The Long Road Home

The most stressful part of traveling is, well, the actual traveling.  Door to door, the trip home from Dharamsala to Seattle took about 43 hours.  Here are my notes; all times India:

9:00 am (Wed):  Leave Dharamsala by car to Kangra Airport

9:45 am:  Arrive Kangra Airport

12:15 pm: Leave Kangra Airport for Delhi

1:45 pm: Plane arrives Delhi [Flight time = 1.5 hours]

2:30 pm:  Arrive Delhi Hotel by car

2:30 pm to 12:45 am (Thur): Rest in Delhi Hotel, have meal, watch cricket on TV

1 am:  Arrive Delhi airport by car

1 am to 1:45 am:  Wait in line to get boarding pass/check bag

1:45 am to 2:30 am: Wait in line to clear passport control

2:30 am to 3 am:  Wait in line/clear security

4:05 am:  Plane departs Delhi to Dubai

7:30 am:  Plane arrives Dubai [Flight time = 3.5 hours]

10:30 am:  Plane departs Dubai for Seattle

1:30 am (Fri) [1 pm, Thur, Seattle]: Plane arrives Seattle [Flight time = 14 hours]

1:30 am - 2:15 am [1 pm-1:45 pm Seattle]:  Wait for bag at Seattle Airport/Clear Customs and Immigration

3:00 am [2:30 pm Seattle]:  Arrive home in Seattle

Additional Notes:

1. At Delhi airport:  it is important to have a boarding pass to get into the terminal.  I did not have a boarding pass, but I did have a copy of my ticket that worked.  The security guard gave me a funny look when I showed the ticket, but allowed me to pass.

2. At Delhi airport:  give yourself at least 3 hours from the time you enter the terminal to the time you get to your boarding gate.  The airport is very crowded and chaotic and you will spend a couple hours waiting to check a bag, get a boarding pass, clear passport control and clear security.  Add more time if you have to exchange currency.

3. USA Global Entry saved me at least 45 minutes when I arrived in Seattle.  After waiting 45 minutes for my bag to arrive off the plane, I breezed through customs/immigration in about 1 minute using the Global Entry program.  There were long lines of people waiting in customs/immigration who did not have access to this progrm.

On the Road Back to Kangra

Looking north from Kangra Airport

The trip to Kangra Airport from Dharamsala was an uneventful, but exciting drive.  The road between Kangra Airport and Dharamsala is...what is the right word..."uneven."  Apparently, a monsoon destroyed part of the road last year and it has not yet been fixed.

The road is meant for two-way traffic, but often it is too narrow to fit two cars.  Add people, tractors, buses, bicycles, motorcycles, cows and dogs to the road and you would think it is a recipe for disaster.  I don't know what the rules of the road are, but drivers seem to navigate the chaos without problems.

The view from the plane as it ascends from the airport reveals a lush, green landscape.  Delhi is a 1.5 hour flight.  The trip home has just started.

Landscape from the air

Celebration of Completion

The nuns that I have been teaching are part of a multi-year program called the Sager Science Center Leadership Program. Over several years, the nuns participate in several workshops designed to expose them to different scientific disciplines.

The workshop this month was the last one for the nuns.  To celebrate their completion of the program, a special ceremony was held to recognize their achievement.   Some dignitaries from the Tibetan government-in-exile were invited to say a few words and then each nun received a scarf and a certificate of completion.  Everyone then had a cup of Tibetan tea and small bowl of sweetened rice.

After our snack, we headed over to the steps of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives for photos.

Last Sunrise

With my stay in Dharamsala finished, it is time to return to Seattle.  I think the nuns have enjoyed learning about neuroscience.  For many of them it has been the first time they have studied the brain.  I hope they continue to ask questions as they continue their own journey. 

So Much Material, So Little Time

My last day of teaching the nuns at the Science Center in Dharamsala was today.  We have really only started to explore the brain and there is still much more to cover.  However, there is limited time and not enough of it to discuss everything.

We started the day with a quick review of vision and colorblindness.  We had a look at some Ishihara Colorblindness Test and played with the Stroop Test where people must say the color of an object or word.  The nuns had no problem saying the colors of different colored squares, but when the Tibetan word for a particular color was printed in a different color, they had trouble saying that color.

We spent most of class time on the sense of touch by talking about different receptors in the skin, the neural pathway from a tactile receptor to the brain, and how different body areas are represented in the brain (somatosensory cortex).  Our first experiment used two different grades of sandpaper.  The nuns were asked to touch the finger of their neighbor with the different sandpapers and also to move the paper across the finger of their neighbor.  These different types of stimulation provide different types of information.  We also did a simple threshold determination for different parts of the body with the wisp of a cotton tipped swap.  Our final experiment was to determine the 2-point discrimination threshold for the fingertip, hand, elbow, neck and calf.  As expected, the smallest 2-point discrimination threshold was for the fingertip.

Because time was running out, I quickly switched to memory and learning and talked about classical and operate conditioning.  No discussion of memory is complete without mentioning the hippocampus and the patient named H.M., the man who could never form new memories.

With only five minutes of class time remaining, I stopped teaching and thank the nuns for their attention and for inviting me to teach.  I also offered the nuns a taste of Seattle with some "Applets and Cotlets."  They seemed to enjoy the sweet treats and then it was off to lunch.

Seeing is Believing

After a brief tour of eye anatomy, the nuns modeled the lens of the eye using a magnifying glass. The nuns got into pairs and held the magnifying glass a few inches from a wall. Then they focused the image going through the lens on to a piece of paper held against the wall. They then drew the image on the paper.

When asked what they saw, the nuns all said that the image was upside down and reversed left and right. As it should be. This is similar to the image that is projected onto the retina; the brain “flips” the image right-side up.

We continued to explore the retina in more detail by discussing photoreceptors (rods and cones). To determine the distribution of rods and cones on the retina, the nuns drew a protractor on a piece of paper and labeled it with degrees. To create a tester, the nuns attached small, colored numbers to a stick. With one nun looking straight ahead, the other nun moved the tester from peripheral vision to central vision. The nuns were asked to record when (what degree) they could first see movement, color and detail. As expected, movement could be detected in the periphery, but color and detail required more central vision. This experiment demonstrated how cones (which respond to different frequencies of light) are found in greatest numbers in more central parts of the retina.

I also mentioned that there is one small spot in each retina here there are no photoreceptors. This is our blind spot: the region of the retina where axons from ganglion cells exit the eye on their way to the brain. We made several types of blind spot testers to see how the brain fills in the visual gap created by the blind spot.

We ended our discussion of vision by talking about monocular and binocular vision. Why do we have two eyes instead of one? What is the advantage of having two eyes? We played a game to find out. Each nun was given a bead and asked to throw it into a dish using two eyes and then again using one eye. Many more beads ended up in the dish with they use two eyes indicating that two eyes allow for better depth perception.

Tibetan Medical and Astro Institute Museum

 The Tibetan Medical and Astro Institute Museum in Dharamsala has a nice exhibit of detailing the history, preparation and uses of traditional Tibetan medicine.  The walls of the museum are filled with reproduced old paintings illustrating the ancient practices of the art. There are also many specimens of plant (and mineral) materials and a display of the instruments used in Tibetan medicine and surgery.

The entry cost to the museum was only 20 rupees (about 25 cents). I was the only person in the museum and as I was looking around, a woman who must have been the manager or director of the museum, greeted me. She gave me a personal tour of the entire museum, explaining the various exhibits and answering my many questions.

Although there were many signs saying that photography was not allowed in the museum, the manager asked if I wanted to have my picture taken.  I asked about the no photography signs.  She said, “Don’t worry.  I’m the manager.”

I noticed a small display case in the museum and asked if they had any books for sale.  Sure enough they did.  “The Handbook of Tibetan Medicinal Plants” was the perfect memento of my visit.

Daily Fare

I share three meals a day with the nuns.  Breakfast is served at 7:30 am, lunch at 12:30 pm and dinner at 6:30 pm.  We all eat at the same time in the same small cafeteria room at the Science Center.

Breakfast is always a piece of flatbread with some peanut butter and jelly, sometimes some cooked beans and potatoes.  There is also Tibetan tea in two varieties:  a sweet tea and a butter tea. Both types of tea have some milk and spices (perhaps cardamon?), but as the name suggests, butter tea has added butter.  I’ve tried both but prefer the sweet tea. 

Lunch is usually rice with either dal (crushed lentils) or curry sauce, Tibetan roll and cooked vegetables such as beans, cauliflower or bitter melon.  Dinners are often some type of stew or soup with noodles and vegetables. 

The Tibetan cook has commented that he wishes the nuns would eat more.  When he has cooked for monks in the past, he noticed that they eat much more than the nuns.  The cook does not like to have leftovers!

The Tale of the Power Adapter(s)

While using my laptop computer, a sudden power surge sent a burst of electricity that “popped” the electric socket causing a small spark and the smell of burnt wires.  Unfortunately, my computer was plugged into that socket and the power adapter was “fried.”  Therefore, I would be completely dependent on my computer battery which would eventually run out of power.

I found some library staff who said they would try to help.  They did not have an appropriate adapter in their office, but one translator said he would go into town to find one.

Sure enough, about an hour later, he was back with a replacement.  But when we tried the new adapter, another power surge fried this one too! Down two power adapters.  Time to call an electrician.  The electrician took the wall socket apart and did some repairs.  By this time, the translator had gone back into town again, bought another adapter, and returned with it ready to test.

The third time is a charm.  The adapter works.  But I am not leaving it plugged into the wall!

Sunday Trek

On my day off from teaching, I was invited by one of the Tibetan translators to walk up to the Namgyal Monastery where the Dalai Lama lives. The temple is located in McLeod Ganj about 2 km from the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives where I am staying. I had walked up to McLeod Ganj earlier in the week so I knew the route…or so I thought.

We started our trek at 10 am. The translator knew many shortcuts that got us up the temple in half the time it took me the other day. Instead of the road, we cut through a forest trail. We encountered a few monkeys, but nothing more out of the ordinary.

Once near the temple, we walked a trail that surrounds the complex. The trail ends at the entrance of the temple so we stepped in a took a look around. The temple was very active with many monks going about their daily activities. There are also several rooms within the temple that can be visited.

After the temple, we headed further up to the main square in McLeod Gang. With a quick right turn, we were on the road to Bhagsu Falls. Bhagsu Falls is a waterfall about 2 km from McLeod Gang. We climbed up to the main pool of the waterfall for a quick rest and then continued our climb. We headed up to upper Bhagsu and found a restaurant for a quick lunch. Then we descended back to McLeod Gang and back to the library grounds.

The round trip took 4 hours and my legs certainly feel those steps.

Post trip note:  I Google mapped the route we took.  Total distance travelled was approximately 6 miles (~10 km).

Basketball: The Universal Language

Classes are not held on Sunday and the nuns (and I) are free to spend the day as we choose. I chose to start my day with a game of basketball.

When I first arrived in Dharamsala, I noticed a basketball court nearby. But on closer inspection, I saw that both basketball rims were missing from their backboards. However, this morning, four days after I discovered the court, I took an early walk and heard the familiar sound of a bouncing basketball.

Could the rims have been fixed? Yes! A lively game of 2-on-2 was going on and one person was waiting to join. When I arrived, we had enough for 3-on-3. I had enough energy for two games up to 21 points. Being up at 5,000ft tired me out.

Basketball is the same everywhere it is played. Although I could not communicate with my Tibetan teammates using words, the language of a good pass, a hard drive to the basket and a great shot can say it all.

Dharamsala Basketball Court

Day 4 - On to the Senses

Perception and the senses are two of my favorite subjects to teach.  There are so many experiments and demonstrations that can be used to explore how we receive and process information from the outside world.  

I started the discussion with the nuns with an explanation of how we have receptors that are specialized to respond to different types of energy (e.g., light, chemicals, mechanical movement). To compare the reaction time to light, sound and touch, the nuns did the ruler drop experiment. First, they hypothesized which sense would have the fastest reaction time. Most of them thought that vision would be fastest. Then the nuns got into pairs to test their hypothesis.

One nun in each pair was the experimenter and the other was the test subject.  To test visual reaction time, the experimenter would drop the ruler and the subject had to catch it with her thumb and first finger.  The number of centimeters the ruler dropped was recorded.  To test auditory reaction time, the test subject closed her eyes and the experiment would drop the ruler and say “drop” at the same time.  Again, the distance the ruler fell was recorded.  For touch, the test subject closed her eyes and this time the experimenter lightly tapped on the foot of the test subject when the ruler was dropped.

Each sense was tested three times and the roles of experimenter and test subject were reversed.  Everyone then averaged their data to get a value for each sense.  The nuns then wrote their averaged reaction time numbers on the whiteboard and a grand average for each sense was calculated.

It turned out that vision did result in the fastest reaction time.  I asked the nuns how confident they were of their data and how we could have made the experiment better.  Ideas the nuns came up with included:     

• Better experimental set up such as making sure that the ruler was in the same place every time it was dropped.
• More trials:  drop the ruler more times for each sense.
• More people: test more than just the nuns in the class.

All excellent suggestions!

Thunder and Lightning

Thunder and lightning have paid a visit to Dharamsala every day since my arrival. These storms usually hit in the late afternoon or evening.  The storm that rolled in on March 25 was the most intense weather event I have ever witnessed.

The storm started with heavy rain and was followed by thunder and lightning occurring many times in a minute.  All electrical power was soon lost and everything was plunged into darkness.  This happened at about 6 pm.  Because I could not see anything and I wanted to save the battery power on my devices, I decided to go to sleep.

I woke up very early the next morning and there was still no power.  So instead on checking my text messages and email, I entertained myself by watching the sunrise over the Himalayan foothills.

I'm Not in Seattle!

The site of wild monkeys is an everyday occurence in Dharamsala.  Of course, the locals pay no attention to these animals, but for me, it is certainly a site to see monkeys on the side of the road.  A group of about 10 monkeys passed by my room window, so I grabbed my camera.  I was too late to capture (on video, of course) all of them, but I was able to record a straggler.

Then and Now

On the way back from tea break today, two nuns stopped me on the stairway and pointed to a photograph on the wall.  The Sager Science Center, where the current workshop is being held, has photographs of monks, nuns and instructors from past workshops.  The nuns noticed that I was in one of the photos.  One of the nuns who spoke some English, pointed out that I was now wearing the same clothing as I was wearing when the photo on the wall was taken.   And sure enough:  today I was wearing the same shirt and pants as I had on during the last workshop I taught in 2018 in Gangtok (Sikkim).

I guess as much as things change over time, the more they stay the same (at least for my clothing).

Day 3: Finishing the Brain; On to Neurons

Today's class started with answers to some of the nun's questions.  They asked about learning science for the first time and teaching science.  One nun asked about the limitations of discovery using Western Science and using Buddhist philosophy and another asked what happens when the corpus callosum is cut.

We also finished our discussion of the cortex, thalamus, brain stem, cerebellum and other parts of the brain.  Before our break for tea, we went outside the science center for a photograph of us all wearing the brain hats we made the day before.

After tea, we started on the structure of the neuron and neurotransmission.  We talked about how a neuron establishes a resting potential and generates an action potential.  When I mentioned the parts of a neuron (dendrites, cell body, axon, terminal), I mentioned that the word "dendrite" comes from the Greek word meaning tree.  I then asked the nuns for the Tibetan word for "dendrite."  I don't remember the Tibetan word, but I asked if it also meant "tree."  They said, "No."  The Tibetan word for "dendrite" means something like "the part that takes information to the cell body."  I also asked what the Tibetan word for "axon" meant.  They said that their word for "axon" means "the part that takes information away from the cell body."  The Tibetan language apparently gives function to these parts of the neuron which makes it easier to remember what they do.

We then made simple string models of neurons and then went to a large room on the top floor of the science center to model neurotransmission and saltatory conduction.  The day ended with some examples of animal neurotoxins and how they affect the release of neurotransmitters, block ion channels or block receptors.  

Soon it was time for lunch and I told the nuns that fugu (pufferfish; an animal that contains tetrodotoxin, a sodium ion channel blocker and served as sushi in Japan) was not on the menu.

String Neuron Models
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Questions, Questions

On the first day of class, I told the nuns that I encourage all types of questions from them. Their questions could be to clarify what I said, ask for more detail, or bring up something new. All questions are welcomed -- the only bad question is the one that is not asked. Although I may not be able to all of their questions, I said I would try my best.

At the front of the classroom there is a box where the nuns could place their questions if we didn't have time during class to discuss them.  By the next morning, the question box was full of paper with questions about brain anatomy, my work, brain development, perception and of course, consciousness.  Most of the questions were written in Tibetan, so they have to be translated before I can answer them.

Made it to McLeod Ganj

This morning I made a second attempt to reach McLeod Ganj -- and I made it!  The walk up the hill took me about 40 minutes.  I did have to very carefully navigate my way around a pack of about 10 aggressive dogs on my way.  I am not sure what set the dogs off, but I was alone in the early morning.  The staff at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives says that the dogs somehow can sense strangers.  Maybe it is the way I look or maybe the way I walk that the dogs detected and thought I did not belong.

The road up to McLeod Ganj overlooks a deep canyon with views of snowcapped mountains.  The canyon looks like a jungle with heavy vegetation.  Early in the morning the birds appear to be very active.  Although I couldn't see the birds, their songs filled the morning air.  Listen here:

The dogs were gone when I returned.  I've seen some monkeys on my morning walks too.  But no monkey trouble yet!

Neuroanatomy Class

 Today the nuns and I discussed the external and internal anatomy of the brain. We talked about the major divisions of the nervous system, a few of the major areas of the brain, and comparative neuroanatomy.  To reinforce knowledge about the lobe of the brain, we built "brain hats."

Hailstorm

 A huge hailstorm moved into the area late in the afternoon.  It appeared that the storm came from the mountains to the north.  The sound you hear in the first half of the video is hail hitting rooftops.  The storm lasted about an hour and then the weather cleared.

Day 1: Introduction to Neuroscience

The first day of class started with introductions:  who we all were and why we were interested in learning about the brain.  The nuns mentioned that they were interested in the brain because it could reveal information more information about what makes us human.  They also thought the knowing more about the brain could make them better at meditating.  I added a few reasons about why I think it is important that everyone should learn about their brain (toll of neurological disease, life-style choices, education, etc.).

I then presented a few major highlights from the history of western neuroscience.  For example, we discussed the thoughts of Aristotle, the work of Galen, and the experiments of Galvani, Volta, Golgi, Ramon y Cajal, Otto Loewi, and Andrew Huxley.  I also mentioned the famous cases of Phineas Gage and the patient "Tan" who both suffered damaged to their brain.

Class ended with the "Brain, Brain" activity where the nuns were given an everyday item and they had to list how the item was similar and different from the brain.  It was great hearing the nuns compare and contrast their item and the brain in both anatomical and functional ways.

Early Morning Walk

The time in India is 12.5 hours ahead of the time in Seattle.  This difference in time plays havoc with circadian rhythms and mine are certainly out of sync.  Last night I had difficulty keeping my eyes open past 8 pm local time and I fell asleep quickly.  I woke up 6 hours later, but it was only 2 am and I couldn't get back to sleep.  But there is always work to do, so I made a cup of coffee and opened my laptop.

The sun started to rise at about 6 am and I decided it would be nice to get outside. 

Dharamsala is located in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains.  The city is built on a hillside with very steep and winding streets.  At 6 am there were few people on the road and I made my way up the hill.  I hoped that I could get all the way to McLeod Ganj, a small town just above the city of Dharamsala.  Actually, the place where I am staying and teaching (The Tibetan Library and Archives), is closer to McLeod Ganj than it is to Dharamsala.  Anyway, I wasn't able to make it all the way up to McLeod Ganj because I ran out of time.  I'll try to get up there another day.  

But the walk was nice:  the sun was peaking over the mountain tops, birds were singing loudly and the dogs were still sleeping.

Road to Dharamsala

The flight from Delhi to Kangra Airport (serves Dharamsala) takes about 1.5 hours.  The propeller plane was incredibly loud inside the cabin, but it landed safely.  

Waiting for me at the airport was one of the Tibetan translators who took one look at me and decided I needed to eat something.  We drove about 30 min. into Dharamsala to his favorite restaurant that overlooks a deep valley.  

Then we continued on a road meant for two-way traffic, but it is built for only one car.  We traveled through the busy, main marketplace of Dharamsala; stop and go traffic made the drive difficult and of course we had to dodge other cars, motorcycles, cows, dogs and some monkeys by the side of the road.  

Finally, we arrived at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives where I will be teaching.  The library has a great facility with good-sized teaching rooms, supplies for activities, whiteboards and a computer projector hanging from the ceiling.  I also have a nice room with a view looking to the east and south and can see the foothills of the Himalayas and a valley below.

After getting my bearings, I set to work organizing materials and building a neuron model.  My first day of teaching is Wednesday.