Journey into the Brain

Tuesday and Wednesday mornings started out with short hikes into the foothills around the Deer Park Institute.  These morning walks, led by Bryce Johnson, are quite nice because the sun has not yet climbed above the mountain peaks and the valley is still shaded.  Once the sun is out, it warms up into the low 100s.

I have been assigned a monk (Tenzin) who will serve as my TA for all of my sessions. That’s Tenzin and me in the photo.  In addition to Tenzin, another person, Paldon, translates everything I say; she even translates my powerpoint slides into Tibetan.  Tenzin participated in previous year’s workshops and his English is excellent.  Tenzin and I meet after dinner each night to discuss our teaching plan for the next day.  I found several lessons that he will lead.

 During the first morning session, I introduced myself to the group more fully and explained my research and my interest in neuroscience education.  Tenzin then took over and had the other monks write down reasons why it is important for them to learn about the brain.  We discussed these reasons and then I introduced the topic of neuroethics.  I explained that science can do many things, but often questions about whether science should do these things should be discussed before they are done.

After a 30 minute break for tea, we discussed the basic structure and functions of the nervous system.  We did the “What is a brain game” where groups of monks were given common items and asked to compare and contrast their items to the brain.  We also discussed brain size, gender differences and brain-body ratios.  The session ended with a short discussion of comparative neuroanatomy where the monks were asked to guess which brain went with a particular animal.

On Wednesday, my session discussed localization of brain functions and right/left brain dominance, especially as it is related to language.   The session ended with the monks getting into pairs and testing their 12 cranial nerves.  They seemed to like testing their vision most.

I have misjudged the amount of time it takes to get through the material I brought.  With the need to translate everything I say into Tibetan, I have already fallen far behind with the material I want to present. 

I tried a third night of melatonin last night.  I slept through until 4 am, woke up, then went back to sleep for another two hours.  I am not convinced melatonin is working.