How to improve brain function | Jerzy Vetulani | TEDxKrakow

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences

Jerzy is a neurobiologist, lecturer, blogger and one of the most frequently cited polish scientists. At TEDx Krakow, he gave a talk about the human brain's development and pharmacological medicaments which can improve its functioning.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

The question is, is it necessary
and possible to improve the brain?

Indeed.

The brain's an incredibly efficient organ
which serves to survive, not to think.

But thinking is very helpful for survival,

that's why the brain thinks too.

(Applause)

Throughout 400 million years,
the brain has been evolving,

from a big shark with a small brain,

to the human brain.

In the last 3 million years, a transition
from ape to human took place.

In the last 2 years, a Brazilian scientist
Suzana Herculano-Houzel,

has revolutionized what we know
about the brain.

The primate's brain is more organized
than that of other animals,

including rodents or ungulates,
which means we have great features.

Our brain is very good,

and now the human brain
has begun to evolve even more.

The bigger the brain, the greater
the possibilites of thinking, learning

and ruling the world.

From the brain of Australopithecus,

through the upright man who knew fire,

a Neanderthal who was already religious,

to the brain of a caveman,

a man from Cro-Magnon,

language, culture, everything.

Is that all? I guess not.

The world is constantly changing,

we ourselves change the world.

That's why our brain
works on the edge of efficiency.

So the question is:

Can we improve our brain more?

Evolution didn't stop
with the caveman, for sure.

Anatomic and genetic research proves
that brain evolution is still in progress.

Let's not get into details,

but where does it come from?

A hundred years ago,
a farmer following a plow,

I mean how much information
did his brain process?

Today, when traveling in a great
traffic jam, we have a lot of information.

Nowadays, the brain has to process
an enormous amount of information

and it has to do it in a flash.

It's not a problem whether
a crow flies over a horse,

but whether or not
a motocyclist crashes into us.

I won't describe it in great detail,
but there's a gene

whose one form changes in a way
that indicates the speed of evolution.

We can see that the evolution
of the brain evolves all over the world.

However, depending on the region,
it is stronger or slower.

The darker those black circles are,
the faster the evolution is.

Where was this evolution rapid?

In places where races and cultures merged.

The evolution in Latin America
was progressing fast.

In places where the environment
was stable and where nothing changed,

the brain didn't have to grow.

In Sub-Saharan Africa,
the evolution is slower.

But it doesn't mean
that it can't accelerate,

because the brain evolution speeds up
all over the world, and we know it.

A New Zealander scientist, James Flynn,

noticed that human intelligence,

if measured by IQ tests,
now and back in time,

seemed to have been rising

from generation
to generation, very much so.

Take a look at the data about Europe.

Half a century ago, in 1942,
the average Britisher

had IQ 73, so he was a complete fool.

Look how everything is growing right now.

And what was actually going on
with the mankind?

It's terrifying.

All those fantastic pyramid builders

had IQ 50, or so.

Rome, the Renaissance...

It wasn't until the industrial revolution
that intelligence started to speed up.

So intelligence speeds up,
perhaps a bit slower now.

But there are still differences
between social groups and races.

A lot depends on education.

In the USA there are two groups whose IQ
is much higher than that of the rest.

The Ashkenazi Jews, raised in schools
in the Talmudu base,

and The Oriental Japanese and the Chinese
with Confucian tradition.

So the way we are taught may greatly
increase our learning abilities.

Just like reading and writing skills

improve connection
between two cerebral hemispheres.

Are we able to speed up the natural
evolution progress even more?

Some say, the brain is such a great organ
that nothing more can be done.

However, if we take a closer look,
we can see that the process of cognition

is composed of other smaller processes.

There are biochemical reactions
in each of them,

which enable us to make them work faster.

This in turn makes the brain work faster.

What can we currently do about it?

We can surely speed up mental processes

of people with mental retardation.

For example in schizophrenia or hebetude.

We can do something,
we have good medicaments.

The question is,
can therapeutic treatments,

which help the damaged brain,

help the normal brain as well?

It seems so.

We apply many kinds
of non-therapeutic technologies.

We want to improve our memory,
concentration, scope of attention

and decision-making.

When we look at this, there are two goals.

First, we want to improve
the brain permanently,

meaning slowly, methodically,
to make it better and better,

so we can be more and more inteligent.

Secondly, there are sudden challenges,
exams, TED lectures.

I want to do something quickly,
so I take a pill before the lecture

to face the new challenge
that suddenly emerges.

A long-term brain improvement
is commonly accepted.

On one hand, it is supposed
to be a mind training.

On the other, it is a healthy lifestyle,
crucial for a good brain work.

Furthermore, we increase
some areas of the cortex.

For instance, meditation increases
the volume of the cortex

in areas where thoughts
and decisions are made.

Finally, different types
of vitamins and supplements.

There has been a lot of talk
about the role of the vitamin D3.

Therefore, there are non-pharmacological
methods that enhance the brain.

For example, glucose improves memory
and makes it easier to memorize.

Caffeine, coffee with sugar
and espresso work really great.

Physical exercise is essential,

as it releases the substance
nourishing the nerves,

BDNF neurothrophins.

A sleep or a nap after studying
increases consolidation

and transition from
the short-term to the long-term memory.

Meditation, mnemonics, computer training,
electrical brain stimulation...

All of these things are essential.

On the other hand, we work hard
and we are exhausted.

We need to wake up quickly somehow.

We usually use pharmacological
methods to do so.

There are so-called
promnestic medicaments.

These medicaments affect
the biochemistry of our brain,

which makes these processes faster.

These medicaments become
more and more common.

Some politicians or ethicists
have concerns, other people less so.

When improving the brain, we can observe
something that happens in sports.

We appreciate sportsmen,

the effort they put into training.

But we don't like those who use doping
before the competition.

So, how is it?

We want to stimulate our brain to work

and we have medicaments for that,

like caffeine in coffee or energy drinks.

We also have three
very precious stimulants,

like amphetamine,
methylphenidate and modafinil.

Only coffeine is available
without limits.

After all, energy drinks have saved lives
of plenty of passerbys,

as they'd prevent the drivers
from falling asleep at the wheel.

These are different types of stimulants.

They are used for illness treatments,

most often in ADHD.

For example, Adderall,
a mixture of amphetamine salts,

used to be sold in Poland as amphetamine.

When I was a student, we'd go to a doctor.

She would prescribe us
two pills of amphetamine.

I would have never passed maths...

(Applause)

Or I would have had to study much more.

It's dangerous,
because it may be addictive.

In ADHD and narcolepsy,
methylphenidate is used.

It is known as Ritalin,

which is now promoted for children.

Take a look at this
marvellous powder with Ritalin.

It may be an exaggeration,
but it does improve the child's brain.

Modafinil, more and more popular,
is less addictive.

It improves accuracy of performed tasks

and decision-making.

Four years ago, the market for Modafinil

reached 700 million dollars.

Interestingly, 90% of the world production
is used for non-medical purposes.

In the USA, it is good to have
a younger sibling suffering from ADHD.

You can pilfer their medicaments
and pass your exams easily.

(Applause)

This is atomoxetine, a new medicament.

It can be treated as a lifestyle.

It becomes and more popular among people

who are forced to hard brainwork.

That's what students and teachers do.

They take mainly methylphenidate.

It looks differently
in different countries.

For example, you can see here

how academic staff in the USA
and Great Britain do it.

An American takes it
when he suffers from "jet lag,"

An Englishwoman admits she takes it
once every two weeks

to keep her spirits up

and when she has to write
a grant application.

Where do they get it from? The American
gets it from a family doctor.

The Englishwoman buys it online,
which is possible in Poland too.

And they both claim
it gives certain effects,

which are not stunning,
but very desirable.

But there are neuroethic issues.

Can we really do that?

Some compare it to doping in sports.

For me, that's really not the case.

In sports we want to know

if somebody equally strong will win.

But here, it's not about competing.

If I want my students to learn
a new language faster,

then why not let them take something
that will let them achieve that?

(Applause)

It's worse with the exam sessions,
or competitive examination.

Can we consider it as doping?

This is really pretty.

It says: "I'm confident
you'll succeed at any job

that requires no urine drug tests.

Because if they run the tests,
those drugs will be revealed.

I think we won't avoid
using these medicaments.

But we shouldn't overdo it,
we should be reasonable.

Thinking about future technologies,
there's still a lot to do.

There will be target gene therapies,
magnetic stimulation through the skull.

Interface between the brain
and the computer.

Implanted neurochips,
hippocampus prosthesis.

And new medicaments.

I want to add what experts say about it.

Nora Volkow, the head of NIDA,
the drug-combating organization.

She should be against it, but she claims
that if a drug can be created,

one which has no side effects,
then it shouldn't be banned.

The human brain has come
to the stage of evolution

where it can improve
the evolution by itself.

David Nutt, a controversial figure,
was fired from the British Drug Council

after he said that horse riding accidents
were 30 times as frequent as

those after taking ecstasy.

That's why he was given the sack.

He claims that the discovery of these
boosters is a milestone in the evolution.

We no longer have to rely
on the random story about genes,

This is my humble opinion.

I think those pharmacological resources,
used to improve the mind,

are disapproved of by dumb people
whom nothing will help.

(Laughter)

(Applause)

Chemistry itself is not enough
for success, but it can help a lot.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)