0:00:00.806,0:00:02.881
Imagine that you invented a device

0:00:02.905,0:00:04.577
that can record my memories,

0:00:04.601,0:00:06.638
my dreams, my ideas,

0:00:06.662,0:00:08.325
and transmit them to your brain.

0:00:08.755,0:00:11.830
That would be a game-changing[br]technology, right?

0:00:11.854,0:00:14.892
But in fact, we already[br]possess this device,

0:00:14.916,0:00:17.560
and it's called human communication system

0:00:17.584,0:00:19.432
and effective storytelling.

0:00:19.874,0:00:22.334
To understand how this device works,

0:00:22.358,0:00:24.773
we have to look into our brains.

0:00:24.797,0:00:28.383
And we have to formulate the question[br]in a slightly different manner.

0:00:28.407,0:00:29.870
Now we have to ask

0:00:30.309,0:00:32.925
how these neuron patterns in my brain

0:00:32.949,0:00:36.151
that are associated[br]with my memories and ideas

0:00:36.175,0:00:38.694
are transmitted into your brains.

0:00:39.702,0:00:43.070
And we think there are two factors[br]that enable us to communicate.

0:00:43.094,0:00:47.149
First, your brain is now[br]physically coupled to the sound wave

0:00:47.173,0:00:49.648
that I'm transmitting to your brain.

0:00:49.672,0:00:53.050
And second, we developed[br]a common neural protocol

0:00:53.074,0:00:54.832
that enabled us to communicate.

0:00:55.459,0:00:56.721
So how do we know that?

0:00:57.292,0:00:59.185
In my lab in Princeton,

0:00:59.209,0:01:02.714
we bring people to the fMRI scanner[br]and we scan their brains

0:01:02.738,0:01:06.638
while they are either telling[br]or listening to real-life stories.

0:01:06.662,0:01:09.286
And to give you a sense[br]of the stimulus we are using,

0:01:09.310,0:01:13.294
let me play 20 seconds[br]from a story that we used,

0:01:13.318,0:01:15.642
told by a very talented storyteller,

0:01:15.666,0:01:16.817
Jim O'Grady.

0:01:18.244,0:01:21.577
(Audio) Jim O'Grady: So I'm banging out[br]my story and I know it's good,

0:01:21.601,0:01:23.891
and then I start to make it better --

0:01:23.915,0:01:26.399
(Laughter)

0:01:26.423,0:01:28.758
by adding an element of embellishment.

0:01:29.502,0:01:32.810
Reporters call this "making shit up."

0:01:32.834,0:01:35.105
(Laughter)

0:01:35.735,0:01:38.851
And they recommend[br]against crossing that line.

0:01:40.208,0:01:44.812
But I had just seen the line crossed[br]between a high-powered dean

0:01:44.836,0:01:46.262
and assault with a pastry.

0:01:46.286,0:01:47.778
And I kinda liked it."

0:01:47.802,0:01:50.176
Uri Hasson: OK, so now[br]let's look into your brain

0:01:50.200,0:01:53.428
and see what's happening[br]when you listen to these kinds of stories.

0:01:53.452,0:01:57.496
And let's start simple -- let's start[br]with one listener and one brain area:

0:01:57.520,0:02:01.009
the auditory cortex that processes[br]the sounds that come from the ear.

0:02:01.033,0:02:03.477
And as you can see,[br]in this particular brain area,

0:02:03.501,0:02:06.993
the responses are going up and down[br]as the story is unfolding.

0:02:07.017,0:02:08.610
Now we can take these responses

0:02:08.634,0:02:11.435
and compare them to the responses[br]in other listeners

0:02:11.459,0:02:12.934
in the same brain area.

0:02:12.958,0:02:14.125
And we can ask:

0:02:14.149,0:02:17.384
How similar are the responses[br]across all listeners?

0:02:18.018,0:02:20.380
So here you can see five listeners.

0:02:20.983,0:02:24.436
And we start to scan their brains[br]before the story starts,

0:02:24.460,0:02:27.999
when they're simply lying in the dark[br]and waiting for the story to begin.

0:02:28.023,0:02:29.177
As you can see,

0:02:29.201,0:02:31.959
the brain area is going up and down[br]in each one of them,

0:02:31.983,0:02:33.758
but the responses are very different,

0:02:33.782,0:02:35.449
and not in sync.

0:02:35.473,0:02:38.179
However, immediately[br]as the story is starting,

0:02:38.203,0:02:39.889
something amazing is happening.

0:02:40.857,0:02:43.786
(Audio) JO: So I'm banging out my story[br]and I know it's good,

0:02:43.810,0:02:45.338
and then I start to make it --

0:02:45.362,0:02:48.659
UH: Suddenly, you can see[br]that the responses in all of the subjects

0:02:48.683,0:02:49.835
lock to the story,

0:02:49.859,0:02:53.288
and now they are going up and down[br]in a very similar way

0:02:53.312,0:02:54.866
across all listeners.

0:02:54.890,0:02:57.939
And in fact, this is exactly[br]what is happening now in your brains

0:02:57.963,0:03:00.836
when you listen to my sound speaking.

0:03:00.860,0:03:03.868
We call this effect "neural entrainment."

0:03:04.374,0:03:06.686
And to explain to you[br]what is neural entrainment,

0:03:06.710,0:03:09.320
let me first explain[br]what is physical entrainment.

0:03:10.076,0:03:12.826
So, we'll look and see five metronomes.

0:03:12.850,0:03:15.846
Think of these five metronomes[br]as five brains.

0:03:15.870,0:03:18.620
And similar to the listeners[br]before the story starts,

0:03:18.644,0:03:20.457
these metronomes are going to click,

0:03:20.481,0:03:22.640
but they're going to click out of phase.

0:03:23.059,0:03:27.455
(Clicking)

0:03:27.479,0:03:30.480
Now see what will happen[br]when I connect them together

0:03:30.504,0:03:32.645
by placing them on these two cylinders.

0:03:33.880,0:03:37.101
(Clicking)

0:03:37.125,0:03:39.737
Now these two cylinders start to rotate.

0:03:39.761,0:03:42.890
This rotation vibration[br]is going through the wood

0:03:42.914,0:03:45.919
and is going to couple[br]all the metronomes together.

0:03:45.943,0:03:47.555
And now listen to the click.

0:03:47.579,0:03:52.246
(Synchronized clicking)

0:03:57.834,0:04:00.458
This is what you call[br]physical entrainment.

0:04:00.482,0:04:02.725
Now let's go back to the brain and ask:

0:04:02.749,0:04:04.893
What's driving this neural entrainment?

0:04:04.917,0:04:07.702
Is it simply the sounds[br]that the speaker is producing?

0:04:07.726,0:04:09.049
Or maybe it's the words.

0:04:09.073,0:04:12.719
Or maybe it's the meaning[br]that the speaker is trying to convey.

0:04:12.743,0:04:15.503
So to test it, we did[br]the following experiment.

0:04:15.527,0:04:18.728
First, we took the story[br]and played it backwards.

0:04:18.752,0:04:21.878
And that preserved many[br]of the original auditory features,

0:04:21.902,0:04:23.915
but removed the meaning.

0:04:23.939,0:04:25.610
And it sounds something like that.

0:04:25.634,0:04:30.772
(Audio) JO: (Unintelligible)

0:04:31.296,0:04:33.648
And we flashed colors in the two brains

0:04:33.672,0:04:37.584
to indicate brain areas that respond[br]very similarly across people.

0:04:37.608,0:04:38.762
And as you can see,

0:04:38.786,0:04:42.554
this incoming sound induced entrainment[br]or alignment in all of the brains

0:04:42.578,0:04:45.310
in auditory cortices[br]that process the sounds,

0:04:45.334,0:04:47.558
but it didn't spread[br]deeper into the brain.

0:04:48.051,0:04:51.455
Now we can take these sounds[br]and build words out of it.

0:04:51.479,0:04:54.135
So if we take Jim O'Grady[br]and scramble the words,

0:04:54.159,0:04:55.399
we'll get a list of words.

0:04:55.423,0:04:57.685
(Audio) JO: ... an animal ...[br]assorted facts ...

0:04:57.709,0:05:00.601
and right on ... pie man ...[br]potentially ... my stories

0:05:00.625,0:05:03.567
UH: And you can see that these words[br]start to induce alignment

0:05:03.591,0:05:06.196
in early language areas,[br]but not more than that.

0:05:06.220,0:05:10.037
Now we can take the words[br]and start to build sentences out of them.

0:05:11.561,0:05:14.561
(Audio) JO: And they recommend[br]against crossing that line.

0:05:16.021,0:05:19.663
He says: "Dear Jim,[br]Good story. Nice details.

0:05:20.369,0:05:22.521
Didn't she only know[br]about him through me?"

0:05:22.545,0:05:25.680
UH: Now you can see that the responses[br]in all the language areas

0:05:25.704,0:05:27.395
that process the incoming language

0:05:27.419,0:05:29.798
become aligned or similar[br]across all listeners.

0:05:30.218,0:05:34.895
However, only when we use[br]the full, engaging, coherent story

0:05:34.919,0:05:37.144
do the responses spread[br]deeper into the brain

0:05:37.168,0:05:38.699
into higher-order areas,

0:05:38.723,0:05:41.824
which include the frontal cortex[br]and the parietal cortex,

0:05:41.848,0:05:44.436
and make all of them[br]respond very similarly.

0:05:44.460,0:05:47.729
And we believe that these responses[br]in higher-order areas are induced

0:05:47.753,0:05:49.879
or become similar across listeners

0:05:49.903,0:05:52.643
because of the meaning[br]conveyed by the speaker,

0:05:52.667,0:05:54.268
and not by words or sound.

0:05:54.635,0:05:57.350
And if we are right,[br]there's a strong prediction over here

0:05:57.374,0:05:59.736
if I tell you the exact same ideas

0:05:59.760,0:06:02.404
using two very different sets of words,

0:06:02.428,0:06:04.979
your brain responses[br]will still be similar.

0:06:05.499,0:06:08.513
And to test it, we did[br]the following experiment in my lab.

0:06:09.142,0:06:10.950
We took the English story

0:06:10.974,0:06:13.110
and translated it to Russian.

0:06:13.134,0:06:17.358
Now you have two different sounds[br]and linguistic systems

0:06:17.382,0:06:19.676
that convey the exact same meaning.

0:06:19.700,0:06:23.348
And you play the English story[br]to the English listeners

0:06:23.372,0:06:25.724
and the Russian story[br]to the Russian listeners,

0:06:25.748,0:06:28.793
and we can compare their responses[br]across the groups.

0:06:28.817,0:06:32.388
And when we did that, we didn't see[br]responses that are similar

0:06:32.412,0:06:34.693
in auditory cortices in language,

0:06:34.717,0:06:37.095
because the language[br]and sound are very different.

0:06:37.119,0:06:39.887
However, you can see[br]that the responses in high-order areas

0:06:39.921,0:06:42.415
were still similar[br]across these two groups.

0:06:43.068,0:06:47.160
We believe this is because they understood[br]the story in a very similar way,

0:06:47.184,0:06:51.210
as we confirmed, using a test[br]after the story ended.

0:06:52.321,0:06:56.008
And we think that this alignment[br]is necessary for communication.

0:06:56.032,0:06:58.658
For example, as you can tell,

0:06:58.682,0:07:00.709
I am not a native English speaker.

0:07:00.733,0:07:02.614
I grew up with another language,

0:07:02.638,0:07:05.292
and the same might be for many[br]of you in the audience.

0:07:05.316,0:07:07.315
And still, we can communicate.

0:07:07.339,0:07:08.490
How come?

0:07:08.514,0:07:11.593
We think we can communicate[br]because we have this common code

0:07:11.617,0:07:13.044
that presents meaning.

0:07:13.921,0:07:17.367
So far, I've only talked about[br]what's happening in the listener's brain,

0:07:17.391,0:07:19.638
in your brain, when[br]you're listening to talks.

0:07:19.662,0:07:22.361
But what's happening[br]in the speaker's brain, in my brain,

0:07:22.385,0:07:24.192
when I'm speaking to you?

0:07:24.216,0:07:26.073
To look in the speaker's brain,

0:07:26.097,0:07:29.193
we asked the speaker[br]to go into the scanner,

0:07:29.217,0:07:30.819
we scan his brain

0:07:30.843,0:07:34.850
and then compare his brain responses[br]to the brain responses of the listeners

0:07:34.874,0:07:36.676
listening to the story.

0:07:36.700,0:07:40.910
You have to remember that producing speech[br]and comprehending speech

0:07:40.934,0:07:42.657
are very different processes.

0:07:42.681,0:07:44.925
Here we're asking: How similar are they?

0:07:46.164,0:07:47.571
To our surprise,

0:07:47.595,0:07:52.466
we saw that all these complex[br]patterns within the listeners

0:07:52.490,0:07:55.197
actually came from the speaker brain.

0:07:55.221,0:07:58.906
So production and comprehension[br]rely on very similar processes.

0:07:58.930,0:08:00.502
And we also found

0:08:00.526,0:08:04.232
the stronger the similarity[br]between the listener's brain

0:08:04.256,0:08:05.755
and the speaker's brain,

0:08:05.779,0:08:07.684
the better the communication.

0:08:07.708,0:08:11.673
So I know that if you[br]are completely confused now,

0:08:11.697,0:08:13.718
and I do hope that this is not the case,

0:08:13.742,0:08:16.135
your brain responses[br]are very different than mine.

0:08:16.159,0:08:19.266
But I also know that if you really[br]understand me now,

0:08:19.290,0:08:22.181
then your brain ... and your brain[br]... and your brain

0:08:22.205,0:08:23.933
are really similar to mine.

0:08:25.793,0:08:28.888
Now, let's take all[br]this information together and ask:

0:08:28.912,0:08:32.249
How can we use it to transmit[br]a memory that I have

0:08:32.273,0:08:34.459
from my brain to your brains?

0:08:35.037,0:08:37.155
So we did the following experiment.

0:08:37.648,0:08:40.221
We let people watch,[br]for the first time in their life,

0:08:40.245,0:08:44.379
a TV episode from the BBC series[br]"Sherlock," while we scanned their brains.

0:08:44.403,0:08:47.204
And then we asked them[br]to go back to the scanner

0:08:47.228,0:08:51.127
and tell the story to another person[br]that never watched the movie.

0:08:51.151,0:08:52.811
So let's be specific.

0:08:52.835,0:08:54.882
Think about this exact scene,

0:08:54.906,0:08:57.490
when Sherlock is entering[br]the cab in London

0:08:57.514,0:08:59.810
driven by the murderer he is looking for.

0:09:00.398,0:09:02.894
With me, as a viewer,

0:09:02.918,0:09:06.418
there is a specific brain pattern[br]in my brain when I watch it.

0:09:07.179,0:09:10.951
Now, the exact same pattern,[br]I can reactivate in my brain again

0:09:10.975,0:09:14.631
by telling the word:[br]Sherlock, London, murderer.

0:09:15.369,0:09:18.479
And when I'm transmitting[br]these words to your brains now,

0:09:18.503,0:09:20.988
you have to reconstruct it in your mind.

0:09:21.012,0:09:25.561
In fact, we see that pattern[br]emerging now in your brains.

0:09:25.585,0:09:28.100
And we were really surprised to see

0:09:28.124,0:09:30.379
that the pattern you have[br]now in your brains

0:09:30.403,0:09:32.315
when I'm describing to you these scenes

0:09:32.339,0:09:36.161
would be very similar to the pattern[br]I had when I watched this movie

0:09:36.185,0:09:38.323
a few months ago in the scanner.

0:09:38.347,0:09:40.451
This starts to tell you[br]about the mechanism

0:09:40.475,0:09:43.217
by which we can tell stories[br]and transmit information.

0:09:43.733,0:09:45.609
Because, for example,

0:09:45.633,0:09:49.145
now you're listening really hard[br]and trying to understand what I'm saying.

0:09:49.169,0:09:50.719
And I know that it's not easy.

0:09:50.743,0:09:54.779
But I hope that at one point[br]in the talk we clicked, and you got me.

0:09:54.803,0:09:58.701
And I think that in a few hours,[br]a few days, a few months,

0:09:58.725,0:10:00.869
you're going to meet someone at a party,

0:10:00.893,0:10:04.441
and you're going to tell him[br]about this lecture,

0:10:04.465,0:10:08.103
and suddenly it will be as if[br]he is standing now here with us.

0:10:08.127,0:10:10.977
Now you can see[br]how we can take this mechanism

0:10:11.001,0:10:14.932
and try to transmit memories[br]and knowledge across people,

0:10:14.956,0:10:17.003
which is wonderful, right?

0:10:17.027,0:10:20.194
But our ability to communicate[br]relies on our ability

0:10:20.218,0:10:22.784
to have common ground.

0:10:22.808,0:10:24.013
Because, for example,

0:10:24.037,0:10:27.804
if I'm going to use the British synonym

0:10:27.828,0:10:30.206
"hackney carriage" instead of "cab,"

0:10:30.230,0:10:34.269
I know that I'm going to be misaligned[br]with most of you in the audience.

0:10:34.720,0:10:36.911
This alignment depends[br]not only on our ability

0:10:36.935,0:10:38.969
to understand the basic concept;

0:10:38.993,0:10:43.788
it also depends on our ability to develop[br]common ground and understanding

0:10:43.812,0:10:45.599
and shared belief systems.

0:10:45.623,0:10:47.457
Because we know that in many cases,

0:10:47.481,0:10:51.524
people understand the exact[br]same story in very different ways.

0:10:52.460,0:10:55.501
So to test it in the lab,[br]we did the following experiment.

0:10:56.089,0:10:59.020
We took a story by J.D. Salinger,

0:10:59.044,0:11:03.379
in which a husband lost track[br]of his wife in the middle of a party,

0:11:03.403,0:11:07.090
and he's calling his best friend, asking,[br]"Did you see my wife?"

0:11:07.836,0:11:09.043
For half of the subjects,

0:11:09.067,0:11:13.208
we said that the wife was having[br]an affair with the best friend.

0:11:13.232,0:11:14.383
For the other half,

0:11:14.407,0:11:19.512
we said that the wife is loyal[br]and the husband is very jealous.

0:11:20.127,0:11:22.815
This one sentence before the story started

0:11:22.839,0:11:25.140
was enough to make the brain responses

0:11:25.164,0:11:28.208
of all the people that believed[br]the wife was having an affair

0:11:28.232,0:11:30.669
be very similar in these high-order areas

0:11:30.693,0:11:32.915
and different than the other group.

0:11:32.939,0:11:36.612
And if one sentence is enough[br]to make your brain similar

0:11:36.636,0:11:38.239
to people that think like you

0:11:38.263,0:11:41.216
and very different than people[br]that think differently than you,

0:11:41.240,0:11:44.717
think how this effect is going[br]to be amplified in real life,

0:11:44.741,0:11:47.633
when we are all listening[br]to the exact same news item

0:11:47.657,0:11:51.405
after being exposed[br]day after day after day

0:11:51.429,0:11:55.241
to different media channels,[br]like Fox News or The New York Times,

0:11:55.265,0:11:58.378
that give us very different[br]perspectives on reality.

0:11:59.556,0:12:00.909
So let me summarize.

0:12:01.529,0:12:03.618
If everything worked as planned tonight,

0:12:03.642,0:12:07.941
I used my ability to vocalize sound[br]to be coupled to your brains.

0:12:07.965,0:12:09.468
And I used this coupling

0:12:09.492,0:12:13.333
to transmit my brain patterns associated[br]with my memories and ideas

0:12:13.357,0:12:14.673
into your brains.

0:12:15.201,0:12:18.999
In this, I start to reveal[br]the hidden neural mechanism

0:12:19.023,0:12:20.658
by which we communicate.

0:12:20.682,0:12:23.649
And we know that in the future[br]it will enable us to improve

0:12:23.673,0:12:25.663
and facilitate communication.

0:12:26.111,0:12:27.805
But these studies also reveal

0:12:28.535,0:12:31.821
that communication relies[br]on a common ground.

0:12:31.845,0:12:34.307
And we have to be[br]really worried as a society

0:12:34.331,0:12:38.367
if we lose this common ground[br]and our ability to speak with people

0:12:38.391,0:12:40.508
that are slightly different than us

0:12:40.532,0:12:43.920
because we let a few very strong[br]media channels

0:12:43.944,0:12:45.485
take control of the mic,

0:12:45.509,0:12:49.284
and manipulate and control[br]the way we all think.

0:12:49.308,0:12:52.209
And I'm not sure how to fix it[br]because I'm only a scientist.

0:12:52.233,0:12:54.693
But maybe one way to do it

0:12:54.717,0:12:57.364
is to go back to the more[br]natural way of communication,

0:12:57.388,0:12:58.990
which is a dialogue,

0:12:59.014,0:13:01.521
in which it's not only me[br]speaking to you now,

0:13:01.994,0:13:04.210
but a more natural way of talking,

0:13:04.234,0:13:07.511
in which I am speaking and I am listening,

0:13:07.535,0:13:12.255
and together we are trying to come[br]to a common ground and new ideas.

0:13:12.279,0:13:13.437
Because after all,

0:13:13.461,0:13:17.125
the people we are coupled to[br]define who we are.

0:13:17.149,0:13:19.538
And our desire to be coupled[br]to another brain

0:13:19.562,0:13:24.079
is something very basic[br]that starts at a very early age.

0:13:24.103,0:13:28.290
So let me finish with an example[br]from my own private life

0:13:29.044,0:13:33.355
that I think is a good example[br]of how coupling to other people

0:13:33.379,0:13:35.653
is really going to define who we are.

0:13:36.294,0:13:39.368
This my son Jonathan at a very early age.

0:13:39.392,0:13:43.542
See how he developed[br]a vocal game together with my wife,

0:13:43.566,0:13:48.797
only from the desire and pure joy[br]of being coupled to another human being.

0:13:49.556,0:13:54.473
(Both vocalizing)

0:14:02.915,0:14:05.243
(Laughter)

0:14:05.267,0:14:09.064
Now, think how the ability of my son

0:14:09.088,0:14:11.850
to be coupled to us[br]and other people in his life

0:14:11.874,0:14:14.732
is going to shape the man[br]he is going to become.

0:14:14.756,0:14:17.171
And think how you change on a daily basis

0:14:17.195,0:14:21.518
from the interaction and coupling[br]to other people in your life.

0:14:22.562,0:14:24.665
So keep being coupled to other people.

0:14:25.157,0:14:26.706
Keep spreading your ideas,

0:14:26.730,0:14:29.974
because the sum of all of us[br]together, coupled,

0:14:29.998,0:14:31.592
is greater than our parts.

0:14:31.616,0:14:32.782
Thank you.

0:14:32.806,0:14:38.468
(Applause)