Transcript

Inside each one of us is a beautiful symphony: 100 billion neurons firing in concert, constructing the vivid reality we live in. And within each little piece of that neural activity resides a bit of what makes you you. After your experiences today, that neural activity will have shifted, and you will never be the same. You are inextricably tied to your brain.

When I first learned these principles, at 16, I fell in love with the brain and have been doing neuroscience research ever since. During a new MRI experiment, we were surprised to find a significant hole in my brain—about 30% of my cerebellum was missing. Despite the shock, it didn't feel like anything about me, my life, or my experience of the world had changed or was missing. The cerebellum, housing approximately 80% of all your neurons, is one of the brain's most fundamental parts. This sparked my deep interest in viewing the brain as a dynamic, flexible system.