成年大脑如何改变:连接比“新增 neuron”更关键
00:00:00–00:17:00Insight
- 节目区分了 adult neurogenesis 与更广义的 plasticity,提醒不能把“长出新 neuron”当成学习改善的主要解释(约 00:08:00)。
- 老年人仍能通过新语言、乐器和复杂协调动作改善受训功能,关键是任务的新颖度、持续投入和适当难度(约 00:13:00–00:17:00)。
主持人 There's a much more recent study that took again older adults and randomized them across three different groups. One was like a low-intensity group. Another group basically did kind of zone 2 type work on a treadmill three times a week. And the third group did um a high-intensity interval training intervention which was the Norwegian 4x4 protocol. So 4 minutes at 85 to 95% of maximum heart rate. They had a 3minut rest in their protocol. They did that four times over. 有一项更新的研究同样招募 older adults,并随机分为三组:low-intensity 组;每周三次在 treadmill 上进行类似 Zone 2 训练的组;以及采用 Norwegian 4x4 protocol 的 high-intensity interval training 组,即以最大 heart rate 的 85% 到 95% 训练 4 分钟,休息 3 分钟,重复四轮。
嘉宾 That was three times a week. 每周三次。
主持人 Three times a week for 6 months. That's pretty intense. But what they showed was that that highintensity interval training group, they improved their fitness just as well as the zone 2 group, interestingly, but they had much better improvements in hypocample function and maintenance of hypocample structure and MRI scan. And they maintained that benefit for 5 years after the six-month intervention. 每周三次,持续六个月,强度很高。结果显示,HIIT 组 fitness 改善与 Zone 2 组相当;有意思的是,其 hippocampal function 改善、hippocampal structure 在 MRI 上的维持更好,而且六个月 intervention 结束五年后仍保留 benefit。他们苦练六个月,但效果维持了很长时间。
So they worked really hard for 6 months, but that that benefit was maintained for for a really long period of time. Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life. I'm Andrew Huberman and I'm a professor of neurobiology and opthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. My guest today is Dr. Tommy Wood. Dr. Tommy Wood is a medical doctor and neuroscience researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle. 欢迎来到 Huberman Lab Podcast,我们讨论 science 以及适用于日常生活的 science-based tools。 [音乐] 我是 Andrew Huberman,Stanford School of Medicine 的 Neurobiology 与 Ophthalmology professor。
He is also the chief science officer of BetterBrain, a company that provides free brain health coaching. Tommy is an expert in neuroplasticity and human performance and how science-based protocols can be used to improve your focus, ability to learn, and skill expression. His work applies to everyone from the novice to the elite expert, and for all kinds of skills, cognitive, language skills, athletic, and creative endeavors. 今天的嘉宾是 Dr. Tommy Wood,他是 medical doctor,也是 Seattle 的 University of Washington neuroscience researcher,同时还是BetterBrain 的 chief science officer;该公司提供免费 brain-health coaching。 Tommy 专长于 neuroplasticity、human performance,以及怎样用 science-based protocols 改善 focus、learning ability 与 skill expression。
Today, we discuss the brain states that favor learning and importantly, how to get yourself into those states. We also discuss how to get the most from a learning session. for instance, how long that session should last, how many sessions to do per day, and perhaps most importantly, how to tune your mind and body to get better at learning. 他的工作适用于 novices 到 elite experts,也涵盖 cognitive、language、athletic 和 creative skills。
That's something we don't often hear in the context of learning and neuroplasticity, that our brain circuits for focusing and learning are also capable of plasticity, meaning you can literally get better at getting better. Today, we discuss things like flow states and something called a clutch state, which is a seldom mentioned but critical brain state to accelerate learning and performance. 今天我们讨论有利于learning 的 brain states,更重要的是怎样进入这些 states;也讨论怎样充分利用一次 learning session,例如时长、每天次数,以及最重要的:怎样调节 mind/body,让自己更善于学习。 learning 和 neuroplasticity 语境中很少强调这一点:负责 focus 和 learning 的 brain circuits 自身也有 plasticity,意味着你可以真正变得更善于。
In fact, a clutch state is the state that you want to seek to learn and perform at your best. We also discuss how different types of physical exercise from long slow cardio to brief high-intensity cardio and different forms of resistance training each open the window for distinct types of neuroplasticity and learning. So, this goes way beyond the general discussion about exercise improving your brain. 让自己进步。我们谈 flow states,以及较少被提及但对加速 learning/performance 很关键的 clutch state;事实上,想达到最佳 learning 和 performance,应追求 clutch state。
We get really granular about exactly what types of things to do to improve your brain in specific ways. As a career neuroscientist who has worked on and taught neuroplasticity for decades now, it's rare that I encounter someone with as deep knowledge about the real science and application of learning and plasticity as Tommy has. He's also extremely unique because he has a ton of knowledge about new science-based protocols for plasticity. And he's also an athlete. 还会谈不同 physical exercise:long slow cardio、短时 high-intensity cardio、不同 resistance training,如何分别打开不同 neuroplasticity 和 learning window。这远超一般的“exercise 改善 brain”讨论,会具体到做什么能以特定方式改善 brain。作为从事并教授 neuroplasticity 数十年的 neuroscientist,我很少遇到像 Tommy 这样同时深入理解 learning/plasticity 的真正 science 和应用的人。
We discuss that a little bit at the end as well. So today you will hear a lot of information that I am confident you have not heard on this podcast or anywhere else frankly about exercise, mental training, nutrition and supplementation and much more and how you can leverage each alone and in combination to learn new skills with accelerated speed, precision and durability over time. 他还很独特,因为掌握大量新的 science-based plasticity protocols,而且本人也是athlete,结尾也会谈。因此今天会听到很多你可能从未在本节目或其他地方听过的信息:exercise、mental training、nutrition、supplementation 等,以及怎样单独或组合利用它们,以更快速度、更高 precision 和长期 durability 学会 skills。
I should also mention that Tommy recently released a new book that he wrote entitled The Stimulated Mind: Futureproof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age. It's an excellent book if you're interested in following up on today's discussion and learning more about how you can make your brain better at any age. Before we begin, I'd like to emphasize that this podcast is separate from my teaching and research roles at Stanford. Tommy 最近还出版新书《The Stimulated Mind: Futureproof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age》。如果想继续了解今天内容及任何年龄怎样改善 brain,这是一本很好的书。
It is however part of my desire and effort to bring zero cost to consumer information about science and science related tools to the general public. In keeping with that theme,today's episode does include sponsors. And now for my discussion with Dr. Tommy Wood. Dr. Tommy Wood, welcome. 开始前强调:本 podcast 与我在 Stanford 的 teaching/research role 分开,但属于我向公众免费提供 science 和 science-related tools 的努力。按照这一主题,本集包含 sponsors。现在开始和 Dr. Tommy Wood 的对话。欢迎。
嘉宾 So amazing to be here. Thanks so much for having me. 很高兴来,谢谢邀请。
主持人 Man, this is my favorite topic in the entire world. What is more interesting than neuroplasticity, right? The brain is so interesting, but its most interesting feature in my opinion anyway, is that it can change itself. 这是我全世界最喜欢的话题。还有什么比 neuroplasticity 更有意思?brain 很有趣,而它最有趣的 feature 是能改变自己。
嘉宾 Essentially, that's its core most important function. If it can't do that, literally none of the other functions matter. You could you could argue and it's something that we have to be able to do right until the end of our end of our lives. You have an eclectic research tapestry, right? Today we're going to talk about neuroplasticity, what it is, what it isn't, how to access it for men, for women, different ages, and you also are a high performance coach. 本质上这是它最核心、最重要的 function;如果不能做到,其他 functions。都不重要。而且直到生命结束,我们都必须具备这种能力。你的 research tapestry 很多元。今天会谈 neuroplasticity 是什么、不是什么,men、women、不同年龄怎样 access;你也是 high-performance coach 和参赛的 natural strongman。
You're also a competing natural strongman.
主持人 Uhhuh. 嗯。
嘉宾 Yeah. Yeah. Uh does that mean lifetime no gear? Lifetime. Well, it's tested. I Yeah. Lifetime no gear for me personally, but it's a drug tested version of the strongman sport. So yeah, if you uh if you compete in natural strongman, then you you get tested. Great. So we'll we'll talk about that. I'll resist the temptation to talk about your two boxer pups because I'm a dog lover. That's a different episode. Neuroplasticity. I know what it means to me. 这是否意味着一辈子没用 performance-enhancing drugs?对。我参加的是 drug-tested strongman,个人终身没用。参加 natural strongman 就会被检测。很好,之后谈。先忍住不谈你的两只 boxer puppies,[吸气] 我爱狗,那是另一集。 Neuroplasticity 对我有特定含义。你怎样 conceptualize?
How do you conceptualize it? How do you think people should think about it in terms of wanting to learn things and not forget things? I essentially just think of it as the brain responding to inputs in order for us to then be able to better navigate and survive our environment. And that's why I think it's such a fundamental part of what the brain does. 对于想学习且不遗忘的人,应怎样理解?我把它理解为 brain 对 inputs 作出 response,使我们更好地 navigate environment 并 survive;所以它是 brain 的 fundamental function。
And essentially every time you learn something, interact with something, remember something, the principles of neuroplasticity are engaged, right? you are making new sinapses or strengthening sinapses, weakening other synapses. A lot of people don't realize that particularly brain development, but then also the refining of functions in the brain through neuroplasticity includes the pruning or removal of signapses. 每次学习、与某物 interact、记住某事,neuroplasticity principles 都会参与:形成新 synapses、strengthen 一些、weaken 另一些。很多人没意识到,brain development 以及通过 neuroplasticity refine function,还包括 pruning/removal of synapses。
Often we think about it's all about growth and new connections, but actually it also involves the refining or removal of of other connections that aren't needed. 我们常以为全是 growth 和 new connections,其实也会 refine 或移除不需要的 connections。
That's that's a massive part of of brain development in the first place. And this is a process that's essentially continuously on ongoing and you can think of it as it primary role is so that you can navigate survive the world around you and that's through learning skills through remembering people and things and facts. 这本来就是早期 brain development 的重要部分,而且过程持续进行。它的主要作用是让你 navigate/survive 世界,通过学习 skills、记住 people、things 和 facts。
Um, and where I one of the one of the things that's most interesting to me about neuroplasticity and the way we think about our brains over time is that I think people have uh conflated neurogenesis and neuroplasticity. Mhm. So when we're thinking about brain development, we're thinking about um then also brain function over with with age and either cognitive decline or maintaining cognitive function. We thought that the adult brain was was fixed, right? Neuroplasticity 以及我们怎样看 brain 随时间变化,其中一个我最感兴趣的点是人们混淆了 neurogenesis 与 neuroplasticity。嗯。 [吸气]谈 brain development、随年龄变化的 function、cognitive decline 或保持 cognitive function 时,我们。
Um or or then it was fixed and then it lost function. And this goes all the way back to Kahal who said the adult brain is immutable, right? He told us that you got into adulthood, it finished developing and then it was kind of done. He then at other times also said that changes in the connections between neurons could explain learning. And so there he's talking about neuroplasticity. 过去认为 adult brain 是 fixed,之后只会 loss of function。这可追溯到 Cajal,他说 adult brain immutable:成年时 development 完成,之后定型。但他也说 neuron connections 的变化可以解释 learning,这其实是在谈 neuroplasticity。
But we we kind of got this idea that the brain was essentially fixed as an adult and then you know couldn't change anymore. But that can't be true because you still learn and remember things on a daily basis as as an adult. One of the things that I think we've gotten um confused about is the fact that the adult brain does not make new neurons in many places, right? maybe in the alactory bulbs in the dentus of the hippocampus, but tiny tiny number. 我们却形成了 adult brain 基本 fixed、不能再改变的观念。但这不可能,因为 adult 每天仍在 learn 和记忆。混淆来自 adult brain 多数区域不产生 new neurons;也许 olfactory bulbs 或 hippocampus dentate gyrus 有极少量,对,相比整个 brain 几乎没有新 cells。
Yeah. But like compared to the rest of the brain, they're not you're not really making new cells. And so because of that, we thought, well, we can't then grow and adapt or change our brains as adults. But just because we have a fixed relatively fixed number of cells doesn't mean that we can't change the connections between those cells. And that's happening all the time. And that is, you know, the main principle of neuroplasticity. 于是我们以为成年后不能grow、adapt 或 change brain。但 cell number 相对 fixed,不代表 cells 之间的 connections 不能改变;它一直在发生,这就是 neuroplasticity 的主要 principle。
主持人 Yeah, I like your definition. Um, in part because I agree with it. in part because it encapsulates a lot of uh things including u helping to clear up this misconception that you know we generate new neurons. I think 我喜欢这个 definition,一方面因为同意,也因为它澄清了“会产生 new neurons”的 misconception。
嘉宾 the attractiveness of the new neuron idea is just uh it's so sticky. Um and so we would all love to believe that. Yeah. But maybe there's good reason why we don't add new neurons. Maybe maybe it's uh not adaptive, right? Adding new elements to a circuit is maybe not the best way to change a brain circuit. I think people also like the idea that, you know, every organ in our body turns over its cells. That we're not the same person literally that we were. new-neuron idea 很有吸引力,令人难忘。我们都愿意相信。对。但不增加 new neurons 也许有好理由;向 circuit 加新 elements 可能并非改变 brain circuit 的最佳方式。人们也喜欢“body 每个 organ 都会 cell turnover,所以现在不是原来的自己”这类说法;brain 却基本还是出生时那些 cells,。
The brain is same cells you were born with, minus a bunch of them that die off, as you pointed out. And thank you for mentioning pruning and the and the removal of connections as a fundamental uh aspect of plasticity in terms of um motor skill learning. Um let's say I decide I'm going to um practice billiards. 减去死亡的一部分。谢谢你提到 pruning 和 removal of connections 是 plasticity 的 fundamental aspect。以 motor-skill learning 为例,假设我练 billiards;
主持人 Mhm. and I'm okay now. Hang in there. But let's say I want to get really good as I learn and get better and better. Can we reliably say that uh most of my improvement is the removal of inappropriate action and therefore synaptic connections. 嗯。现在水平还行,但想变得非常好。随着进步,能否说大部分 improvement 来自移除 inappropriate actions,因此移除对应 synaptic connections?
嘉宾 I don't know whether it's the majority. You might know whether it's the majority, but I think that there certainly you it requires both, right? the either the development or strengthening of new connections and then the removal of other connections that decrease accuracy say or that don't allow you to do the exact motion that you were intending to do. This, like I said, kind of goes all the way back to the development of motor skills, say in childhood, right? 我不知道是否占多数,也许你知道;但肯定两者都需要:形成/strengthen new connections,。再移除降低 accuracy、妨碍完成 intended motion 的 connections。这可追溯到 childhood motor-skill development。
The brain has kind of finished developing new neurons sometime around 2 or 3 years old, right? Beyond that point, you're actually primarily removing connections in order to refine uh functions based on the exposures that you have, be they language, motor, social skills, which is what the brain is essentially developing during that time period. So then that continues throughout our entire lives. brain 大约在两三岁完成 new neurons 的主要形成;之后主要通过移除 connections,依据 exposures refine functions,包括 language、motor、social skills——这是该阶段 brain 发展的内容。
And I think that uh something that happens later in life, one of the reasons why we may lose function is because we stop giving the brain inputs to maintain a given function. Therefore, that pruning continues, right? I don't need to learn know how to do this. So, I'm going to refine that away. That's kind of the developmental theory of aging or part of the developmental theory of aging. 之后一生持续。 later life 可能 loss of function,一个原因是我们停止给 brain 维持某项 function 所需 inputs,于是 pruning 继续:“我不需要会这个,就把它 refine 掉。 ”这属于 developmental theory of aging 的一部分。
So in that you know when you're learning a skill as an adult or anytime a big part of refining that motor patterns that you're developing has to be the removal of connections that are or you know the down reggulation of connections that aren't allowing you to to do the skill that you want to do. If you were to tell people, look, you want to keep your brain as young as it can possibly be relative to your chronological age,you should what? 因此任何年龄学习 skill,refine motor patterns 的重要环节都必须包括 connections removal。也就是 down-regulate 妨碍你完成目标 skill 的 connections。如果告诉大家:想让 brain 相对 chronological age 尽可能年轻,应该做什么?
Like it it so this is a general brain health question, but really I'm specifically asking about plasticity and let's make it multiple choice and then you can add things to it. Okay, 这是一般 brain-health 问题,但我特别问 plasticity。 [清嗓] 我们做成 multiple choice,你再补充。
主持人 you should exercise. So it can be multiple things and then we'll talk about which types of exercise. you should continue to do the things that you already know how to do. Yeah. And then third option um not mutually exclusive with the others of course is uh you should try to do new things that you can't already do. I I still toil with this when I look at the literature on neuroplasticity and aging,right? Like yes, use it or lose it is true, 应该 exercise,这是多个答案之一,之后谈哪类 exercise。应该继续做已会的事。对。第三项与前面不互斥:尝试做尚且不会的新事。我看 neuroplasticity 与 aging literature 时仍会纠结。“Use it or lose it”确实成立,
嘉宾 but we're also told that novelty and trying things that we're not good at is an essential component of building out brain circuits, continuing to make them function better as we get older. So, how do you how do you think about all of that? I'll partly answer your last question and then maybe give a framework for how I think about it. 但 novelty、尝试不擅长的事也被说成建立 brain circuits、使 aging brain 继续改善的 essential component。你怎样综合?我先部分回答最后问题,再给 framework。
So when you look at a combination of epidemiological studies and intervention studies in older adults, everything about maintaining cognitive function later in life, you definitely see that those who continue to engage in hobbies and activities that are cognitively engaging or cognitively demanding and that can be lectures, that can be um volunteering, that can be you know reading crosswords, that kind of stuff. those individuals tend to either have slowed rates of decline or better maintenance of function over time and or lower rates of dementia. 综合 epidemiological 和 intervention studies,看 older adults 晚年维持 cognitive function,会发现持续参与 cognitively engaging/demanding hobbies 与 activities——lectures、volunteering、reading、crosswords 等——的人,往往 decline rate 更慢、function 维持更好,和/或。 dementia rate 更低。
That's of course observational, right? But that's usually people continuing to engage in the things that you know they've already been doing, right? So they're holding on to what they've got. Holding on to what they've got by continuing to do that. Okay. Now, of course, it could partly be reverse causation because if you're maintaining function, then you will you're more likely to continue to do the things that that you enjoy doing, right? 当然这是 observational,且通常是继续做已经在做的事。保住所拥有的能力。对。也可能部分是 reverse causation:function 维持得好,才更可能继续喜欢的 activities,所以可能双向影响。
So, there's probably it probably goes in both both directions. However, there's an increasing body of literature that shows that by engaging older adults in novel cognitive activities, you see improvements in function. So that can be language learning. Uh that can be uh complex like coordinative movement or exercise. 不过,越来越多 literature 显示,让 older adults 参与 novel cognitive activities 会改善 function,例如 language learning、complex coordinative movement/exercise、musical training(学新 instrument、music theory、辨别 patterns)。
You see the same things with um like musical training like people learning a new musical instrument or learning um musical theory trying to identify different patterns in music. And you see in randomized control trials improvements particularly in executive function that seems to be most common across those different interventions. But you're seeing um improvements in cognitive function with novel cognitive stimuli. randomized controlled trials 中,最常见的是 executive function 改善;novel cognitive stimuli 能改善 cognitive function。
Uh there's a lot of uh recent trials that have also used types of brain training um things like the pointer trial that was here in the US maintain your brain which is a massive online study done in Australia recently and that's sort of broad cognitive training with like an online cognitive training platform. So again it's it's a new uh or novel um intervention or exposure that seems to provide a stimulus that improves function. 近期许多 trials 还用 brain training,例如美国 POINTER trial、Australia 大型 online study Maintain Your Brain,它们使用 online cognitive-training platform 做 broad cognitive training。这也是 novel intervention/exposure,似乎提供改善 function 的 stimulus。
So, I think both can be or do seem to be important. 所以两者看来都重要。
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嘉宾 Can I ask what um for an example of maybe one or two of the things that were in that large-scale trial from Australia, like just at a at a very top contour level, um older adults, meaning 65 and older, um are doing what? The maintain your brain uh study was actually it was um sort of midlife kind of uh 50s and 50s and 60s mainly and they actually had interventions across four different domains based on risk factors within that given individual. 能否高层举一两个 Australia 大型 trial 的内容? older adults,比如 65 岁以上,具体做什么? Maintain Your Brain study 其实主要是 midlife,50s 和 60s;它根据 individual risk factors 在四个 domains intervention:dietary、physical activity、cognitive。