I brought with me today a baby diaper.

今天我帶來了嬰兒紙尿布。

You'll see why in a second.

過一會兒，你就知道為什麼了。

Baby diapers have interesting properties.

嬰兒紙尿布有個有趣的特性。

They can swell enormously when you add water to them,

加了水，它們會脹得極大，

an experiment done by millions of kids every day.

每天有數百萬計的小孩子親身實驗。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But the reason why

膨脹的原因

is that they're designed in a very clever way.

是它們的巧妙設計。

They're made out of a thing called a swellable material.

它們是用可膨脹的材料做出來的。

It's a special kind of material that, when you add water,

若你把水加到這種特殊材料中，

it will swell up enormously,

它會脹的碩大，

maybe a thousand times in volume.

體積約脹大1000倍。

And this is a very useful, industrial kind of polymer.

這是個非常有用的工業類型聚合物。

But what we're trying to do in my group at MIT

我在麻省理工學院的研究團隊

is to figure out if we can do something similar to the brain.

正嘗試要類似地把腦脹大。

Can we make it bigger,

我們能否把腦脹大，

big enough that you can peer inside

大到能夠往內面窺視，

and see all the tiny building blocks, the biomolecules,

看裡頭的小組件、生物分子，

how they're organized in three dimensions,

看它們在三度空間的組合方式，

the structure, the ground truth structure of the brain, if you will?

腦的結構，裡面的實況？

If we could get that,

如果辦得到，

maybe we could have a better understanding of how the brain is organized

也許我們能更理解腦的組織，

to yield thoughts and emotions

它是如何產生思想、情感、

and actions and sensations.

行動和感覺。

Maybe we could try to pinpoint the exact changes in the brain

或許我們能嘗試準確地查明

that result in diseases,

那些導致疾病的大腦變化；

diseases like Alzheimer's and epilepsy and Parkinson's,

像是阿滋海默症、癲癇， 和帕金森氏症這些疾病，

for which there are few treatments, much less cures,

只有少數療法，談不上治癒；

and for which, very often, we don't know the cause or the origins

我們往往不知道那些疾病的原因、起源，

and what's really causing them to occur.

以及是什麼引發了疾病。

Now, our group at MIT

我們在麻省理工學院的研究小組

is trying to take a different point of view

正嘗試採取不同的觀點，

from the way neuroscience has been done over the last hundred years.

有別於過往百年研究 神經科學的方法。

We're designers. We're inventors.

我們設計。我們發明。

We're trying to figure out how to build technologies

我們正嘗試找出和開發技術

that let us look at and repair the brain.

讓我們能審視和修復大腦。

And the reason is,

原因是

the brain is incredibly, incredibly complicated.

大腦令人難以置信地複雜。

So what we've learned over the first century of neuroscience

回望腦神經科學研究的第一個百年, 我們得知了

is that the brain is a very complicated network,

大腦是個很複雜的網路，

made out of very specialized cells called neurons

由稱做神經元的專門細胞

with very complex geometries,

以複雜的幾何形狀連結而成；

and electrical currents will flow through these complexly shaped neurons.

電流通過這些形狀複雜的神經元。

Furthermore, neurons are connected in networks.

此外，神經元被連接在網絡中。

They're connected by little junctions called synapses that exchange chemicals

它們通過被稱為突觸的小小連接口 交換化學物質，

and allow the neurons to talk to each other.

讓神經元彼此間交流訊息。

The density of the brain is incredible.

大腦有著不可思議的高密度。

In a cubic millimeter of your brain,

在每一立方毫米的大腦中

there are about 100,000 of these neurons

約有十萬個神經元，

and maybe a billion of those connections.

可能有十億個連接。

But it's worse.

十億個還不止。

So, if you could zoom in to a neuron,

如果你能拉近神經元放大看－

and, of course, this is just our artist's rendition of it.

當然，這僅僅是藝術家的描繪－

What you would see are thousands and thousands of kinds of biomolecules,

你會看到成千上萬種的生物分子，

little nanoscale machines organized in complex, 3D patterns,

這些三度空間、奈米級的小結構，

and together they mediate those electrical pulses,

合起來斡旋調停電脈衝 和交換化學物質，

those chemical exchanges that allow neurons to work together

使得神經元一起

to generate things like thoughts and feelings and so forth.

產生思想、感覺等等。

Now, we don't know how the neurons in the brain are organized

我們不知道大腦中的神經元

to form networks,

如何組織成網路，

and we don't know how the biomolecules are organized

我們也不知道生物分子

within neurons

如何在神經元中

to form these complex, organized machines.

形成這複雜、有秩序的機制。

If we really want to understand this,

若我們真想了解，

we're going to need new technologies.

就必須有新的技術。

But if we could get such maps,

若我們有這圖譜，

if we could look at the organization of molecules and neurons

若我們看得到分子和神經元的構造，

and neurons and networks,

看得到神經元和網路，

maybe we could really understand how the brain conducts information

也許我們能真正了解 大腦如何傳送來自感官區的信號，

from sensory regions,

混合情緒和情感，

mixes it with emotion and feeling,

以及產生決策和行動。

and generates our decisions and actions.

也許我們可以確切查明 腦病變中發生的分子改變。

Maybe we could pinpoint the exact set of molecular changes that occur

一旦我們察覺分子如何改變－

in a brain disorder.

不論是數目增加或是型態改變－

And once we know how those molecules have changed,

我們可以把這些當作病灶來開發新藥，

whether they've increased in number or changed in pattern,

以新的方式把能量送到大腦，

we could use those as targets for new drugs,

修復受腦疾折磨的患者的腦。

for new ways of delivering energy into the brain

上個世紀有許多技術

in order to repair the brain computations that are afflicted

嘗試面對這個問題。

in patients who suffer from brain disorders.

我們都見過核磁共振成像儀 被用來掃描腦部。

We've all seen lots of different technologies over the last century

它們適用於研究活生生的人體， 不具有侵入性。

to try to confront this.

但同時，它們的成像粗糙。

I think we've all seen brain scans

這些斑點，或者稱為立體像素，

taken using MRI machines.

可能含有數以百萬計的神經元。

These, of course, have the great power that they are noninvasive,

這樣的解析度

they can be used on living human subjects.

不足以查明是哪些分子的改變

But also, they're spatially crude.

或哪些網路連結的變動，

Each of these blobs that you see, or voxels, as they're called,

這些網絡連接使我們 身為有意識的強大生物。

can contain millions and millions of neurons.

在另一端，有顯微鏡。

So it's not at the level of resolution

顯微鏡以射入光來看微小的東西。

where it can pinpoint the molecular changes that occur

數百年來被用以觀察 像細菌這樣的小東西。

or the changes in the wiring of these networks

就神經科學來說，

that contributes to our ability to be conscious and powerful beings.

約130年前用顯微鏡 首次發現了神經元。

At the other extreme, you have microscopes.

但是光本身有限制。

Microscopes, of course, will use light to look at little tiny things.

用普通的舊式光學顯微鏡 無法看到單個分子。

For centuries, they've been used to look at things like bacteria.

看不到這些微小的連接。

For neuroscience,

因此，如果要踏踏實實、 更加強而有力地觀察大腦和其結構，

microscopes are actually how neurons were discovered in the first place,

我們需有更好的技術。

about 130 years ago.

數年前，我的研究小組開始思考：

But light is fundamentally limited.

何不反向操作呢？

You can't see individual molecules with a regular old microscope.

如果要近看大腦是這麼複雜，

You can't look at these tiny connections.

難道我們不能把腦變大嗎？

So if we want to make our ability to see the brain more powerful,

起頭的是我組裡的兩個研究生， 陳飛和保羅·湊博格。

to get down to the ground truth structure,

起頭的是我組裡的兩個研究生， 陳飛和保羅·湊博格。

we're going to need to have even better technologies.

現在我組裡的許多人都幫著做。

My group, a couple years ago, started thinking:

我們嘗試聚合物－

Why don't we do the opposite?

像是嬰兒尿布中的東西－

If it's so darn complicated to zoom in to the brain,

把它放在大腦中。

why can't we make the brain bigger?

如果做得恰到好處，加入水，

It initially started

就可能把腦放大到這種地步：

with two grad students in my group, Fei Chen and Paul Tillberg.

足以把小生物分子個別地分辨出來。

Now many others in my group are helping with this process.

可以看到那些連結而得到腦的圖譜。

We decided to try to figure out if we could take polymers,

這可能相當戲劇化，

like the stuff in the baby diaper,

所以我們準備了小小的示範。

and install it physically within the brain.

我們取得一些嬰兒尿布的純粹原料。

If we could do it just right, and you add water,

購買它比從紙尿布內取出幾粒原料來 要容易得多。

you can potentially blow the brain up

我只放入一茶匙精製的聚合物。

to where you could distinguish those tiny biomolecules from each other.

然後加入一些水。

You would see those connections and get maps of the brain.

接下來，

This could potentially be quite dramatic.

這一茶匙的尿布材料

We brought a little demo here.

體積膨脹了。

We got some purified baby diaper material.

在你眼前，它的體積變成約千倍大。

It's much easier just to buy it off the Internet

雖然我可以倒入更多的水，

than to extract the few grains that actually occur in these diapers.

但你們都已明白

I'm going to put just one teaspoon here

這是一種非常有意思的分子，

of this purified polymer.

如果適當地使用，

And here we have some water.

或許我們真能以 前所未能的技術來近觀大腦，

What we're going to do

好。說明一點點化學原理。

is see if this teaspoon of the baby diaper material

嬰兒尿布的聚合物裡是怎麼回事？

can increase in size.

如果你能拉近放大，

You're going to see it increase in volume by about a thousandfold

可能就如同你在屏幕上看到的。

before your very eyes.

聚合物是原子排成的細、長鏈。

I could pour much more of this in there,

該鏈非常微小，

but I think you've got the idea

大約是生物分子的寬度，

that this is a very, very interesting molecule,

這些聚合物非常密集。

and if can use it in the right way,

它們之間的距離

we might be able to really zoom in on the brain

大約是生物分子的大小。

in a way that you can't do with past technologies.

這非常好，

OK. So a little bit of chemistry now.

因有足夠的空間可以把大腦中 每一樣東西的距離拉遠。

What's going on in the baby diaper polymer?

如果我們加入水，

If you could zoom in,

這可膨脹的物質吸了水，

it might look something like what you see on the screen.

聚合物鏈彼此間的距離就拉遠了，

Polymers are chains of atoms arranged in long, thin lines.

整個體積變得更大。

The chains are very tiny,

由於這些鏈是如此的渺小，

about the width of a biomolecule,

而且原本的間距 只有生物分子那麼一丁點大，

and these polymers are really dense.

所以我們能讓大腦脹大，

They're separated by distances

大到足以被觀察。

that are around the size of a biomolecule.

奧秘在於：

This is very good

我們怎樣把聚合物鏈置入大腦中，

because we could potentially move everything apart in the brain.

讓我們得以拉開生物分子的間距呢？

If we add water, what will happen is,

如果做得到，

this swellable material is going to absorb the water,

或許我們就能得到腦圖的實況，

the polymer chains will move apart from each other,

可以窺視大腦迴路，

and the entire material is going to become bigger.

可以窺見裡頭的分子。

And because these chains are so tiny

我們準備了動畫來解釋，

and spaced by biomolecular distances,

此處看到的是藝術家所詮釋

we could potentially blow up the brain

生物分子的概貌和可能的分開程序。

and make it big enough to see.

步驟一：首先要在

Here's the mystery, then:

每一個以棕色示意的生物分子上

How do we actually make these polymer chains inside the brain

黏上一個小錨，小把手。

so we can move all the biomolecules apart?

為了把腦中分子彼此的距離拉遠，

If we could do that,

我們需要小把手

maybe we could get ground truth maps of the brain.

以讓聚合物結合分子，

We could look at the wiring.

讓它可以施力。

We can peer inside and see the molecules within.

如果你只把嬰兒尿布的聚合物 傾倒在腦上，

To explain this, we made some animations

很顯然，它就只會堆在腦上而已。

where we actually look at, in these artist renderings,

因此，我們需要找個方法 讓聚合物進到腦裡面去。

what biomolecules might look like and how we might separate them.

這正是我們幸運之處。

Step one: what we'd have to do, first of all,

事實上，若把被稱為單體的基本組件

is attach every biomolecule, shown in brown here,

放到腦裡面，

to a little anchor, a little handle.

它們就會觸發化學反應，

We need to pull the molecules of the brain apart from each other,

然後在腦組織裡形成這些長鏈。

and to do that, we need to have a little handle

它們會纏繞生物分子

that allows those polymers to bind to them

也會佔住生物分子間的空隙，

and to exert their force.

形成複雜的網

Now, if you just take baby diaper polymer and dump it on the brain,

讓你終於能把這些分子拉開。

obviously, it's going to sit there on top.

在有小把手的地方,

So we need to find a way to make the polymers inside.

聚合物會黏住這些把手，

And this is where we're really lucky.

成為拉開分子的施力點。

It turns out, you can get the building blocks,

好吧，來到關鍵時刻。

monomers, as they're called,

我們得先用化學物質處理樣本 以鬆開分子，

and if you let them go into the brain

然後加水，

and then trigger the chemical reactions,

這個會膨脹的材料開始吸水，

you can get them to form those long chains,

聚合鏈移動開來，

right there inside the brain tissue.

生物分子隨著一起移動。

They're going to wind their way around biomolecules

就像在氣球上繪圖，

and between biomolecules,

然後將氣吹入氣球，

forming those complex webs

圖案相同，

that will allow you, eventually, to pull apart the molecules

但是墨水粒子的間距拉遠了，

from each other.

這就是我們所做的，不過是在三度空間裡。

And every time one of those little handles is around,

還有最後一技巧。

the polymer will bind to the handle, and that's exactly what we need

如你所見，

in order to pull the molecules apart from each other.

我們把所有的生物分子都標成褐色。

All right, the moment of truth.

這是因為他們看起來是一樣的。

We have to treat this specimen

雖然生物分子的組成原子相同，

with a chemical to kind of loosen up all the molecules from each other,

但順序卻可有差異。

and then, when we add water,

最後，我們還要使不同的生物分子 能用視覺辨別出來。

that swellable material is going to start absorbing the water,

用發光的染料 作為區分他們的小標籤。

the polymer chains will move apart,

將某一種生物分子染成藍色，

but now, the biomolecules will come along for the ride.

而另一種會染成紅色，等等。

And much like drawing a picture on a balloon,

這就是最後一步。

and then you blow up the balloon,

如此，我們就可以看到腦

the image is the same,

和各個分子，

but the ink particles have moved away from each other.

因為我們把分子拉得很開，

And that's what we've been able to do now, but in three dimensions.

所以可以分辨彼此。

There's one last trick.

成功的希望繫於 我們把不可見的變成可見的。

As you can see here,

我們把小而模糊的東西放大，

we've color-coded all the biomolecules brown.

大到它们看起来像是生命信息的星座圖。

That's because they all kind of look the same.

這是大概模樣的真正視頻。

Biomolecules are made out of the same atoms,

碟裡放著小小的一個腦－

but just in different orders.

其實是一小片腦。

So we need one last thing

我們已在裡頭注入聚合物，

in order to make them visible.

現在要加水。

We have to bring in little tags,

你眼前將看到的是－

with glowing dyes that will distinguish them.

以60倍速放映的視頻－

So one kind of biomolecule might get a blue color.

這小片腦組織將會脹大。

Another kind of biomolecule might get a red color.

它的體積將會脹成百倍或更大。

And so forth.

酷的是，因為聚合物是如此渺小，

And that's the final step.

我們將能均勻地分開生物分子。

Now we can look at something like a brain

是平整的擴張，

and look at the individual molecules,

資訊信息的組態不會失真，

because we've moved them far apart enough from each other

只是變成更容易被看得到。

that we can tell them apart.

取一實際的大腦神經組織－

So the hope here is that we can make the invisible visible.

例如與記憶有關的這一部分－

We can turn things that might seem small and obscure

拉近放大。

and blow them up

我們開始能看到實際的神經電路構造。

until they're like constellations of information about life.

也許有一天 我們也能讀出記憶的內容。

Here's an actual video of what it might look like.

也許我們能真切地看到 處理情緒的神經電路組織，

We have here a little brain in a dish --

腦內的神經怎樣連結，

a little piece of a brain, actually.

使我們成為我們。