Provost conducts preceptorial on the human brain

Provost Robert Barchi led twelve interested students on a tour of the human brain yesterday during the first of three preceptorial sessions.

The mini-course, entitled "From Math to Mozart: A Brief Look at Brain Science for the Non-Scientist," was designed to explore how the brain works, the most recent developments in neurotechnology and current ethical debates that have surfaced about brain- imaging technologies.

Barchi, who has been on the forefront of neuroscience research for nearly thirty years, began his presentation by explaining the basic functions of the brain and giving a brief overview of how research in neuroscience has evolved. He touched on everything from synapses to the possible dangers of cellular phones in the 90-minute session.

"In my mind this is one of the most exciting areas of investigation going on right now," Barchi said of neuroscience. "Probably in the next 20 years, you're going to see an explosion in this area."

Barchi had students guess the size and weight of the average human brain, noting the sheer amount of energy required to keep it working.

But the provost particularly emphasized one number during his presentation -- the 100 billion neurons in the average human brain.

"A hundred billion neurons is like all the stars that we know in the visible galaxy -- it's a huge number," Barchi said. "When you think about how the brain works, it's critical to understand that although you can reduce the brain to individual building blocks like nerve cells, there is an incredibly huge number of these things," Barchi said.

Barchi went on to explain how each neuron collects and processes information, emphasizing the magnitude of these functions when such a large number of brain cells are in use.

"If you think about the number of connections that you have in the brain between and among nerve cells, it is truly a huge number," Barchi said.

In outlining the complexities of the transmissions between neurons, Barchi gave students an overview of the chemical and electrical "firing codes" that are set off in the brain. These electrical activities are the foundation of all bodily functions, both physical and emotional.

"All the processing in your brain, all the thinking that you do, is really just electrical signals passing around from one nerve cell to another -- that's the basis of it," Barchi said. "That electrical activity is the fundamental process that defines your ability to think."

Barchi used the clinical definition of death -- or the lack of electrical activity in the brain -- to show the significance of neurotransmissions.

"If you come into my emergency room and your heart is beating, your lungs are working, you're breathing perfectly normally, your muscles are contracting -- everything is fine, but if your brain has no electrical activity, you be dead!" Barchi said.

Some students engaged in discussions with Barchi on topics ranging from how intelligence is determined to the accuracy of the portrayal of Dr. Green's brain tumor on NBC's ER.

When the question about whether using a mobile telephone causes brain cancer, Barchi relieved students' fears by saying that, at least thus far, there is no proof to confirm such speculations.

"There's enough evidence that people that walk around with cell phones to their ears may not be the best thing, but the data are not there," Barchi said. "I use mine -- I just don't use it that much."

Attendees were impressed with Barchi's knowledge of neuroscience and his enthusiasm for teaching.

"I was very impressed with the interdisciplinary nature of [Barchi's] knowledge, since he was able to talk about neuroscience and how it related to computers and philosophy," Wharton senior Josh Padnick said.

Preceptorial Committee Chairman Dyer Halpern, a College senior, said that Barchi's experience in the medical field was quite evident.

"Having the chance to talk with one of the top people in the field of neuroscience is great," Halpern said. "This is the future -- giving 12 people the opportunity to learn about it is great."

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