0:00:02 > 0:00:06We like to believe we're in control of everything we do,
0:00:06 > 0:00:09everything we think and everything we feel.
0:00:11 > 0:00:17But scientists are discovering that at every moment of our lives,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20an unseen presence is guiding us all.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Now, they're exploring the secret world of your unconscious mind.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34It's why we feel a certain way, why we think a certain way,
0:00:34 > 0:00:38it's why we are the way we are.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Long associated with dark desires,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45the real nature of the unconscious is becoming clear.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49The unconscious, it's not a primal, unruly, animal thing.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53It's, in fact, one of the most sophisticated things we have.
0:00:55 > 0:01:01New experiments are now revealing that what you think you do
0:01:01 > 0:01:06and what you really do can be very different.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Most of the time we're on cruise control.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12From what you eat to who you love,
0:01:12 > 0:01:17your unconscious can actually call the shots.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20And because it is so powerful,
0:01:20 > 0:01:24scientists are finding ways to harness its hidden potential.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27If you think that the internet and Facebook have caused a revolution,
0:01:27 > 0:01:31wait until you see what happens when we really understand the human brain.
0:01:31 > 0:01:36If you think you're really in control of your life,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39you may have to think again.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52A normal street in a normal town.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57But there's more here than meets the eye.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09Each day, life whirls around you in a hectic blur.
0:02:11 > 0:02:12So just stop.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Take a moment.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Have a proper look around.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25It really is a busy, cluttered world out there.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31How much of all this are you actually aware of?
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Scientists are trying to find out.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44They're investigating the limits of how much anyone can consciously take in at once.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51We have a sense of seeing this continuous world
0:02:51 > 0:02:54that's unravelling continuously around us.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58And that's probably not what we're picking up from the world at all.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01For example, we move our eyes about five times a second -
0:03:01 > 0:03:03incredibly rapid eye movements.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06It's probably the fastest movements that our bodies can make,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08these ballistic eye movements.
0:03:08 > 0:03:13What we're really doing is taking snapshots every time we glance at something
0:03:13 > 0:03:17and in between, where the world would be whizzing by our retinas, we're blind.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20And then if we look within a given snapshot,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24you think, at least within a given snapshot this is the world and I sense it,
0:03:24 > 0:03:29but when we try to get down and measure what a person actually takes in in any given glance,
0:03:29 > 0:03:31it's hard to estimate.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Finding out how much someone can take in from the snapshot
0:03:36 > 0:03:42of a single glance can reveal their brain's ability.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45- OK, George, do you want to take a seat?- Yeah.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50It's a subject being studied in the University of Oxford's Brain and Cognition Laboratory.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52We're going to try not to squish your head
0:03:52 > 0:03:54so let me know when you touch.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Graduate student George is today's guinea pig.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00I think you're there, yeah.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04I'm also going to give you this fibre optic response pad.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07OK.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Using these four shapes on screen,
0:04:10 > 0:04:14today's test will find out how much George can consciously take in.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19He'll have 200 milliseconds, the duration of single glance,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22to remember the shapes' positions.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Just one will then reappear
0:04:27 > 0:04:30but its orientation has changed.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36George's task, based on that brief glimpse,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39is to choose whether it's been rotated left or right.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44This is how it first appeared.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47In this case, it was rotated to the right.
0:04:48 > 0:04:54By doing this, we'll be able to compute how many of these four objects
0:04:54 > 0:04:56he was actually able to hold in his mind.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Try it yourself.
0:04:58 > 0:05:04Remember, you have to decide whether the object that reappears
0:05:04 > 0:05:08has rotated left or right from its original position.
0:05:15 > 0:05:16Left.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Try again.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Left again.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Not easy, is it?
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Most of us would probably think before an experiment like that
0:05:32 > 0:05:35that any one of us can hold four simple coloured shapes in mind
0:05:35 > 0:05:38and be able to respond about them after a second.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41In fact, we see that not to be the case.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46George had to hold in mind the position of just four shapes.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50He couldn't do it. He couldn't even manage three.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Averaged over the test, he remembered 2.8.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58This figure represents the approximate number of things
0:05:58 > 0:06:02that George's brain can consciously deal with at any one time.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07And this result is typical for everyone.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09This simple screen contains more things
0:06:09 > 0:06:12than you can consciously handle.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17Your conscious mind can cope with no more than two or three tasks at once.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23So it just shows us how amazingly limited our perceptual awareness is
0:06:23 > 0:06:28even once we've stripped down the world to, you know, an absurd level.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33So take another look around.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Even now, there's more going on than you can consciously take in.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44The sense that you're aware of everything occurring around you
0:06:44 > 0:06:47is nothing more than one of life's greatest illusions.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55But if your conscious mind can deal with only a fraction of the things that happen to you each day,
0:06:55 > 0:07:00something else must be responsible for all the rest.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06And this is where the hidden processes
0:07:06 > 0:07:09of your unconscious mind come in.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15Often associated with dreams and repressed desires,
0:07:15 > 0:07:20the unconscious is now starting to reveal its true power.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29But how big a role do scientists think it plays in your life?
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Imagine that sheet of paper represents everything the brain can do,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42how much do you think is conscious and how much is unconscious?
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Wow. That's an interesting question.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50How much is conscious and how much is not conscious?
0:07:52 > 0:07:55You're not serious.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57You are?
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Now that's a very tricky thing to do.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02That is very interesting.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06I guess, if I had to guess...
0:08:07 > 0:08:11..I would say that if this is everything the brain can do...
0:08:12 > 0:08:16..about this much...
0:08:16 > 0:08:17is conscious.
0:08:17 > 0:08:24Erm, I would say maybe something like that.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Out of the whole bit of paper.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32I would say about this much is conscious.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37So if this whole sheet of paper was...? OK.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47I will probably draw something small in the middle like that
0:08:47 > 0:08:49to represent the conscious bit.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52That's my...guess.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55I have no idea.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Scientists agree that the role played by your conscious mind
0:09:05 > 0:09:08is much smaller than previously thought...
0:09:09 > 0:09:12..which raises a puzzling question.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Are you in control of your unconscious
0:09:15 > 0:09:19or is it in control of you?
0:09:23 > 0:09:29To find out, scientists need to reveal the strategies it uses to guide you.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34The problem is, unconscious strategies are shrouded in secrecy.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42Here in Ohio, Dr Dennis Shaffer is attempting to reveal them
0:09:42 > 0:09:44in an unusual experiment.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52He has spent his career investigating the hidden workings of the unconscious mind.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54The strategies that are used by the brain,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57we're typically not consciously aware of.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01There's a huge discrepancy between the strategies that we use
0:10:01 > 0:10:04and, kind of, our conscious expectations of those.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09These volunteers don't realise it,
0:10:09 > 0:10:13but Dennis will be comparing what they consciously think they do
0:10:13 > 0:10:17with the real strategies at work in their unconscious minds.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20And, to do it, he'll be using...
0:10:21 > 0:10:23..this.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27What you're going to be doing today is chasing this toy helicopter.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30We're going to put this video camera over your head
0:10:30 > 0:10:33so we get the perspective of what you're seeing.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41Each participant believes they have their own personal strategy for catching the helicopter.
0:10:42 > 0:10:48The question is, is this what's really going on in their heads?
0:10:48 > 0:10:52First up, Trish. Her strategy is speed.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57As far as key strategy, I'd say you've got to focus on
0:10:57 > 0:11:02keeping your eye on the helicopter and keeping a steady speed.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13Next up, Sid. His strategy is all about positioning.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17My strategy's to make sure each time it moves,
0:11:17 > 0:11:22I move just as quickly to stay below the helicopter.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31For Keith, it's all about angles.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35You've got to get it right on its angle of approach towards the ground,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39looking at the whole line of the arc.
0:11:41 > 0:11:48So do these personal strategies represent what's actually happening in their unconscious minds?
0:11:48 > 0:11:53Dennis now has enough head camera footage to find out.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58So what we're doing is identifying where the helicopter is positioned
0:11:58 > 0:12:03relative to the background scenery from the pursuer's perspective.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Having chosen a background point for reference,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Dennis marks the helicopter's position
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and then advances the video a few frames.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19The helicopter's new position is now recorded.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23The process is repeated,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26gradually mapping what the flight path of the helicopter
0:12:26 > 0:12:30looked like to the pursuer throughout the entire pursuit.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Despite the random path taken by the helicopter,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36a pattern soon begins to emerge.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44What this shows is that what the pursuers are doing is moving in such a way
0:12:44 > 0:12:48so as to keep the toy helicopter appearing to move
0:12:48 > 0:12:52relative to the background scenery in a straight line.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Remarkably, the exact same results are seen in every single person,
0:12:59 > 0:13:03regardless of the apparent chaos of their pursuit.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08As the helicopter moved, each of them adjusted their position
0:13:08 > 0:13:11so that, to them, it appeared to fly in a straight line
0:13:11 > 0:13:14against the background scenery.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19'From an outside appearance they may be running in different paths,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22'but the one constant is that they keep the toy helicopter
0:13:22 > 0:13:25'appearing to move in a straight line.'
0:13:26 > 0:13:29A beautifully simple, unconscious algorithm
0:13:29 > 0:13:31hardwired into the head of every pursuer
0:13:31 > 0:13:36is responsible for getting them to the right spot.
0:13:36 > 0:13:37THEY APPLAUD AND WHISTLE
0:13:37 > 0:13:41This is not something that they're consciously aware that they're doing.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42It's all about patience.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47And you can demonstrate that just by asking them how they do it.
0:13:47 > 0:13:48Keeping a steady speed.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50And it's not going to match up to this at all.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Go criss-cross, feet over feet.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59So, although you might think you're conscious of everything you do,
0:13:59 > 0:14:04this experiment reveals that your unconscious is often in control...
0:14:04 > 0:14:07employing its own rapid, efficient strategies
0:14:07 > 0:14:09to guide your every step through life.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21But how does your unconscious make these split-second decisions?
0:14:22 > 0:14:25For scientists, it's a complex question.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30So, for help, they're turning to creatures
0:14:30 > 0:14:32that might display the same characteristics
0:14:32 > 0:14:35as the neurons which make up the brain.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Rock ants.
0:14:39 > 0:14:45At little over 2mm long, rock ants don't amount to much on their own
0:14:45 > 0:14:48but their collective decision-making behaviour
0:14:48 > 0:14:51is providing insights into the sophisticated way
0:14:51 > 0:14:55that your unconscious mind might work.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59What we can do with these ants is...
0:14:59 > 0:15:05we can hold an entire ant colony in a small Petri dish, like this,
0:15:05 > 0:15:10and we can think of each individual worker as an excitable, activatable unit
0:15:10 > 0:15:13and that has a parallel with neurons in our brains,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15that are units that are wired together
0:15:15 > 0:15:19that get more and more excited and can excite one another.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25But studying the similarities between ant decision-making
0:15:25 > 0:15:29and the workings of the brain is no easy job.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34To do this, ants need to be identifiable...
0:15:36 > 0:15:38..and that means each one needs to be given
0:15:38 > 0:15:41a microscopic radio tag "rucksack".
0:15:43 > 0:15:45It's is an intricate task.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Each ant is anaesthetised before the radio tag is glued to its back.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58These transmitters, just half a millimetre across,
0:15:58 > 0:16:00will allow each ant to be tracked.
0:16:01 > 0:16:07Tagging complete, the entire colony is now presented with a momentous decision -
0:16:07 > 0:16:09choosing a new home.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15Right, so what we have to do is bring in the colony
0:16:15 > 0:16:18that is going to have to make the decision
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and they've been living very nicely in this microscope slide nest
0:16:21 > 0:16:26and essentially what we're going to do is be a little bit beastly to them
0:16:26 > 0:16:29but not too much, we're going to actually have to
0:16:29 > 0:16:31destroy this nest by taking off the roof.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34So, in a flash, this colony will be homeless
0:16:34 > 0:16:37and they'll have to find a new nest.
0:16:38 > 0:16:39So, there I go...
0:16:40 > 0:16:44..and all of a sudden there are draughts racing in there
0:16:44 > 0:16:46and they, you know, howling gales
0:16:46 > 0:16:49from the perspective of an individual ant,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51and they're spilling out in all directions,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53looking for a new place to live.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57The ants' search will take them to the other end of the arena,
0:16:57 > 0:17:01where Professor Franks has placed two alternative new homes.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05Each has a laser radio tag reader over the door
0:17:05 > 0:17:08to monitor which ants visit.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11But the similarities end here.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16The left-hand nest is darker - a more likely choice for the ants.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20So, we're trying to give them a very obvious and simple choice
0:17:20 > 0:17:23between a really good nest and a rather mediocre one
0:17:23 > 0:17:25and we'll see how they perform.
0:17:27 > 0:17:33It doesn't take long for individual ants to discover particular nests,
0:17:33 > 0:17:37but how do they collectively decide which is best?
0:17:37 > 0:17:41The colony's dilemma represents the instinctive, split-second choices
0:17:41 > 0:17:44which your unconscious faces each day.
0:17:47 > 0:17:48To solve the problem,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52the ants now start working together democratically,
0:17:52 > 0:17:53just like neurons,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56to reach a consensus on the best possible decision.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00If an ant likes what it finds,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03it returns to the old nest to recruit a follower,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05which it leads back to the new site.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13Here, the second ant will conduct its own independent survey.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16So, basically, you've got two populations that are being recruited,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19one to this particular nest
0:18:19 > 0:18:23and the other population to the alternative.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25As the experiment progresses,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29the population of ants in favour of the darker nest snowballs.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35By sharing information, the ants are building up a group picture
0:18:35 > 0:18:38of their surrounding environment.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43Soon they're finding so many other ants in the darker nest
0:18:43 > 0:18:46that they pass a threshold, the quorum threshold,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50and the group decides that this must be the best choice.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52This will be their new home.
0:18:56 > 0:19:01When it comes to decision-making, the wisdom of the crowd prevails.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05In ant colony and brain, it's a wonderfully efficient system.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10In both systems, you can have these populations
0:19:10 > 0:19:12growing up to a particular threshold,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16a sort of quorum threshold, if you will, where it's a tipping point,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20where the whole system will change from one behaviour to another.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Most remarkably of all, both systems can vary the threshold
0:19:27 > 0:19:29based on the urgency of the decision.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35'The quorum isn't fixed, it's beautifully flexible,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38'they can lower the threshold in an emergency'
0:19:38 > 0:19:41or they can raise the threshold when they've got all the time in the world,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44it's a beautiful decision-making system.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49This ability to weigh up the pros and cons
0:19:49 > 0:19:51as everything changes around you
0:19:51 > 0:19:55is one of your unconscious mind's most vital skills.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01Yet even this only scratches the surface of how it shapes your life.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09Because every day your unconscious can resort to the slyest of tricks.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19Wherever life takes you,
0:20:19 > 0:20:24your unconscious will be subtly shaping the illusion that you call reality.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Take a place like this, a world of temptation.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36Now you know that life's little luxuries come with a health warning
0:20:36 > 0:20:40but chances are you indulge anyway,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43all the while remaining optimistic about your future well-being.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47Dr Tali Sharot wants to know why.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54'Think, for example, about eating food that's not good for you,'
0:20:54 > 0:21:00like these lovely cupcakes, or smoking, or unprotected sex.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05All of these examples are examples in which people act in a way
0:21:05 > 0:21:07that's maybe rewarding for them at present
0:21:07 > 0:21:10but can be very harmful in the future.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13It seems we're all optimists.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17Despite the risks, we just carry on anyway.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22From health to finance, to how we drive,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25negative information doesn't really sink in.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28'We go through life experiencing heartache and failure'
0:21:28 > 0:21:31but still we remain optimistic and that's a great puzzle.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35How is it that we remain optimistic in the face of reality?
0:21:43 > 0:21:49To find out why takes scientists deep into the machinery of the mind.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53And finally, I'm going to put this on top...
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Today, Tali is using a brain scanner
0:21:56 > 0:22:01to find out why we ignore so much of the negative information that comes our way.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11OK, Tom, so, we're about to start the experiment now.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14To do this, she'll be asking volunteer Tom
0:22:14 > 0:22:17to predict his chances of experiencing
0:22:17 > 0:22:21a selection of 80 different negative events in the future.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27So, we're recording Tom's brain activity and what you can see here
0:22:27 > 0:22:32is actually what Tom is looking at in the scanner, through his mirror.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34For example, he will see the word "cancer",
0:22:34 > 0:22:36and then he will have to estimate how likely it is
0:22:36 > 0:22:40that he will suffer from cancer in his lifetime.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45Tom reckons his chance of cancer is 18% and types it in.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50OK, so, now, we're going to show him the average likelihood
0:22:50 > 0:22:54of suffering from cancer, which is about 30% in the Western world.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00Tom has a moment to realise that he's underestimated his chance of cancer -
0:23:00 > 0:23:02he's been too optimistic.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08He's then presented with the next of the 80 negative events.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14With each one, he again gives his prediction
0:23:14 > 0:23:17before finding out the real statistic.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26When he reaches the last of the 80 events,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30the same list is repeated and he has to predict his chances again.
0:23:32 > 0:23:33'And what we're interested in,'
0:23:33 > 0:23:36is whether Tom is going to use information that we gave him,
0:23:36 > 0:23:38in order to change his beliefs.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Each time this experiment is performed,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48the results are most surprising.
0:23:49 > 0:23:54So what we found was that when you give people positive information about the future,
0:23:54 > 0:23:55for example, you tell them
0:23:55 > 0:23:58that their likelihood of suffering from Alzheimer's is lower
0:23:58 > 0:24:01than what they thought, they take on board the information.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05We all tend to update our views about the future
0:24:05 > 0:24:10when we receive new information suggesting things will turn out better for us than we thought.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11'However, when you give people'
0:24:11 > 0:24:14negative information about the future,
0:24:14 > 0:24:19for example, if they believe that their chances of suffering from Alzheimer's is only two percent
0:24:19 > 0:24:23and we tell them, well, the average is much higher than that,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26for example, it's ten percent, so this is negative information,
0:24:26 > 0:24:27they don't change their beliefs
0:24:27 > 0:24:31and they stick to this very optimistic view of the world.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37The scans show that the part of the brain
0:24:37 > 0:24:40that considers negative information about the future
0:24:40 > 0:24:42seems to malfunction.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44The part that deals with positive information
0:24:44 > 0:24:47appears much more active.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52It suggests that your brain wilfully ignores negative things
0:24:52 > 0:24:56and maintains a rose-tinted and inaccurate view of the world instead.
0:25:00 > 0:25:05It looks like the brain is not doing what it's supposed to be doing
0:25:05 > 0:25:07but the reason that our brain tricks us
0:25:07 > 0:25:10is because if we expect positive events in our future,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14stress and anxiety is reduced and that's good for our health.
0:25:15 > 0:25:19And there's another reason too.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23'I think if we expect to get ahead, if you expect the gold medal,'
0:25:23 > 0:25:27that motivates you to put in the effort to train,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30'you know, for four years before the Olympics, for example.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32'So, you might, at the end, not get the golden medal'
0:25:32 > 0:25:34but the idea is that you need to expect the gold medal
0:25:34 > 0:25:36in order to get the silver.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39'And so it acts as a motivation.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45'And that's why, I think, the brain has evolved to become optimistic.'
0:25:48 > 0:25:53This in-built tendency to optimistically ignore starkly obvious risks
0:25:53 > 0:25:56has been essential to our success as a species.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02If you think about things such as our ancestors deciding to go
0:26:02 > 0:26:05out of Africa and exploring the rest of the world,
0:26:05 > 0:26:07in order to explore something new,
0:26:07 > 0:26:11you have to imagine that there is something out there for you to find.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Something novel, and something better than what you have now
0:26:14 > 0:26:19because otherwise there is no need to go and discover other parts of the world,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21or even other parts of the universe.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32This is one of the most ingenious tricks of the unconscious.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36By making you view the world through rose-tinted glasses,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39it keeps you striving for a better future.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Taken together, the latest discoveries are starting to reveal
0:26:54 > 0:26:58that the sense you're consciously in control of everything you do
0:26:58 > 0:27:00is just an illusion.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05It's a sophisticated and intricate one but it's no luxury,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08it's a necessity
0:27:08 > 0:27:11because your very survival has long depended upon everything
0:27:11 > 0:27:15that your unconscious does for you behind the scenes.
0:27:20 > 0:27:25It's something that scientists are investigating in Oxford.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Taking part is GY, a volunteer who wishes to stay anonymous.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35When he was young, his visual cortex,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38the part of the brain that deals with vision,
0:27:38 > 0:27:40was damaged in an accident.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43In both eyes he's partly blind.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46He's able to see only to the left, not the right.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51'I don't actually see anything in my blind field.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53'It's a very strange phenomena.'
0:27:53 > 0:27:58Yet today's experiment will attempt to show something remarkable
0:27:58 > 0:28:01that, in the areas where he's blind,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04GY is somehow, instinctively, able to see.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10What I'm going to do is to present a stimulus
0:28:10 > 0:28:14moving upwards or downwards in GY's blind field
0:28:14 > 0:28:17and I'm simply going to ask him to indicate
0:28:17 > 0:28:19whether the stimulus moves up or down.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23'Now, this is a stimulus which he's unable to see.'
0:28:23 > 0:28:25- Ready?- Yep.
0:28:27 > 0:28:28Up.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Down.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Although GY can't consciously see the moving shape,
0:28:34 > 0:28:38he is required to guess which way it moves.
0:28:38 > 0:28:39Up.
0:28:41 > 0:28:42Down.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47After a number of trials, some compelling results come through.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54He was right on 37 out of 40 trials in that run,
0:28:54 > 0:28:57which is an extremely significant result.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Erm, so what this shows is that,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02despite the fact that he's clinically blind,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05he's capable of discriminating the direction of motion
0:29:05 > 0:29:07of something that's moving in his blind field.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Remarkable.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14This ability is known as blindsight.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20I don't actually see anything move at all,
0:29:20 > 0:29:22it's just an awareness of movement
0:29:22 > 0:29:25and I can detect the direction it goes in.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27That sounds really weird, doesn't it?
0:29:30 > 0:29:33Somehow, GY experiences movement,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36even though he can't properly see it himself.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41I always refer to it as a "visual experience,"
0:29:41 > 0:29:43but I don't actually see anything.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47Just, I know something and I don't know what, has gone up or down.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54So where does GY's blindsight stem from
0:29:54 > 0:29:56and why does this ability exist?
0:30:01 > 0:30:06It all comes down to the remarkable construction of the brain itself.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12With one hundred billion neurons connected by over
0:30:12 > 0:30:14one hundred trillion synapses,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17the human brain is immensely complicated.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23So this is what a human brain looks like.
0:30:23 > 0:30:28This is the front, this is the back, two cerebral hemispheres.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31And if we want to understand what's going on in blindsight,
0:30:31 > 0:30:36I need to show you a specimen that's been dissected already.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39And this is the inner surface of the hemisphere.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46And this region here is the primary visual cortex,
0:30:46 > 0:30:50which is the area that's damaged in blindsight.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53By interpreting signals flowing from the eyes,
0:30:53 > 0:30:57the visual cortex allows us to see the outside world.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02If it's damaged, like in GY, these signals aren't registered,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05even if the eyes are still working.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11But there is another, older, visual pathway from eyes to brain.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15As it turns out, only about 90 percent of the fibres
0:31:15 > 0:31:19leaving the eye terminate in the primary visual cortex.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21The remainder of the fibres
0:31:21 > 0:31:24head off to other centres in the brain.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26Most important of these is the superior colliculus,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29which you can see just here.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32Its name belies its size.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37In humans, the superior colliculus might be tiny.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44But in evolutionary terms, it's always been vital.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49In many other creatures it's one of the brain's biggest structures,
0:31:49 > 0:31:53geared to rapidly orienting the eyes toward sudden movements.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59This evolutionary remnant
0:31:59 > 0:32:03is where GY's blindsight is thought to come from.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Despite not being able to properly see,
0:32:08 > 0:32:11he retains a primal awareness of sudden movements,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14a sense that something is there.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19We need to not only be able to identify
0:32:19 > 0:32:21what's out there in the visual scene, but where they are.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23Because in the case of a predator,
0:32:23 > 0:32:26ultimately we need to take evasive action.
0:32:30 > 0:32:31GY's blindsight helps to show
0:32:31 > 0:32:34that in the human brain's long history,
0:32:34 > 0:32:37the unconscious preceded the conscious mind,
0:32:37 > 0:32:39but it wasn't replaced by it.
0:32:40 > 0:32:45It's still there today, hidden from view,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48but still on the lookout for danger.
0:32:54 > 0:32:59But there's another thing that the unconscious does for you each day.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06Take all those complex skills you've perfected in life.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13The truth is that once you've got the hang of them,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16you barely have to concentrate on them at all.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20They've become automatic, and unconsciously controlled.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27How this happens is one of neuroscience's biggest mysteries.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34And the place to solve it is here.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38The problem for Professor Julien Doyon
0:33:38 > 0:33:43is that little of what you learn in life can be done in a brain scanner.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47Obviously you have only 60 centimetres in the scanner,
0:33:47 > 0:33:52and so it's very difficult to study motor movements,
0:33:52 > 0:33:55for example, movements like in golf or a tennis movement,
0:33:55 > 0:33:57one cannot do that in the scanner.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02The changes that happen inside your brain as you learn new,
0:34:02 > 0:34:06automatic skills, are clearly not easy to study.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13But a chance conversation with an old friend led Julien
0:34:13 > 0:34:16to a most unusual solution -
0:34:16 > 0:34:18knitting.
0:34:28 > 0:34:33At the time, we were actually carrying on a conversation
0:34:33 > 0:34:36like this, and he saw me knitting.
0:34:36 > 0:34:37'I said to her,'
0:34:37 > 0:34:42"It looks like this movement is completely automatic for you.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46"You basically do your movements and you're able to talk."
0:34:49 > 0:34:52And then he said, "Oh, this would be a great activity to use,
0:34:52 > 0:34:56"but if you were in the scanner, you'd have to lie there,
0:34:56 > 0:34:59"very, very still, not move your shoulders and knit
0:34:59 > 0:35:02"lying on your back. Can people do that?"
0:35:02 > 0:35:06And I said, "Well, any knitter who's automatic can do that!"
0:35:07 > 0:35:12But simply seeing into the mind of an experienced knitter wasn't
0:35:12 > 0:35:16enough to reveal how the process of learning a new skill occurs.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20What Julien needed was a way of comparing how the brain
0:35:20 > 0:35:25performs automatically with how it works when it's starting to learn.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28It was a rather tricky task.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31'But then Rhonda told me something very important, she said,
0:35:31 > 0:35:35'"There are two approaches to knit,'
0:35:35 > 0:35:39"and if I try to knit with this other approach,
0:35:39 > 0:35:43"this other technique, that would be like starting again,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46"I would need to think about the movements that I have to make,
0:35:46 > 0:35:48"and learn from scratch."
0:35:51 > 0:35:53For Julien, this was a revelation.
0:35:55 > 0:35:56And so began one of the most
0:35:56 > 0:35:59colourful experiments in neuroscience history.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12Today, Julien will be scanning Rhonda's brain as she knits.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17So Julien's going to give you the needles...
0:36:17 > 0:36:20She will start with the style of knitting she's been doing
0:36:20 > 0:36:21since she was a child,
0:36:21 > 0:36:25and which is now completely automated in her unconscious mind.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29We're all ready to start, we're going to go to the other side.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34OK, Rhonda. How are you?
0:36:34 > 0:36:36'I'm fine, very relaxed.'
0:36:36 > 0:36:39OK, I'm going to ask you to produce
0:36:39 > 0:36:42knitting movements for about 30 seconds.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44OK, here we go...
0:36:51 > 0:36:54So, here Rhonda is producing movements which she has been
0:36:54 > 0:36:58practising for years that are completely automatic for her.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01Data soon starts appearing on screen.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07And we can see that there is a lot of activity in the striatum.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12As Rhonda knits, the striatum, deep in the brain,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15coordinates her complex automated movements.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19It's a wonderfully streamlined process.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23But what the team wants to see is what happens
0:37:23 > 0:37:25when the learning process begins.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29If we were then asking her to do the knitting
0:37:29 > 0:37:32with a technique that she's not familiar with then we'd see
0:37:32 > 0:37:36perhaps a very different pattern of activity.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40The team now runs the test one more time.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43- All right?- 'All right.'- Here we go.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53OK, so we're starting to see some activity
0:37:53 > 0:37:56in the primary motor cortex.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59And you're starting to see some activity
0:37:59 > 0:38:03in both sides of the cerebellum, as well.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09We think that those regions at the beginning are important
0:38:09 > 0:38:13to try to figure out what's the best way to produce movements.
0:38:13 > 0:38:18When you learn a skill, from knitting to juggling,
0:38:18 > 0:38:22multiple parts of your brain, especially the cerebellum,
0:38:22 > 0:38:25work hard to coordinate your new movements.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32But as you practise, something profound occurs.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38The architecture of your brain starts to change.
0:38:38 > 0:38:44New, efficient neural networks form, a process known as plasticity.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49It's one of neuroscience's biggest discoveries.
0:38:49 > 0:38:54So, while you might find the process of learning hard, with perseverance,
0:38:54 > 0:38:59your unconscious mind will rewire itself to share the load.
0:38:59 > 0:39:05When the movements are completely automatic, it allows us
0:39:05 > 0:39:09to free up our attentional demands for other activities.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12And so now we can pay attention to other things that we want
0:39:12 > 0:39:14to do in life.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19By automating complex actions like this, your unconscious
0:39:19 > 0:39:24frees your conscious mind, and makes you who you are.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36The discovery of plasticity represents a new era
0:39:36 > 0:39:39in our understanding of the human brain.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44It reveals the power of the unconscious to adapt
0:39:44 > 0:39:46and form new connections.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53But scientists are wondering whether this power can get out of control.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00It's something that doctors are researching
0:40:00 > 0:40:03in a rather pleasant and exclusive laboratory.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12One of America's finest golf courses, here in Arizona.
0:40:19 > 0:40:24They're studying the curse of many experienced golfers...
0:40:24 > 0:40:26the yips.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39The yips is a symptom which golfers describe in which
0:40:39 > 0:40:43they get a twisting, a twitching, a jerking movement during
0:40:43 > 0:40:48the time of putting, and less than a second before actually
0:40:48 > 0:40:51striking the ball, the involuntary movement occurs.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57This uncontrollable twitch can stop the most experienced players
0:40:57 > 0:40:58sinking the simplest putts.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07Expert golfer Tom Wilcox knows this only too well.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10I've been a golf professional for 40 years
0:41:10 > 0:41:14and it certainly has been a problem in competitive situations
0:41:14 > 0:41:16because when you get the yips, you literally
0:41:16 > 0:41:18can feel a little jerk in your hands,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21and you can feel it affect the blade of the putter,
0:41:21 > 0:41:23and the ball goes off line, or goes too far,
0:41:23 > 0:41:27or doesn't go far enough, so obviously that's more strokes,
0:41:27 > 0:41:31and they pay money for low scores, not for high scores in golf.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36For years, the yips has been thought of simply
0:41:36 > 0:41:39as golfers crumbling under pressure.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44But Dr Adler suspects that there might be more to it
0:41:44 > 0:41:47than choking in the heat of competition.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50His research here has taken him
0:41:50 > 0:41:55deep into the mysterious workings of the brain itself.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04- Make a muscle.- OK.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06Today, Dr Adler and his assistant, Luann,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09are attempting to see if the yips might be caused
0:42:09 > 0:42:12by the brain getting out of control.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19We're going to record from wrist flexor, extensor, bicep,
0:42:19 > 0:42:20tricep and deltoid.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24First they wire up Tom, to monitor the messages his muscles
0:42:24 > 0:42:27receive from his brain.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30I'll be a bionic golfer, right?
0:42:32 > 0:42:35They're looking for a tell-tale signal
0:42:35 > 0:42:39which might reveal the problem.
0:42:39 > 0:42:44What I would like you to do is slip on this CyberGlove.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46Last on is a sophisticated glove which will record
0:42:46 > 0:42:49Tom's exact wrist movements as he putts.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55And what it does is, it allows us to measure movement
0:42:55 > 0:42:59at all of the different joints, to look at what happens
0:42:59 > 0:43:04to finger movements and hand movements during the putting stroke.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07It's, er, not exactly how I normally dress for golf,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11so I suspect that this is going to be an interesting
0:43:11 > 0:43:13feeling when I get to putting.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17The glove shows Tom's exact hand position,
0:43:17 > 0:43:21it will reveal any twitches as he putts.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23Good, and move the wrist.
0:43:23 > 0:43:24Perfect.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31For the next half-hour, Tom putts repetitively,
0:43:31 > 0:43:35to build a picture of the signals flowing from his brain.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42It's an elusive little thing, isn't it?
0:43:45 > 0:43:47Oh, God!
0:43:48 > 0:43:51- Do you feel anything? - I did that one.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53Often, as Tom attempts to make a putt,
0:43:53 > 0:43:57there is a distinct twitch in his wrist.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02That was nasty.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21This research is only new, but the hypothesis,
0:44:21 > 0:44:26based on evidence from other studies, is that in some golfers,
0:44:26 > 0:44:29the yips may be caused by faulty wiring in the brain.
0:44:29 > 0:44:33The suggestion is that the neural networks which form during
0:44:33 > 0:44:38the initial process of learning new skills can start to go wrong.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40The result?
0:44:40 > 0:44:42A condition known as a focal dystonia,
0:44:42 > 0:44:46in which the rogue brain connections cause involuntary movements,
0:44:46 > 0:44:48a bit like Tom's twitch.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54There may be some abnormal wiring within the brain,
0:44:54 > 0:44:57in which the brain is perceiving things differently
0:44:57 > 0:45:00than one would normally perceive, and causing muscles
0:45:00 > 0:45:03to contract involuntarily.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07The unconscious, it seems, doesn't always behave itself.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12But as scientists begin to understand how it works,
0:45:12 > 0:45:16they're starting to wonder whether it's possible to rewire it
0:45:16 > 0:45:17and solve the problem.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Guitarist Douglas Rogers hopes so.
0:45:31 > 0:45:36In the 1970s, he was one of Britain's top classical guitarists,
0:45:36 > 0:45:38playing concerts worldwide.
0:45:41 > 0:45:42But like golfers with the yips,
0:45:42 > 0:45:46he began experiencing involuntary, unconsciously-controlled
0:45:46 > 0:45:49hand movements which derailed his career.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57I missed the first finger, there...
0:45:57 > 0:45:58To solve this problem,
0:45:58 > 0:46:01he's come to University College London
0:46:01 > 0:46:03to try a radical new treatment.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06It seems to get more and more unreliable...
0:46:06 > 0:46:08Dr Mark Edwards, an expert in movement disorders,
0:46:08 > 0:46:14is going to try treating Douglas, by attempting to access
0:46:14 > 0:46:16the hidden depths of Douglas's brain.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18So everything's a mess...
0:46:18 > 0:46:20When you make a movement,
0:46:20 > 0:46:22the brain usually activates one muscle
0:46:22 > 0:46:25and actively turns off other muscles,
0:46:25 > 0:46:27that's why we can make very precise movements,
0:46:27 > 0:46:30that's something called surround inhibition,
0:46:30 > 0:46:32it's a very useful thing for everybody,
0:46:32 > 0:46:34but particularly for playing a musical instrument.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37And we know that that process seems to go wrong
0:46:37 > 0:46:39in people with hand dystonia.
0:46:39 > 0:46:40So what we're going to try and do
0:46:40 > 0:46:43is to deliberately turn up this mechanism in the brain,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46that should inhibit movements that you don't want.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54To do this, the team attempts to teach Douglas's brain
0:46:54 > 0:46:57how to increase the inhibition signal it sends to his hand
0:46:57 > 0:47:02as he performs a simple task just pushing a button.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09When he moves, a device resting against his hand vibrates.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15So what we're doing now is giving some vibration
0:47:15 > 0:47:18to a surround muscle, so it's like boosting
0:47:18 > 0:47:20the error signal to the brain, saying,
0:47:20 > 0:47:24"Look, this muscle is contracting and it shouldn't be,
0:47:24 > 0:47:25"so try and suppress it."
0:47:25 > 0:47:29So we're trying to train the brain to turn on the muscles that should
0:47:29 > 0:47:33be turned on, and actively turn off the muscles that should be
0:47:33 > 0:47:36turned off, and that way we're letting
0:47:36 > 0:47:38better control happen in the hand.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43Over the coming weeks, they'll be doing this multiple times
0:47:43 > 0:47:46to help build up Douglas's surround inhibition response.
0:47:49 > 0:47:54But today, the team plans to try an even more cutting-edge treatment.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59Transcranial direct current stimulation.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03So what we're doing is stimulating the cerebellum, back here.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06So that's the bit of the brain that's involved
0:48:06 > 0:48:10in motor learning and motor function in general.
0:48:10 > 0:48:15The theory is that motor memories normally remain
0:48:15 > 0:48:16securely locked in the brain.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19But by recalling these memories,
0:48:19 > 0:48:23by having Douglas play the guitar, they will become vulnerable.
0:48:24 > 0:48:28So this is a transcranial direct current stimulator.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31And these are the wires that are attached to
0:48:31 > 0:48:34the pads on Douglas's scalp, and I'm just going
0:48:34 > 0:48:38to plug those into the box, to get the stimulation going.
0:48:41 > 0:48:46Direct electrical current is now flowing through Douglas's cerebellum
0:48:46 > 0:48:51to try to disable the rogue neural networks causing his dystonia.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54The aim is to induce plasticity in his brain
0:48:54 > 0:48:57returning it to a similar state it was in
0:48:57 > 0:48:59when he first learnt to play.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04We know from recent research that memories
0:49:04 > 0:49:06when they're stored in memory are fairly solid,
0:49:06 > 0:49:09they're fairly secure, but when they're recalled
0:49:09 > 0:49:12they go into quite a vulnerable state, actually quite similar
0:49:12 > 0:49:15to what happens when you're originally laying down the memory.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18So if we get Douglas to play in the way that produces
0:49:18 > 0:49:20the abnormal movement he has with his thumb,
0:49:20 > 0:49:22maybe if we're giving some suppressive
0:49:22 > 0:49:26brain stimulation at that time, it might suppress the memory.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33This is the first time this technique has been used
0:49:33 > 0:49:36to treat a musician with dystonia.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39It's a dramatic show of just how far our understanding
0:49:39 > 0:49:42of the unconscious brain has come.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47We're now at this very exciting stage where we're
0:49:47 > 0:49:50not just bystanders, just looking at what the brain is doing,
0:49:50 > 0:49:53we can actually interact with it, we can stimulate bits,
0:49:53 > 0:49:55we can turn bits up, we can turn bits down.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58And it's starting to yield results,
0:49:58 > 0:50:00and it's starting to give us real insights
0:50:00 > 0:50:04into how we might try to fix some things in some quite precise ways.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25But if you think that none of this affects you, think again.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28Because the unconscious mind holds such potential
0:50:28 > 0:50:32that scientists are now asking if they can harness its immense power.
0:50:43 > 0:50:48Every hour of every day, your brain is flooded with images.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53You can only concentrate on a few at once, but all the while,
0:50:53 > 0:50:56your unconscious will be automatically filtering
0:50:56 > 0:50:58this visual deluge.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02The human brain is really an amazing machine,
0:51:02 > 0:51:04it's an amazing system.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08I mean, one of the really intriguing things about the brain
0:51:08 > 0:51:10is that we're able to take this visual chaos and clutter
0:51:10 > 0:51:15and then find salient information in that scene that matters to us,
0:51:15 > 0:51:20that generates this, "Ah-ha, wait a minute, I should look over there."
0:51:20 > 0:51:24Using its own powerful internal code, your unconscious decides
0:51:24 > 0:51:28which information is worthy of your conscious attention.
0:51:28 > 0:51:34There are essentially these signals that are labelling the world,
0:51:34 > 0:51:36what we like to call neural signatures
0:51:36 > 0:51:39or neural markers that are saying, "That might be worth exploring,
0:51:39 > 0:51:42"that might be interesting."
0:51:44 > 0:51:48Harnessing these signals could change how we cope
0:51:48 > 0:51:52with the data overload we all face in the 21st century,
0:51:52 > 0:51:57a prospect raising the interest of the US military.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10Afghanistan.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13In war zones, enemy bases can be hard to spot.
0:52:16 > 0:52:20To find them, the military rely on satellite images.
0:52:24 > 0:52:25Hunting through these is a slow
0:52:25 > 0:52:30and monotonous task that can't be done automatically by computer.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36An image analyst might have to look at a very large aerial image,
0:52:36 > 0:52:38for instance here, an image that's
0:52:38 > 0:52:40tens to hundreds of square kilometres.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44The question is, "Where do I look in this image to find buildings,
0:52:44 > 0:52:46"to find objects of interest?"
0:52:46 > 0:52:48But by tapping into the power of the brain,
0:52:48 > 0:52:54Professor Sajda thinks this process can be dramatically shortened.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56One thing we might want to do is,
0:52:56 > 0:53:00instead of scanning this image from the upper corner down,
0:53:00 > 0:53:04have a more intelligent search that's based on little regions
0:53:04 > 0:53:07that grab our attention.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09To do this, the satellite image is randomly separated
0:53:09 > 0:53:13into hundreds of sub-images.
0:53:15 > 0:53:20A few show buildings, which is what Professor Sajda hopes to find.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24He will rapidly view all the sub-images
0:53:24 > 0:53:28while his brain response to each one is recorded with this EEG cap.
0:53:30 > 0:53:35This is an electroencephalography cap, it allows us to detect signals
0:53:35 > 0:53:38that would be related to what we would call an "ah-ha" moment,
0:53:38 > 0:53:41we see something of interest, it catches our attention,
0:53:41 > 0:53:44it generates, "Ah-ha, that's important to me,"
0:53:44 > 0:53:47and that information is transmitted from this cap
0:53:47 > 0:53:50to a computer which analyses it to label imagery.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02This is mind-reading, 21st-century style.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06To begin with, Professor Sajda looks at a sample image
0:54:06 > 0:54:08containing a building.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13The computer registers his resulting neural "ah-ha" signal.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16What we're interested in doing is finding the patterns
0:54:16 > 0:54:20that are related to this "ah-ha" signal, and then use that
0:54:20 > 0:54:24pattern of activity to rank all the images that I'm going to see.
0:54:24 > 0:54:28With brain and computer now linked, the sub-images from
0:54:28 > 0:54:31the large satellite picture start flashing up on screen.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40So what I'm doing now is looking at a whole barrage of images,
0:54:40 > 0:54:44five or ten a second, and while I'm doing that my brain
0:54:44 > 0:54:47is decoding that information and using it to label the images.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53So when you're looking at these images, the best thing to do
0:54:53 > 0:54:54is actually relax.
0:54:54 > 0:54:59You get in to a zone where your brain just does the work.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03Professor Sajda is not immediately aware of any images of buildings,
0:55:03 > 0:55:07but his brain activity suggests something very different.
0:55:09 > 0:55:14Back in the main lab, the results appear on screen.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18What you see actually is a tiling of the entire image,
0:55:18 > 0:55:21where each of these little squares is actually
0:55:21 > 0:55:24one of the images as it was flashed.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26They're colour-coded based on the ranking
0:55:26 > 0:55:28that was computed from my brain activity.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31So, essentially, how strong was the "ah-ha"
0:55:31 > 0:55:33when you saw that particular image?
0:55:33 > 0:55:36So, regions that are marked in red are very strong,
0:55:36 > 0:55:41they grabbed my attention, in dark blue are less engaging.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48This little tile here is actually the most highly ranked image.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50This is a close-up of that particular region.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54What you can see here is this is basically a compound.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57There are roadways, there's obviously a building,
0:55:57 > 0:55:59some man-made structure.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03So, the real gain here is that instead of moving through
0:56:03 > 0:56:06this large image very laboriously, I can now jump
0:56:06 > 0:56:10from image to image, or location to location,
0:56:10 > 0:56:12based on what grabbed my attention.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18By tapping into his own brain,
0:56:18 > 0:56:21Professor Sajda has increased his image-spotting efficiency
0:56:21 > 0:56:23by 300 percent.
0:56:23 > 0:56:28It's a breakthrough, not just for military image analysts,
0:56:28 > 0:56:30but for everyone.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35From interacting with computer games, to advertising,
0:56:35 > 0:56:38to revolutionising the analysis of medical images,
0:56:38 > 0:56:41the ability to harness the power of the unconscious
0:56:41 > 0:56:43heralds a bold new future.
0:56:55 > 0:57:00The true nature of your unconscious mind is now becoming clear.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05Far from being the lowly, primal thing of popular imagination,
0:57:05 > 0:57:07your unconscious turns out to be
0:57:07 > 0:57:11the sophisticated centre of everything you ever do.
0:57:12 > 0:57:14When it comes down to it,
0:57:14 > 0:57:18your brain runs mostly unconsciously, on autopilot.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22And by tapping its immense power,
0:57:22 > 0:57:25you might one day change your life for ever.
0:57:27 > 0:57:29The human brain is really an awesome thing,
0:57:29 > 0:57:33I mean, from the engineering and technology point of view,
0:57:33 > 0:57:37understanding the brain will ultimately lead us
0:57:37 > 0:57:39to areas that we can't imagine.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41I mean, if you think that the internet
0:57:41 > 0:57:44and networking and Facebook have caused a revolution,
0:57:44 > 0:57:48wait until you see what happens when we really understand the human brain.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd