October 14, 2009
The Neuroscience of Everyday Life
Samuel Wang
Associate Professor, Molecular Biology, Princeton
Minutes of the Fifth Meeting of the 68th Year
President George Hansen called the 5th meeting of the 68th year of the Old Guard to order at 10:15 AM and the convocation was led by Don Edwards. The president announced that the next meeting would be held as usual on October 21 at the Friends Center. The speaker will be James Stuart, Director of the Princeton University Art Museum and his subject will be A Museum for the 21st Century.
Visitors, and guests were introduced. Hella McVay and Elisabeth Christophenson were introduced by Scott McVay, Bobbie Pervin was introduced by Lary Pervin, Jules Richter was introduced by Bob Gittleman and Anne Yokana was introduced by Lucien Yokana.
The minutes of the last meeting of October 7, 2009, were read by Patricia Taylor. The subject was “Trends in China and US relations” and the speaker was Professor Thomas Christensen, Professor of Politics and International Affairs of the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University.
Two new Members were introduced. Eliot Daley introduced Nick van Dyke and Lynn Livingston introduced Jane DeLong.
The speaker for the day, Professor Samuel Wang, was introduced by Scott McVay. Professor Wang talked about THE NEUROSCIENCE OF EVERYDAY LIFE, a talk largely taken from his recent book published with Neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt. It is titled WELCOME TO YOUR BRAIN with the subtitle WHY YOU LOSE YOUR CAR KEYS BUT NEVER FORGET HOW TO DRIVE AND OTHER PUZZLES OF EVERYDAY LIFE. Professor Wang also mentioned a forthcoming new book by the same authors entitled WELCOME TO THE CHILD’S BRAIN.
Dr Samuel Wang is an associate professor of neuroscience and molecular biology at Princeton University. He graduated with honors in physics from the California Institute of Technology at the age of nineteen and holds a doctorate in neuroscience from Stanford University School of Medicine. He has done research at Duke University Medical Center and at Bell Laboratories of Lucent Technologies and has worked on the science and education policy for the United States Senate. He also has spent time in research at Woods Hole Laboratories in Massachusetts. He has published over forty articles on the brain in leading scientific journals, including Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, and Neuron. He is the recipient of a National Science Foundation Distinguished Young Investigator Award and is an Alfred P Sloan Fellow and a W M Keck Foundation Distinguished Young Scholar. He lives in Princeton with his wife, a physician, and his daughter.
Dr Wang suggested that his major in physics as an undergraduate was not so interesting because the golden days of physics have been passing by and it has become harder and harder to make a contribution in that field. On the other hand, the field of neuroscience is just beginning to come alive and the National Institutes of Health are being funded with billions of dollars, much of it being directed to the study of the brain.
He mentioned several examples of damaged brains such as those of Mohammed Ali, Michael J fox and John Nash, each involving a different underlying story now well known to the public.
He commented that we use our brains at every moment of our lives and yet few people have little idea how they work. He said that much of what we know about the brain comes from folklore: such as we use only ten percent of our brains, or that drinking kills brain cells. Neuroscientist have now proven these and many other brain myths to be wrong. He emphasized that what scientists have discovered about this complex organ is virtually unknown to the world outside of their laboratories. In his book he therefore tries to spell out some popular truths about the brain, such as how to cope with jet lag, when to worry about a stroke, whether cramming helps you prepare for a test and many others as listed in the book. He suggests that his book does not only help you know how your brain works but also how you can make it work better.
He described the human brain as an organ that is incredibly efficient saying that, although the brain is only 3 percent of the body’s weight it consumes 17 percent of the total body energy. In terms of power he claimed that, of seventy or so watts of power used by the body only twelve watts are needed for brain function. In fact, it is said to use less power than a refrigerator light. Over the course of a day, he said it uses about the amount of energy contained in two large bananas.
He quoted two well known earlier personalities, William James and Dale Carnegie who suggested that only a fraction of the brain, something like ten percent, is ever used but then hastened to call that pure “folk lore” giving a completely wrong impression, adding that a hundred percent of the brain is considered to be used in normal practice even for small tasks.
He spoke of relatively rapid brain development in early childhood but that its functions continually get trimmed like a topiary. The brain typically develops from back to front suggesting that the frontal cortex, which deals with executive functions and particularly self control, is not fully developed for a couple of decades.
He spoke about various brain exercises with which to keep it fit such as crossword puzzles and sudoku but claimed the effects were not as good as advertised. He favored a much larger effect on the aging brain, that of stimulation of the vascular system and suggested physical exercise of two or more hrs per week of moderate intensity. He feels that such cardiac vascular fitness is most advantageous in aging, reducing depression and certain other undesirable effects. He suggested further, that willpower, such as tightening of the belt might also be helpful. In a related comment he claimed that it might even be helpful to occasionally brush ones teeth with the wrong hand. He generally emphasized the power of education in enhancing cortical function as well as becoming involved in intellectual activity.
Professor Wang gave a general picture of the brain structure but emphasized that the principal purpose of his talk today was to point out and explain the many everyday questions and puzzles that involve brain function. The following are some of the specific topics he discussed, raised in the question and answer period or in the informal discussions that followed.
1. Brain cells are being born even as an adult.
2. Men and women have inborn differences as to spatial reasoning and strategies for navigation.
3. Drinking red wine is not likely to improve brain function.
4. The best strategy for overcoming jet lag is getting sunlight in the afternoon at your destination.
5. You can eliminate a tickle sensation by putting your hand on the tickling hand.
6. Performance at school is improved by learning to play an instrument as a child and by taking breaks from study such as by playing a video game.
7. Memory after amnesia is unlikely to be restored by a blow to the head.
8. Having a cigarette or telling yourself that you are good before a test might help performance.
9. Using a cell phone in a noisy room could be made clearer by covering the mouthpiece.
10. Anxiety is reduced by exercise, by medication and by behavioral therapy.
11. Examining a photograph is one of the hardest things a brain does.
12. Blind people are better than sighted people at remembering stories.
13. Your mother was improving your brain capacity when she told you to go out and play, turn the music down, and practice your instrument.
14. Memory starts getting worse in the thirties.
15. Drinking or smoking does not kill brain cells.
As to the development of Neuroscience at Princeton, Professor Wang described a major program of expansion, recently forming the Princeton Neuroscience Institute to be housed in buildings located just below a planned walking bridge to be constructed over Washington Road near the existing molecular biology complex. The new Institute is headed by Jonathon Cohen and David Tank.
The meeting was adjourned by president George Hansen at approximately 11:30 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
John F Brinster
Visitors, and guests were introduced. Hella McVay and Elisabeth Christophenson were introduced by Scott McVay, Bobbie Pervin was introduced by Lary Pervin, Jules Richter was introduced by Bob Gittleman and Anne Yokana was introduced by Lucien Yokana.
The minutes of the last meeting of October 7, 2009, were read by Patricia Taylor. The subject was “Trends in China and US relations” and the speaker was Professor Thomas Christensen, Professor of Politics and International Affairs of the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University.
Two new Members were introduced. Eliot Daley introduced Nick van Dyke and Lynn Livingston introduced Jane DeLong.
The speaker for the day, Professor Samuel Wang, was introduced by Scott McVay. Professor Wang talked about THE NEUROSCIENCE OF EVERYDAY LIFE, a talk largely taken from his recent book published with Neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt. It is titled WELCOME TO YOUR BRAIN with the subtitle WHY YOU LOSE YOUR CAR KEYS BUT NEVER FORGET HOW TO DRIVE AND OTHER PUZZLES OF EVERYDAY LIFE. Professor Wang also mentioned a forthcoming new book by the same authors entitled WELCOME TO THE CHILD’S BRAIN.
Dr Samuel Wang is an associate professor of neuroscience and molecular biology at Princeton University. He graduated with honors in physics from the California Institute of Technology at the age of nineteen and holds a doctorate in neuroscience from Stanford University School of Medicine. He has done research at Duke University Medical Center and at Bell Laboratories of Lucent Technologies and has worked on the science and education policy for the United States Senate. He also has spent time in research at Woods Hole Laboratories in Massachusetts. He has published over forty articles on the brain in leading scientific journals, including Nature, Nature Neuroscience, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, and Neuron. He is the recipient of a National Science Foundation Distinguished Young Investigator Award and is an Alfred P Sloan Fellow and a W M Keck Foundation Distinguished Young Scholar. He lives in Princeton with his wife, a physician, and his daughter.
Dr Wang suggested that his major in physics as an undergraduate was not so interesting because the golden days of physics have been passing by and it has become harder and harder to make a contribution in that field. On the other hand, the field of neuroscience is just beginning to come alive and the National Institutes of Health are being funded with billions of dollars, much of it being directed to the study of the brain.
He mentioned several examples of damaged brains such as those of Mohammed Ali, Michael J fox and John Nash, each involving a different underlying story now well known to the public.
He commented that we use our brains at every moment of our lives and yet few people have little idea how they work. He said that much of what we know about the brain comes from folklore: such as we use only ten percent of our brains, or that drinking kills brain cells. Neuroscientist have now proven these and many other brain myths to be wrong. He emphasized that what scientists have discovered about this complex organ is virtually unknown to the world outside of their laboratories. In his book he therefore tries to spell out some popular truths about the brain, such as how to cope with jet lag, when to worry about a stroke, whether cramming helps you prepare for a test and many others as listed in the book. He suggests that his book does not only help you know how your brain works but also how you can make it work better.
He described the human brain as an organ that is incredibly efficient saying that, although the brain is only 3 percent of the body’s weight it consumes 17 percent of the total body energy. In terms of power he claimed that, of seventy or so watts of power used by the body only twelve watts are needed for brain function. In fact, it is said to use less power than a refrigerator light. Over the course of a day, he said it uses about the amount of energy contained in two large bananas.
He quoted two well known earlier personalities, William James and Dale Carnegie who suggested that only a fraction of the brain, something like ten percent, is ever used but then hastened to call that pure “folk lore” giving a completely wrong impression, adding that a hundred percent of the brain is considered to be used in normal practice even for small tasks.
He spoke of relatively rapid brain development in early childhood but that its functions continually get trimmed like a topiary. The brain typically develops from back to front suggesting that the frontal cortex, which deals with executive functions and particularly self control, is not fully developed for a couple of decades.
He spoke about various brain exercises with which to keep it fit such as crossword puzzles and sudoku but claimed the effects were not as good as advertised. He favored a much larger effect on the aging brain, that of stimulation of the vascular system and suggested physical exercise of two or more hrs per week of moderate intensity. He feels that such cardiac vascular fitness is most advantageous in aging, reducing depression and certain other undesirable effects. He suggested further, that willpower, such as tightening of the belt might also be helpful. In a related comment he claimed that it might even be helpful to occasionally brush ones teeth with the wrong hand. He generally emphasized the power of education in enhancing cortical function as well as becoming involved in intellectual activity.
Professor Wang gave a general picture of the brain structure but emphasized that the principal purpose of his talk today was to point out and explain the many everyday questions and puzzles that involve brain function. The following are some of the specific topics he discussed, raised in the question and answer period or in the informal discussions that followed.
1. Brain cells are being born even as an adult.
2. Men and women have inborn differences as to spatial reasoning and strategies for navigation.
3. Drinking red wine is not likely to improve brain function.
4. The best strategy for overcoming jet lag is getting sunlight in the afternoon at your destination.
5. You can eliminate a tickle sensation by putting your hand on the tickling hand.
6. Performance at school is improved by learning to play an instrument as a child and by taking breaks from study such as by playing a video game.
7. Memory after amnesia is unlikely to be restored by a blow to the head.
8. Having a cigarette or telling yourself that you are good before a test might help performance.
9. Using a cell phone in a noisy room could be made clearer by covering the mouthpiece.
10. Anxiety is reduced by exercise, by medication and by behavioral therapy.
11. Examining a photograph is one of the hardest things a brain does.
12. Blind people are better than sighted people at remembering stories.
13. Your mother was improving your brain capacity when she told you to go out and play, turn the music down, and practice your instrument.
14. Memory starts getting worse in the thirties.
15. Drinking or smoking does not kill brain cells.
As to the development of Neuroscience at Princeton, Professor Wang described a major program of expansion, recently forming the Princeton Neuroscience Institute to be housed in buildings located just below a planned walking bridge to be constructed over Washington Road near the existing molecular biology complex. The new Institute is headed by Jonathon Cohen and David Tank.
The meeting was adjourned by president George Hansen at approximately 11:30 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
John F Brinster