评论
打印
I grew up to study the brain because I have a brother who has been diagnosed with a brain disorder, schizophrenia.
我之所以选择学习脑科，是因为我的一个弟弟被诊断大脑功能紊乱，用专业点的说法就是精神分裂症。
And as a sister and later, as a scientist, I wanted to understand, why is it that I can take my dreams,
作为姐姐，到后来是作为科学家，我十分想了解为什么我们会做梦，
I can connect them to my reality, and I can make my dreams come true?
而且能够将做的梦和现实联系起来，更有可能会梦想成真。
What is it about my brother's brain and his schizophrenia that he cannot connect his dreams to a common and shared reality, so they instead become delusion?
我弟弟的大脑到底是怎么了？他得的精神分裂症就是他不能将他做的梦和普通的现实结合起来，所以相反的，就形成了幻觉。
So I dedicated my career to research into the severe mental illnesses.
因此我致力于研究这些严重的精神疾病。
And I moved from my home state of Indiana to Boston, where I was working in the lab of Dr. Francine Benes, in the Harvard Department of Psychiatry.
而且我也从印第安纳州搬到波士顿，在那里，我可以在哈佛精神病学，
And in the lab, we were asking the question, "What are the biological differences between the brains of individuals who would be diagnosed as normal control,
在实验过程中，我们会一直询问：“从生物学的角度来说，
as compared with the brains of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective or bipolar disorder?"
那些诊断为精神分裂症、分裂情感障碍或双相情感障碍的人和那些大脑控制功能正常的人有什么区别？”
So we were essentially mapping the microcircuitry of the brain: which cells are communicating with which cells, with which chemicals,
所以我们首先画出了大脑的微线性图：哪些细胞是和哪些细胞是有联系的？通过何种化学物质联系？
and then in what quantities of those chemicals?
这些化学物质有多少？
So there was a lot of meaning in my life because I was performing this type of research during the day,
因此我的生活充满意义，因为在白天，我一直在从事这种研究。
but then in the evenings and on the weekends, I traveled as an advocate for NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
但是晚上和周末，我则作为精神疾病联盟一员从事一些宣传工作。
But on the morning of December 10, 1996, I woke up to discover that I had a brain disorder of my own.
但是1996年12月10号的早上，当我起来时却发现自己大脑有点紊乱。
A blood vessel exploded in the left half of my brain.
我的大脑左半球的血管充血爆裂。
And in the course of four hours, I watched my brain completely deteriorate in its ability to process all information.
在4个小时的时间里，我的大脑完全失去了它传达信息的功能。
On the morning of the hemorrhage, I could not walk, talk, read, write or recall any of my life.
早上的脑充血使我不能走路、交谈、读、写和唤醒其他身体机能。
I essentially became an infant in a woman's body.
尽管我是个成年的女性，但身体行动却完全如同婴儿一般。
