听力课堂TED音频栏目主要包括TED演讲的音频MP3及中英双语文稿，供各位英语爱好者学习使用。本文主要内容为演讲MP3+双语文稿:我们可以编辑记忆吗，希望你会喜欢！

【演讲者及介绍】Amy Milton

Amy Milton的研究是为了了解记忆是如何在大脑中更新的。

【演讲主题】Can we edit memories?

我们可以编辑记忆吗?

【中英文字幕】

翻译者 Wanting Zhong 校对者 Yanyan Hong

00:10

Memory is such an everyday thing that we almost take it for granted. We all remember what we had for breakfast this morning or what we did last weekend. It's only when memory starts to fail that we appreciate just how amazing it is and how much we allow our past experiences to define us.

记忆是如此日常的存在， 我们几乎把它视为理所当然。 我们都记得今天早餐吃了什么， 或者上周末做了什么。 只有当记忆开始衰退时， 我们才会赞叹它有多么奇妙， 并反思我们如何用 过往的经历来定义自己。

00:29

But memory is not always a good thing. As the American poet and clergyman John Lancaster Spalding once said, "As memory may be a paradise from which we cannot be driven, it may also be a hell from which we cannot escape." Many of us experience chapters of our lives that we would prefer to never have happened. It is estimated that nearly 90 percent of us will experience some sort of traumatic event during our lifetimes. Many of us will suffer acutely following these events and then recover, maybe even become better people because of those experiences. But some events are so extreme that many -- up to half of those who survive sexual violence, for example -- will go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

但记忆并不总是一件好事。 正如美国诗人及牧师 约翰·兰卡斯特·斯帕丁 （John Lancaster Spalding) 所言， “记忆可能是我们不被驱逐的天堂， 也可能是我们无法逃离的地狱。” 我们很多人都经历过 某些我们宁愿从未发生过的人生篇章。 据估计，近 90% 的人 一生中都经历过某种创伤性事件。 许多人在经历这些事件后 会深受折磨，然后康复， 甚至可能因为这些经历 而成长为更好的人。 但一些过于极端的事件 会导致很多经历者—— 比如近半数的性暴力幸存者—— 患上创伤后应激障碍，又称为 PTSD。

01:20

PTSD is a debilitating mental health condition characterized by symptoms such as intense fear and anxiety and flashbacks of the traumatic event. These symptoms have a huge impact on a person's quality of life and are often triggered by particular situations or cues in that person's environment. The responses to those cues may have been adaptive when they were first learned -- fear and diving for cover in a war zone, for example -- but in PTSD, they continue to control behavior when it's no longer appropriate. If a combat veteran returns home and is diving for cover when he or she hears a car backfiring or can't leave their own home because of intense anxiety, then the responses to those cues, those memories, have become what we would refer to as maladaptive. In this way, we can think of PTSD as being a disorder of maladaptive memory.

创伤后应激障碍是一种 令人衰弱的心理健康疾病， 特征是产生强烈的恐慌、焦虑， 以及对创伤性事件的 “闪回” 等症状。 这些症状会严重影响人的生活质量， 并经常会因人们所处环境中 特定的状况或 “线索” 而触发。 当人们最初习得这些对线索的 条件反射也许有利于他们适应—— 比如在战区会感到害怕、 卧倒并掩护—— 但对于患有创伤后应激障碍的人， 即使这些反应已不必要， 它们依旧控制着人们的行为。 如果一名参战老兵退伍返乡后， 听到汽车发动机的回火声时 仍然会卧倒掩护， 或者因为重度焦虑无法踏出家门， 他们对那些线索的反应，那些记忆， 造成了我们所说的 “适应不良”。 因此，我们可以把创伤后应激障碍 视为由适应不良的记忆引发的障碍。

02:22

Now, I should stop myself here, because I'm talking about memory as if it's a single thing. It isn't. There are many different types of memory, and these depend upon different circuits and regions within the brain. As you can see, there are two major distinctions in our types of memory. There are those memories that we're consciously aware of, where we know we know and that we can pass on in words. This would include memories for facts and events. Because we can declare these memories, we refer to these as declarative memories.

现在，我应该就此打住， 因为我把记忆当成个体在讨论， 而它并非如此。 记忆分为很多不同的种类， 而这些分类取决于大脑里 不同的回路和区域。 如你所见，我们不同种类的 记忆主要有两大区别。 我们对有些记忆是有意识的， 我们知道自己有这些记忆， 并能用语言对其加以描述。 其中包括了对事实和事件的记忆。 因为我们能阐明这些记忆， 所以称之为 “陈述性记忆”。

02:56

The other type of memory is non-declarative. These are memories where we often don't have conscious access to the content of those memories and that we can't pass on in words. The classic example of a non-declarative memory is the motor skill for riding a bike. Now, this being Cambridge, the odds are that you can ride a bike. You know what you're doing on two wheels. But if I asked you to write me a list of instructions that would teach me how to ride a bike, as my four-year-old son did when we bought him a bike for his last birthday, you would really struggle to do that. How should you sit on the bike so you're balanced? How fast do you need to pedal so you're stable? If a gust of wind comes at you, which muscles should you tense and by how much so that you don't get blown off? I'll be staggered if you can give the answers to those questions. But if you can ride a bike, you do have the answers, you're just not consciously aware of them.

另一种记忆是 “非陈述性记忆”。 一般来说，我们对这类记忆的内容 没有主观意识， 也无法用语言加以描述。 非陈述性记忆的经典例子是 骑自行车的运动技能。 因为现在这里是剑桥， 所以你大概率会骑自行车。 你知道自己在两个轮子上该怎么做。 但如果我让你列出一份 教我如何骑自行车的说明书—— 就像去年我们给四岁的儿子 买了自行车作为生日礼物时， 他问我们的那样—— 你会发现其实非常难。 你该怎样坐在自行车上才能保持平衡？ 你要踩多快才能平稳前进？ 如果一阵风朝你刮来， 你要将哪些肌肉绷紧到什么程度， 才不会被风吹倒？ 假如你能给出这些问题的答案， 我会目瞪口呆。 但如果你会骑自行车， 你一定是有答案的， 你只是没有意识到它们而已。

03:58

Getting back to PTSD, another type of non-declarative memory is emotional memory. Now, this has a specific meaning in psychology and refers to our ability to learn about cues in our environment and their emotional and motivational significance. What do I mean by that? Well, think of a cue like the smell of baking bread, or a more abstract cue like a 20-pound note. Because these cues have been pegged with good things in the past, we like them and we approach them. Other cues, like the buzzing of a wasp, elicit very negative emotions and quite dramatic avoidance behavior in some people.

我们谈回创伤后应激障碍， 另一种类型的非陈述性记忆 是 “情绪性记忆”。 它在心理学上有特定的涵义， 指的是我们习得环境中的线索 以及其情感意义和动机意义的能力。 这是什么意思呢？ 想象一下某个线索， 例如烤面包的气味， 或者某个更抽象的线索， 例如一张 20 英镑的纸钞。 因为这些线索与过往的好事挂钩了， 所以我们会喜欢并接近这些线索。 其他线索，例如黄蜂的嗡嗡声， 会诱发一些人 非常负面的情绪 和相当夸张的回避行为。

04:39

Now, I hate wasps. I can tell you that fact. But what I can't give you are the non-declarative emotional memories for how I react when there's a wasp nearby. I can't give you the racing heart, the sweaty palms, that sense of rising panic. I can describe them to you, but I can't give them to you. Now, importantly, from the perspective of PTSD, stress has very different effects on declarative and non-declarative memories and the brain circuits and regions supporting them. Emotional memory is supported by a small almond-shaped structure called the amygdala and its connections. Declarative memory, especially the what, where and when of event memory, is supported by a seahorse-shaped region of the brain called the hippocampus.

我讨厌黄蜂。 我可以告诉大家这个事实。 但我无法跟大家分享 附近有黄蜂时我是如何反应的 这种非陈述性情绪记忆。 我无法给你分享心跳加速、 手心冒汗、油然而生的恐慌感。 我可以向你描述这些内容， 但我不能把它们 “给” 你。 重要的是，对于创伤后应激障碍来说， 压力对陈述性和非陈述性记忆， 以及支持它们的大脑回路和区域 有非常不同的影响。 情绪性记忆是由一颗小杏仁状、 称为 “杏仁核” 的结构 以及其神经连接所支撑的。 陈述性记忆，尤其是 事件记忆里的内容、地点和时间， 则是由大脑里一块 海马状的区域所支持的， 这个区域被称为 “海马体”。

05:28

The extreme levels of stress experienced during trauma have very different effects on these two structures. As you can see, as you increase a person's level of stress from not stressful to slightly stressful, the hippocampus, acting to support the event memory, increases in its activity and works better to support the storage of that declarative memory. But as you increase to moderately stressful, intensely stressful and then extremely stressful, as would be found in trauma, the hippocampus effectively shuts down. This means that under the high levels of stress hormones that are experienced during trauma, we are not storing the details, the specific details of what, where and when.

在创伤中所经历极限水平的压力 对这两个结构有非常不同的影响。 可以看到， 当你把一个人所承受的压力水平 从 “无压力” 升至 “轻微压力” 时， 海马体 发挥了支持事件记忆的作用， 提升了其活跃度， 以更好地支持对陈述性记忆的存储。 但当你把压力水平 升至 “适度压力”、“强烈压力” 以及创伤应激中 会经历的 “极端压力” 时， 海马体会自动关闭。 这意味着在创伤期间经历的 高浓度压力激素的作用下， 我们并不存储记忆的细节， 那些关于事件内容、地点 和时间的具体细节。

06:14

Now, while stress is doing that to the hippocampus, look at what it does to the amygdala, that structure important for the emotional, non-declarative memory. Its activity gets stronger and stronger. So what this leaves us with in PTSD is an overly strong emotional -- in this case fear -- memory that is not tied to a specific time or place, because the hippocampus is not storing what, where and when. In this way, these cues can control behavior when it's no longer appropriate, and that's how they become maladaptive. So if we know that PTSD is due to maladaptive memories, can we use that knowledge to improve treatment outcomes for patients with PTSD?

压力会对海马体产生这样的影响， 我们再来看看压力对杏仁核的影响， 也就是那个非陈述性 情绪记忆的关键结构。 它的活跃程度越变越强。 在创伤后应激障碍里， 这会给我们留下 一种过度强烈的情绪记忆—— 在这种情况下是恐惧记忆， 这些记忆不会关联到 特定的时间或地点， 因为海马体没有储存 内容、地点和时间的信息。 这样的话，这些线索 会在不恰当的时候控制人们的行为， 因而导致适应不良。 如果我们知道了创伤后应激障碍 是源于适应不良的记忆， 我们可以利用这一点改善 创伤应激障碍患者的 治疗结果吗？

07:03

A radical new approach being developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder aims to destroy those maladaptive emotional memories that underlie the disorder. This approach has only been considered a possibility because of the profound changes in our understanding of memory in recent years. Traditionally, it was thought that making a memory was like writing in a notebook in pen: once the ink had dried, you couldn't change the information. It was thought that all those structural changes that happen in the brain to support the storage of memory were finished within about six hours, and after that, they were permanent. This is known as the consolidation view.

目前新研发的一种治疗 创伤后应激障碍的方法， 旨在破坏那些引起障碍的 适应不良的情绪记忆。 由于近些年我们对记忆的了解 发生了深刻变化，这种方法才被认为 是可行的。 传统观点认为，创造记忆 就像用笔在笔记本上写字： 一旦笔墨干掉后， 你就不能再对信息加以修改。 人们认为所有在大脑内发生的 支持记忆储存的结构性变化 都是在约六小时内完成的； 之后，记忆就会是永久的了。 这称为 “记忆巩固” 理论。

07:44

However, more recent research suggests that making a memory is actually more like writing in a word processor. We initially make the memory and then we save it or store it. But under the right conditions, we can edit that memory. This reconsolidation view suggests that those structural changes that happen in the brain to support memory can be undone, even for old memories.

但最近的研究表明，创造记忆 实际上更像是在文字处理器中写字。 我们先制造出记忆， 然后保存或者储存它。 但在合适的状况下， 我们可以编辑那段记忆。 这个 “记忆再巩固” 的理论认为， 那些在大脑内发生的 支持记忆的结构性变化 是可以撤销的， 即使是对于久远的回忆也行。

08:11

Now, this editing process isn't happening all the time. It only happens under very specific conditions of memory retrieval. So let's consider memory retrieval as being recalling the memory or, like, opening the file. Quite often, we are simply retrieving the memory. We're opening the file as read-only. But under the right conditions, we can open that file in edit mode, and then we can change the information. In theory, we could delete the content of that file, and when we press save, that is how the file -- the memory -- persists. Not only does this reconsolidation view allow us to account for some of the quirks of memory, like how we all sometimes misremember the past, it also gives us a way to destroy those maladaptive fear memories that underlie PTSD. All we would need would be two things: a way of making the memory unstable -- opening that file in edit mode -- and a way to delete the information.

这种编辑过程不是一直发生的。 它只发生在非常特定的 “记忆提取” 的条件下。 让我们把记忆提取 看成是重新唤醒记忆， 或者像是打开文档。 通常，我们只是对记忆进行提取， 就像用 “只读” 模式打开文档一样。 但在合适的条件下， 我们就可以用 “编辑” 模式打开文档， 然后对信息进行修改。 理论上，我们可以删除文档的内容， 当我们按下 “保存” 时， 那就是文件——或者说记忆—— 长期保持的状态。 这种记忆再巩固的理论不仅 能让我们解释有关记忆的一些古怪之处， 比如我们有时都会记错过去的事情， 它还给我们提供了一个方法， 来消除掉导致创伤后应激障碍的 适应不良的恐惧记忆。 我们只需要两样东西： 一个使记忆不稳定的方法—— 也就是用 “编辑” 模式打开文档—— 以及一个删除信息的途径。

09:18

We've made the most progress with working out how to delete the information. It was found fairly early on that a drug widely prescribed to control blood pressure in humans -- a beta-blocker called Propranolol -- could be used to prevent the reconsolidation of fear memories in rats. If Propranolol was given while the memory was in edit mode, rats behaved as if they were no longer afraid of a frightening trigger cue. It was as if they had never learned to be afraid of that cue. And this was with a drug that was safe for use in humans. Now, not long after that, it was shown that Propranolol could destroy fear memories in humans as well, but critically, it only works if the memory is in edit mode.

在研究如何删除信息方面， 我们已经取得了很大的进展。 在很早的时候就已经发现， 一种广泛用于控制人体血压的药—— 名为 “普萘洛尔” 的 β—受体阻滞剂—— 在老鼠身上 能阻止恐惧记忆的再巩固。 当记忆处于编辑模式时使用普萘洛尔， 老鼠表现得仿佛 不再害怕触发恐惧的线索， 就像它们从未习得过 对那个线索的恐惧一样。 而且这是一种 人类也能安全服用的药物。 在这不久之后， 有研究表明普萘洛尔 也能破坏人类的恐惧记忆， 但关键在于只有当记忆 处于编辑模式时，该药才起作用。

10:05

Now, that study was with healthy human volunteers, but it's important because it shows that the rat findings can be extended to humans and ultimately, to human patients. And with humans, you can test whether destroying the non-declarative emotional memory does anything to the declarative event memory. And this is really interesting. Even though people who were given Propranolol while the memory was in edit mode were no longer afraid of that frightening trigger cue, they could still describe the relationship between the cue and the frightening outcome. It was as if they knew they should be afraid, and yet they weren't. This suggests that Propranolol can selectively target the non-declarative emotional memory but leave the declarative event memory intact. But critically, Propranolol can only have any effect on the memory if it's in edit mode.

虽然参与这项研究的 是健康的人类志愿者， 但它依然很重要，因为它显示了 老鼠身上的研究结果 能延伸到人类， 最终应用到人类患者身上。 而对于人类， 你能试验破坏非陈述性情绪记忆 是否会影响陈述性事件记忆。 这一点非常有趣。 尽管在记忆处于编辑模式时 服用了普萘洛尔的人 不再害怕那些触发恐惧的提示， 他们依然能描述 线索和恐惧的结果之间的关系， 仿佛他们知道自己应当感到害怕， 实际上却并不害怕。 这表明普萘洛尔能选择性地作用于 非陈述性情绪记忆， 而让陈述性事件记忆保持完整。 但最重要的是， 只有处于记忆编辑模式时， 普萘洛尔才会影响记忆。

11:08

So how do we make a memory unstable? How do we get it into edit mode? Well, my own lab has done quite a lot of work on this. We know that it depends on introducing some but not too much new information to be incorporated into the memory. We know about the different chemicals the brain uses to signal that a memory should be updated and the file edited. Now, our work is mostly in rats, but other labs have found the same factors allow memories to be edited in humans, even maladaptive memories like those underlying PTSD. In fact, a number of labs in several different countries have begun small-scale clinical trials of these memory-destroying treatments for PTSD and have found really promising results.

我们该怎样使一段记忆 变得不稳定呢？ 我们怎样进入编辑模式呢？ 我的实验室在这方面做了很多研究。 我们知道，这取决于 引入一些新信息整合到记忆里， 不过新信息不能过量。 我们知道大脑使用不同的化学物质 示意记忆需要更新， 文档需要编辑。 我们的研究主要是在老鼠身上进行的， 但其他实验室也证实在人类身上 运用同样的因素编辑记忆， 甚至是适应不良的记忆， 比如诱发创伤后应激障碍的记忆。 实际上，不同国家的数个实验室 已经开始进行通过破坏记忆 治疗创伤后应激障碍的 小型临床实验， 并得到了相当可观的结果。

11:55

Now, these studies need replication on a larger scale, but they show the promise of these memory-destroying treatments for PTSD. Maybe trauma memories do not need to be the hell from which we cannot escape.

这些研究都需要大规模的重复实验， 但它们显示了这些破坏记忆的疗法 在治疗创伤后应激障碍方面 有相当可观的前景。 或许创伤记忆不再会是我们 无法逃离的地狱。

12:12

Now, although this memory-destroying approach holds great promise, that's not to say that it's straightforward or without controversy. Is it ethical to destroy memories? What about things like eyewitness testimony? What if you can't give someone Propranolol because it would interfere with other medicines that they're taking?

虽然这种破坏记忆的疗法前景可观， 但并不是说它就很直截了当， 或是没有争议。 破坏记忆是否符合伦理？ 目击者证词又如何呢？ 如果不能给某人服用普萘洛尔， 因为它会干扰他们服用的其它药物， 又该怎么办？

12:31

Well, with respect to ethics and eyewitness testimony, I would say the important point to remember is the finding from that human study. Because Propranolol is only acting on the non-declarative emotional memory, it seems unlikely that it would affect eyewitness testimony, which is based on declarative memory. Essentially, what these memory-destroying treatments are aiming to do is to reduce the emotional memory, not get rid of the trauma memory altogether. This should make the responses of those with PTSD more like those who have been through trauma and not developed PTSD than people who have never experienced trauma in the first place. I think that most people would find that more ethically acceptable than a treatment that aimed to create some sort of spotless mind.

针对伦理和目击者证词， 我想说，关键是要记住 那项人类研究里的发现。 因为普萘洛尔只对 非陈述性情绪记忆起作用， 它应该是不太可能 影响到目击者证词的， 因为目击者证词的依据是陈述性记忆。 这些破坏记忆疗法 根本的目的是 减少情绪记忆， 而不是完全消除创伤性记忆。 这应该会让创伤后 应激障碍患者的反应 产生更类似那些经历了创伤 却没有发展出应激障碍的人， 而不是像从未经历过创伤的人。 我觉得大多数人或许会认为， 相比清除记忆的疗法， 这种做法在伦理上更能接受。

13:21

What about Propranolol? You can't give Propranolol to everyone, and not everyone wants to take drugs to treat mental health conditions. Well, here Tetris could be useful. Yes, Tetris. Working with clinical collaborators, we've been looking at whether behavioral interventions can also interfere with the reconsolidation of memories. Now, how would that work?

那么普萘洛尔呢？ 不是每个人都能服用普萘洛尔， 也并不是每个人都想使用 治疗精神疾病的药物。 在这方面，俄罗斯方块可能会有用。 没错，俄罗斯方块。 我们和临床治疗师合作， 研究行为干预 是否也能干扰记忆的再巩固。 这是怎么做到的？

13:45

Well, we know that it's basically impossible to do two tasks at the same time if they both depend on the same brain region for processing. Think trying to sing along to the radio while you're trying to compose an email. The processing for one interferes with the other. Well, it's the same when you retrieve a memory, especially in edit mode. If we take a highly visual symptom like flashbacks in PTSD and get people to recall the memory in edit mode and then get them to do a highly engaging visual task like playing Tetris, it should be possible to introduce so much interfering information into that memory that it essentially becomes meaningless. That's the theory, and it's supported by data from healthy human volunteers. Now, our volunteers watched highly unpleasant films -- so, think eye surgery, road traffic safety adverts, Scorsese's "The Big Shave." These trauma films produce something like flashbacks in healthy volunteers for about a week after viewing them. We found that getting people to recall those memories, the worst moments of those unpleasant films, and playing Tetris at the same time, massively reduced the frequency of the flashbacks. And again: the memory had to be in edit mode for that to work.

我们知道，如果两项任务的处理 依靠的是同一个脑区， 那么这两项任务 基本上是不可能同时进行的。 想象一下，试图跟着电台唱歌， 同时还要撰写邮件。 其中一项任务的处理 会干扰另一项任务。 提取记忆时也是同理， 尤其是在编辑模式下。 假如有一个高度依赖视觉的症状， 比如创伤记忆的闪回， 让人们在编辑模式下回忆那段记忆， 并让他们进行一项非常费神的视觉任务， 比如玩俄罗斯方块， 那么我们就有可能在那段记忆中 加入如此多的干扰信息， 让那段记忆实质上变得毫无意义。 理论就是这样， 并且有健康人类志愿者的 实验数据支持这个理论。 我们的志愿者观看了 非常令人不适的视频—— 比如说眼科手术、交通安全广告、 马丁 · 斯科塞斯的《剃须记》 （含有血腥镜头）。 这些创伤性视频 能在观看后的约一星期内 在志愿者身上产生类似闪回的效果。 我们发现，让人们回忆这些记忆、 这些不适视频中最糟糕的片段， 同时玩俄罗斯方块， 能大大降低闪回的频率。 重申一次：记忆必须处于编辑模式， 这个方法才能生效。

15:09

Now, my collaborators have since taken this to clinical populations. They've tested this in survivors of road traffic accidents and mothers who've had emergency Caesarean sections, both types of trauma that frequently lead to PTSD, and they found really promising reductions in symptoms in both of those clinical cases.

后来，我的合作伙伴将这个方法 应用到了临床受试群体中。 他们在交通事故幸存者 和进行了紧急剖腹产的母亲身上 试验了这种疗法， 这两种创伤都经常会导致 创伤后应激障碍， 并且他们在这两种临床案例中 都发现症状得到了相当可观的缓解。

15:30

So although there is still much to learn and procedures to optimize, these memory-destroying treatments hold great promise for the treatment of mental health disorders like PTSD. Maybe trauma memories do not need to be a hell from which we cannot escape.

虽然还有不少未知， 还有过程需要优化， 这些破坏记忆的疗法 能为治疗创伤后应激障碍 这样的心理疾病 带来很大希望。 或许创伤性记忆不再会是 我们无法逃离的地狱。

15:48

I believe that this approach should allow those who want to to turn the page on chapters of their lives that they would prefer to never have experienced, and so improve our mental health.

我相信这种方法 能让那些有需要的人们 翻过他们宁愿不曾经历的 人生篇章， 以此改善我们的心理健康。

16:00

Thank you.

谢谢。

16:01

(Applause)

（掌声）