscientists some sort of astronomer,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.87,0:00:52.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because we are dealing with a system
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.50,0:00:55.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is only comparable in terms of number of cells
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.41,0:00:58.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the number of galaxies that we have in the universe.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.35,0:01:01.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And here we are, out of billions of neurons,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.38,0:01:04.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just recording, 10 years ago, a hundred.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.20,0:01:05.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are doing a thousand now.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.78,0:01:11.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we hope to understand something fundamental about our human nature.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.18,0:01:13.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because, if you don't know yet,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.11,0:01:18.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everything that we use to define what human nature is comes from these storms,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.36,0:01:23.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,comes from these storms that roll over the hills and valleys of our brains
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.01,0:01:26.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and define our memories, our beliefs,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.90,0:01:29.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our feelings, our plans for the future.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.60,0:01:31.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everything that we ever do,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.100,0:01:37.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everything that every human has ever done, do or will do,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.06,0:01:42.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,requires the toil of populations of neurons producing these kinds of storms.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.50,0:01:44.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the sound of a brainstorm, if you've never heard one,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.98,0:01:48.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is somewhat like this.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.33,0:01:51.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can put it louder if you can.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.48,0:01:57.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My son calls this "making popcorn while listening to a badly-tuned A.M. station."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.88,0:01:59.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.36,0:02:02.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is what happens when you route these electrical storms to a loudspeaker
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.80,0:02:05.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you listen to a hundred brain cells firing,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.66,0:02:10.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,your brain will sound like this -- my brain, any brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.28,0:02:14.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what we want to do as neuroscientists in this time
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.05,0:02:19.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is to actually listen to these symphonies, these brain symphonies,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.40,0:02:22.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and try to extract from them the messages they carry.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.80,0:02:25.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In particular, about 12 years ago
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.65,0:02:28.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we created a preparation that we named brain-machine interfaces.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.70,0:02:31.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you have a scheme here that describes how it works.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.40,0:02:36.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The idea is, let's have some sensors that listen to these storms, this electrical firing,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.96,0:02:40.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and see if you can, in the same time that it takes
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.05,0:02:45.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for this storm to leave the brain and reach the legs or the arms of an animal --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.02,0:02:47.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about half a second --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.88,0:02:50.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,let's see if we can read these signals,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.23,0:02:53.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,extract the motor messages that are embedded in it,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.63,0:02:55.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,translate it into digital commands
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.90,0:02:57.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and send it to an artificial device
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.79,0:03:03.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that will reproduce the voluntary motor wheel of that brain in real time.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.68,0:03:07.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And see if we can measure how well we can translate that message
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.53,0:03:11.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when we compare to the way the body does that.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.05,0:03:13.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if we can actually provide feedback,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.91,0:03:19.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sensory signals that go back from this robotic, mechanical, computational actuator
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.65,0:03:21.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is now under the control of the brain,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.90,0:03:23.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,back to the brain,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.21,0:03:25.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how the brain deals with that,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.33,0:03:30.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of receiving messages from an artificial piece of machinery.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.23,0:03:32.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's exactly what we did 10 years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.55,0:03:35.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We started with a superstar monkey called Aurora
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.51,0:03:37.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that became one of the superstars of this field.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.98,0:03:40.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Aurora liked to play video games.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.28,0:03:41.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As you can see here,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.65,0:03:46.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she likes to use a joystick, like any one of us, any of our kids, to play this game.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.60,0:03:51.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as a good primate, she even tries to cheat before she gets the right answer.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.27,0:03:55.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So even before a target appears that she's supposed to cross
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.55,0:03:58.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the cursor that she's controlling with this joystick,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.40,0:04:02.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aurora is trying to find the target, no matter where it is.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.35,0:04:03.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if she's doing that,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.82,0:04:07.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because every time she crosses that target with the little cursor,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.14,0:04:10.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she gets a drop of Brazilian orange juice.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.08,0:04:13.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I can tell you, any monkey will do anything for you
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.04,0:04:16.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you get a little drop of Brazilian orange juice.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.14,0:04:18.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Actually any primate will do that.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.87,0:04:20.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Think about that.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.20,0:04:23.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, while Aurora was playing this game, as you saw,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.60,0:04:26.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and doing a thousand trials a day
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.04,0:04:29.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and getting 97 percent correct and 350 milliliters of orange juice,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.92,0:04:33.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we are recording the brainstorms that are produced in her head
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.32,0:04:34.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sending them to a robotic arm
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.96,0:04:38.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was learning to reproduce the movements that Aurora was making.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.84,0:04:42.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because the idea was to actually turn on this brain-machine interface
Dialogue: 0,0:04:42.62,0:04:47.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and have Aurora play the game just by thinking,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.32,0:04:49.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without interference of her body.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.94,0:04:52.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Her brainstorms would control an arm
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.85,0:04:55.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would move the cursor and cross the target.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.56,0:04:58.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And to our shock, that's exactly what Aurora did.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.75,0:05:02.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She played the game without moving her body.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.95,0:05:05.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So every trajectory that you see of the cursor now,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.19,0:05:08.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is the exact first moment she got that.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.40,0:05:10.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's the exact first moment
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.18,0:05:16.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a brain intention was liberated from the physical domains of a body of a primate
Dialogue: 0,0:05:16.95,0:05:20.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and could act outside, in that outside world,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.65,0:05:23.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just by controlling an artificial device.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.62,0:05:28.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Aurora kept playing the game, kept finding the little target
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.53,0:05:32.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and getting the orange juice that she wanted to get, that she craved for.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.45,0:05:39.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, she did that because she, at that time, had acquired a new arm.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.15,0:05:42.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The robotic arm that you see moving here 30 days later,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.12,0:05:44.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after the first video that I showed to you,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.80,0:05:47.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is under the control of Aurora's brain
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.45,0:05:50.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and is moving the cursor to get to the target.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.62,0:05:54.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Aurora now knows that she can play the game with this robotic arm,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.52,0:06:00.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but she has not lost the ability to use her biological arms to do what she pleases.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.23,0:06:04.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She can scratch her back, she can scratch one of us, she can play another game.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.30,0:06:05.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By all purposes and means,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.90,0:06:10.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aurora's brain has incorporated that artificial device
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.02,0:06:12.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as an extension of her body.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.77,0:06:16.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The model of the self that Aurora had in her mind
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.30,0:06:20.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has been expanded to get one more arm.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.38,0:06:22.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, we did that 10 years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.73,0:06:25.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just fast forward 10 years.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.57,0:06:30.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just last year we realized that you don't even need to have a robotic device.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.55,0:06:36.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can just build a computational body, an avatar, a monkey avatar.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.03,0:06:40.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you can actually use it for our monkeys to either interact with them,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.28,0:06:44.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or you can train them to assume in a virtual world
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.72,0:06:47.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the first-person perspective of that avatar
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.77,0:06:53.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and use her brain activity to control the movements of the avatar's arms or legs.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.42,0:06:56.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what we did basically was to train the animals
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.18,0:06:59.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to learn how to control these avatars
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.23,0:07:03.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and explore objects that appear in the virtual world.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.13,0:07:05.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And these objects are visually identical,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.43,0:07:09.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but when the avatar crosses the surface of these objects,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.32,0:07:15.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they send an electrical message that is proportional to the microtactile texture of the object
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.72,0:07:19.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that goes back directly to the monkey's brain,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.73,0:07:24.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,informing the brain what it is the avatar is touching.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.78,0:07:29.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in just four weeks, the brain learns to process this new sensation
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.55,0:07:35.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and acquires a new sensory pathway -- like a new sense.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.98,0:07:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you truly liberate the brain now
Dialogue: 0,0:07:38.40,0:07:42.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because you are allowing the brain to send motor commands to move this avatar.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.78,0:07:47.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the feedback that comes from the avatar is being processed directly by the brain
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.78,0:07:50.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without the interference of the skin.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.22,0:07:52.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what you see here is this is the design of the task.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.75,0:07:57.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You're going to see an animal basically touching these three targets.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.00,0:08:01.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he has to select one because only one carries the reward,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:01.35,0:08:03.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the orange juice that they want to get.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.22,0:08:08.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he has to select it by touch using a virtual arm, an arm that doesn't exist.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.85,0:08:10.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's exactly what they do.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.85,0:08:14.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a complete liberation of the brain
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.28,0:08:18.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the physical constraints of the body and the motor in a perceptual task.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.57,0:08:22.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The animal is controlling the avatar to touch the targets.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:22.73,0:08:28.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he's sensing the texture by receiving an electrical message directly in the brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.38,0:08:32.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the brain is deciding what is the texture associated with the reward.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.27,0:08:36.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The legends that you see in the movie don't appear for the monkey.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.10,0:08:38.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And by the way, they don't read English anyway,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.58,0:08:43.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so they are here just for you to know that the correct target is shifting position.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:43.80,0:08:47.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet, they can find them by tactile discrimination,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.73,0:08:50.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they can press it and select it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.95,0:08:53.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when we look at the brains of these animals,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.63,0:08:57.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the top panel you see the alignment of 125 cells
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.30,0:09:01.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,showing what happens with the brain activity, the electrical storms,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.50,0:09:03.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of this sample of neurons in the brain
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.57,0:09:05.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when the animal is using a joystick.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:05.68,0:09:08.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that's a picture that every neurophysiologist knows.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:08.28,0:09:13.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The basic alignment shows that these cells are coding for all possible directions.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.47,0:09:19.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The bottom picture is what happens when the body stops moving
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.15,0:09:25.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the animal starts controlling either a robotic device or a computational avatar.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.28,0:09:28.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As fast as we can reset our computers,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:28.35,0:09:34.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the brain activity shifts to start representing this new tool,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.17,0:09:39.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as if this too was a part of that primate's body.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.42,0:09:44.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The brain is assimilating that too, as fast as we can measure.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.13,0:09:47.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that suggests to us that our sense of self
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.75,0:09:51.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,does not end at the last layer of the epithelium of our bodies,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:51.90,0:09:57.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it ends at the last layer of electrons of the tools that we're commanding with our brains.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.62,0:10:02.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our violins, our cars, our bicycles, our soccer balls, our clothing --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.38,0:10:09.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they all become assimilated by this voracious, amazing, dynamic system called the brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.23,0:10:10.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How far can we take it?
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.93,0:10:15.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, in an experiment that we ran a few years ago, we took this to the limit.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.15,0:10:17.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We had an animal running on a treadmill
Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.63,0:10:19.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at Duke University on the East Coast of the United States,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.90,0:10:22.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,producing the brainstorms necessary to move.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.60,0:10:26.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And we had a robotic device, a humanoid robot,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:26.69,0:10:29.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Kyoto, Japan at ATR Laboratories
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.08,0:10:35.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was dreaming its entire life to be controlled by a brain,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.18,0:10:38.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a human brain, or a primate brain.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.45,0:10:43.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What happens here is that the brain activity that generated the movements in the monkey
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.05,0:10:46.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was transmitted to Japan and made this robot walk
Dialogue: 0,0:10:46.52,0:10:50.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while footage of this walking was sent back to Duke,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.58,0:10:55.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that the monkey could see the legs of this robot walking in front of her.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:55.82,0:10:59.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So she could be rewarded, not by what her body was doing
Dialogue: 0,0:10:59.88,0:11:04.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but for every correct step of the robot on the other side of the planet
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.84,0:11:07.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,controlled by her brain activity.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:07.45,0:11:14.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Funny thing, that round trip around the globe took 20 milliseconds less
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.57,0:11:18.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than it takes for that brainstorm to leave its head, the head of the monkey,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.72,0:11:22.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and reach its own muscle.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.59,0:11:28.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The monkey was moving a robot that was six times bigger, across the planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.62,0:11:35.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is one of the experiments in which that robot was able to walk autonomously.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.02,0:11:40.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is CB1 fulfilling its dream in Japan
Dialogue: 0,0:11:40.29,0:11:43.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,under the control of the brain activity of a primate.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:43.99,0:11:45.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So where are we taking all this?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.98,0:11:48.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What are we going to do with all this research,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:48.32,0:11:53.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,besides studying the properties of this dynamic universe that we have between our ears?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.99,0:11:58.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well the idea is to take all this knowledge and technology
Dialogue: 0,0:11:58.82,0:12:04.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and try to restore one of the most severe neurological problems that we have in the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.31,0:12:08.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Millions of people have lost the ability to translate these brainstorms
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.89,0:12:11.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into action, into movement.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:11.00,0:12:16.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Although their brains continue to produce those storms and code for movements,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:16.24,0:12:21.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they cannot cross a barrier that was created by a lesion on the spinal cord.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.41,0:12:23.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So our idea is to create a bypass,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.86,0:12:27.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is to use these brain-machine interfaces to read these signals,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:27.89,0:12:31.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,larger-scale brainstorms that contain the desire to move again,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:31.94,0:12:35.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bypass the lesion using computational microengineering
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.91,0:12:43.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and send it to a new body, a whole body called an exoskeleton,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.02,0:12:48.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a whole robotic suit that will become the new body of these patients.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.59,0:12:52.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And you can see an image produced by this consortium.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.71,0:12:56.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a nonprofit consortium called the Walk Again Project
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.77,0:12:59.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is putting together scientists from Europe,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:59.56,0:13:01.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from here in the United States, and in Brazil
Dialogue: 0,0:13:01.42,0:13:05.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,together to work to actually get this new body built --
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.94,0:13:09.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a body that we believe, through the same plastic mechanisms
Dialogue: 0,0:13:09.27,0:13:15.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that allow Aurora and other monkeys to use these tools through a brain-machine interface
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.07,0:13:20.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that allows us to incorporate the tools that we produce and use in our daily life.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.70,0:13:24.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This same mechanism, we hope, will allow these patients,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:24.39,0:13:28.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not only to imagine again the movements that they want to make
Dialogue: 0,0:13:28.16,0:13:31.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and translate them into movements of this new body,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:31.36,0:13:38.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but for this body to be assimilated as the new body that the brain controls.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:38.12,0:13:41.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I was told about 10 years ago
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.97,0:13:47.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that this would never happen, that this was close to impossible.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:47.04,0:13:49.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I can only tell you that as a scientist,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:49.49,0:13:52.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I grew up in southern Brazil in the mid-'60s
Dialogue: 0,0:13:52.48,0:13:57.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,watching a few crazy guys telling [us] that they would go to the Moon.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:57.52,0:13:58.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I was five years old,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:58.98,0:14:03.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I never understood why NASA didn't hire Captain Kirk and Spock to do the job;
Dialogue: 0,0:14:03.22,0:14:05.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after all, they were very proficient --
Dialogue: 0,0:14:05.66,0:14:09.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but just seeing that as a kid
Dialogue: 0,0:14:09.11,0:14:12.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made me believe, as my grandmother used to tell me,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:12.09,0:14:13.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that "impossible is just the possible
Dialogue: 0,0:14:13.94,0:14:17.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that someone has not put in enough effort to make it come true."
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.84,0:14:21.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So they told me that it's impossible to make someone walk.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:21.64,0:14:24.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think I'm going to follow my grandmother's advice.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:24.89,0:14:26.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:26.34,0:14:34.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)