Neuroscience 101

Day 2 started with the remainder of milestones in the history of neuroscience including a discussion of the case of Phineas Gage.  In 1848, Mr. Gage suffered the unfortunately accident of having a large iron rod pierce his brain.  After Mr. Gage recovered, his personality changed.  The monks and nuns were fascinated by this story and were curious about why he didn’t die and why only certain aspects of his behavior changed. 

I finished the history of neuroscience by letting the monastics know of the BRAIN initiative in the United States and the Human Brain Project in Europe.  They were quite impressed when I mentioned how much money the governments are contributing to these projects.

At the end of my lecture, I posed a neuroethical question to the monks and nuns:  If a drug to make people smarter was available, would it be acceptable for people to use this drug.  I hope to have the monks debate this question tomorrow.

Later that afternoon, class met again and I started in on the basics of neuroscience.  First, I asked the monastics why they thought it was important (or not important) to learn about the brain.  They all responded that it was important for them to know about the brain.  One of the monks said that knowing about the brain would help them understand more about what it means to be human.  Another monk said that he knew many people with problems with the brain, so knowing about the brain might allow him to help this person.  I hope I did not lose too much in the translation from Tibetan to English.

Following this discussion, I gauged the monks understanding of the brain with a game of “What is a Brain?”  In this game (see photo), groups of two monks are given a common object like a pencil, battery, leaf or flashlight and asked to make a list of similarities and differences in the function and structure of the object and the brain.  Then we went around the room where one member of the group would hold up the object and talk about their results.  This game provides me with a glimpse into what the monks know about the brain and what misconceptions about the bran they hold.

We had time to start discussing the composition of the brain (e.g., neurons, glia) the different divisions of the nervous system (central and peripheral nervous systems) but did not get very far.  We will pick up where we left off tomorrow, after what I hope to be a lively debate about “smart drugs.”

Monkey Business

Woke up this morning to find a few monkeys outside my door.  Of course, I had to grab my camera as fast as possible.  They did not seem to like me very much and ran away.  The monkeys appear to be very aggressive, so you have to watch out for them.  You also have to keep your door closed or the monkeys will come in and steal your food. 

Everyone Speaks Basketball

Apparently I am staying in the place with the best basketball court in all of Dharamsala.  The court seems to be busy all day with Tibetan students from the College for Higher Tibetan Studies.

I had finished my teaching for the day, so I thought I would get some exercise.  As soon as I stepped on to the court, I was asked to play.  I just pointed to who I thought was on my team and in the direction that I thought we were going and away we went.  It didn’t take long for the hot and humid weather to takes its toll on my sleep deprived body, but I gave it a good try. 

Introductions

Today was my first day of teaching.  I took a good amount of time introducing myself and what I do back in Seattle. 

We also played a game of “Snowball.”  In this game, the monks and nuns write their names on a piece of paper, fashion a “snowball” and then they throw the snowball toward the front of the room.  When all of the snowballs are at the front of the room, everyone gets up and gets a snowball.   Each monk must introduce himself to the person on the paper.  In this way, people get to know one another.  We did this one more time when the monks wrote one thing that they knew about the brain.

After snowball, we started the history of neuroscience.  I had prepared cards with different milestones in neuroscience including trephining (cutting holes in the head), acupuncture, Aristotle, Galen, Golgi, Cajal, and brain imaging.  The goal of the game was the place each event in the correct chronological order.  The monks and nuns did a good job, but could have done better if the brief description of the event had been in Tibetan.  I’ll leave a set of cards with the translators so they can use these again.

First Visitor

By 7 pm on my first day in Dharamsala, I had trouble keeping my eyes open because I am so sleepy.  India is 12.5 hours ahead of Seattle time so my internal clock is completely off schedule.  Add the sleep deprivation due to the flights and I think you understand the problem.

As I was ready to turn off the lights last night, I noticed large winged creature enter my door and take up residence right in the middle of the room.  On further inspection, it looks like a mantis.

Welcome to Dharamsala

A new twist to international travel I noticed on my trip to India: a watchful eye for the Ebola virus.  I noticed signs at both the Tokyo and the Delhi airports directing people who had visited West Africa to a special area for health screening.

 

My flight into Dharamsala was on time and uneventful.  It was interesting to see the food offered for sale on the flight:  palak masala dosa, podi uttappour, sambar, malai kofta. 

Meeting me at the airport was Tamden, one of the Tibetan translators.  He and a driver loaded up my gear and off we went to the College of Higher Tibetan Studies.  The college is only a 10 minute drive from the airport which is much closer than I have had to travel from an airport when I have visited previously.  In the past, I have had to travel about two hours from the nearest airport.

As soon as I got out of the car, I was warned:  be careful of the monkeys.  And sure enough, monkeys were climbing up various parts of the buildings and being chased by dogs.  My room on the third floor has a nice view of the forest to the south and of the college compound courtyard to the north.  In the center of the courtyard is a full-sized basketball court and from what I hear, there are games every day at about 4 pm.