Chat with Wally Welker
December 4, l997 - 1:00 p.m.

[ Linda/Ames - 21 - 13:00:18 ]
During a practice session Wally had a very good suggestion that I think is well worth repeating: As you ask your questions, let him know what you do know with respect to the question so that the answer will be of help on your level of knowledge. Remember that it takes a moment or two to respond - Let's chat!

[ Wally/UW - 26 - 13:04:18 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Oh, it's fine up here. Haven't even got permanent snow cover yet. Usually, we would be under a ton of snow by now. It's great weather probably because of the El Nino.
Stephanie: Welcome. Are you interested in brains, biology, evolution or anything like that?

[ Wally/UW - 28 - 13:05:54 ]
RE: [Duncan/ARC-Duncan/Lockmart] Wally - when the astronauts were out here a few weeks ago, they told us that one of the difficulties of working in space is doing "fine motor control" work. They said all humans have tremors, on the order of 3 hz, but that individual variations were great as to the magnitude of those tremors and shakes. I was wondering, are those tremors or shakes controlled by the brain, or are they just a function of the muscles themselves?
Tremors are likely coming from neural circuits of the brain, but augmented by feedback from the sensory receptors in the muscles and tendons and joints, to keep the tremor going. They have to learn to override the tremor.

[ Wally/UW - 31 - 13:06:34 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] Hi. Just wanted to let you know that 3 5th graders and their teacher are joining the chat.
Welcome: What do you know about the brain already?

[ Wally/UW - 35 - 13:08:49 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Wally, in your bio, it seems that you are very interested in the psychological aspect of the brain. What do you study, psychology or neurology?
Since the brain and and the mind and the behavioral repertory are all tied together, I'm really interested in all of them

[ Wally/UW - 37 - 13:09:58 ]
RE: [Ashton-ACEclass/JohnstonElementary] How do you study the brain if you can't work on living things? Or can you?
We can work on living brains in anesthetized animals if necessary, Then we record electrical activity and trace circuits from the skin, the eyes and ears, tongue, etc.

[ Wally/UW - 38 - 13:11:23 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] I like all aspects of science. Though I'm not a biology fanatic, seeing how the brain works in space is interesting.
Science is interesting, it is not complicated, it is just A WAY of asking questions about what you see, feel and do. You have to find your own interests and then go for it. Over?

[ Wally/UW - 42 - 13:12:42 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] I like all aspects of science. Though I'm not a biology fanatic, seeing how the brain works in space is interesting.
In space, with weightlessness, the brain continues to function as usual, but they have to compensate for the altered sensory inputs obligated by weightlessness

[ Wally/UW - 44 - 13:15:26 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] Our class just found out about the Neurolab project, and are also just beginning to explore the brain. We have been discussing illusions a bit. I'll start with 4 of the questions that kids came up with. Feel free to answer any or all. 1. We have heard that people use only 10% of their brains. Is this true? If so, why? Is this true for other mammals? 2. How does the size of the brain matter for intelligence? 3. How is the brain involved with seeing illusions? 4. We were surprised to learn about electricity in your brain. If you can be shocked by electricity, how does that affect your brain?
The 10% rule is a myth. All parts of the brain are always working, doing something. Brain size is related to body size, bigger bodies have more sensory inputs, and more muscles subtilties to control. But larger brains also can have a greater number of components and this is where complexity and intelligence comes it.
For more on this subject
I'll respond to electricity later.

[ Wally/UW - 45 - 13:16:50 ]
RE: [Duncan/ARC-Duncan/Lockmart] Wally - on Neurolab, they'll be studying the use of Melatonin as a sleep inducing agent. I've also heard that its a naturally occurring chemical. Can you tell us where in the body it is naturally produced, and how it puts you to sleep?
I'm not an expert about brain chemistry, but melatonin is a brain secretion, produced by certain specific nuclei that connect with the light cycles

[ Wally/UW - 47 - 13:18:54 ]
RE: [Sarah-ACEclass/JohnstonElementary] Were you in any advanced classes? How many years of college did you go to?
I went to college for 10 years. These days, for any profession, a PhD is just a starter diploma, the real nitty gritty of learning comes when in graduate or postgraduate learning when you get more independence to work out some of your own ideas. Expect to go to school or apprenticeship for a long time if you can, there is so much to learn. The brain is the most complicated object in the Universe.

[ Wally/UW - 49 - 13:19:47 ]
RE: [John-ACEclass/JohnstonElementary] Out of mammals, which one has the most interesting brain? Do you have a favorite?
I have many favorites, every brain has some unique interesting feature; e.g. porpoises, bats, raccoons, etc.

[ Duncan/ARC-Duncan/Lockmart - 52 - 13:22:06 ]
Hi Nick, what is the name of your school, and where is it located?

[ Nick-UndertaQuer - 68 - 13:30:17 ]
Wissahickon High School in Amber, Pennsylvania north of Philadelphia

[ Wally/UW - 53 - 13:22:28 ]
RE: [Ashton-ACEclass/JohnstonElementary] What is your learning style?
Learning style is important, learn what yours is. I have many many interests, short attention spans, but enormous curiosity. It is difficult to keep the study plan organized enough not to get confused. Keeping notebooks and diaries and protocols can be helpful. I write ideas down whenever they occur to me, so I keep pen and pad in my shirt all the time. even when I'm driving.

[ Wally/UW - 55 - 13:24:20 ]
RE: [Nick-UndertaQuer] What animals dream/sleep? I used to think it was only and all mammals.
We don't know for sure which animals dream, but I would suspect that all animals do dream. What we don't know yet what the contents of the dreams are. The brain is very active in sleep and one would want to record from many different brain areas at once in a sleeping dog or cat or pig. and correlate it with what is know about the animals personality

[ Wally/UW - 58 - 13:24:49 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Nick, I also smartfilter for LFM!
What does smartfilter mean?

[ Stephanie/Edmonton - 61 - 13:26:42 ]
Wally, Smart Filters process questions that students send in. We then route the question to the experts and they reply back, then we send the answer back to the students. Highly fun.

[ Wally/UW - 60 - 13:26:14 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Do humans have the largest brain when compared to body weight?
Elephants and whales come close to us humans, so do some monkeys (e.g. squirrel monkeys) size per se, even with body weight accounted for is not best indicator of anything specific about an animal's capability. More on this later.

[ Wally/UW - 63 - 13:27:26 ]
RE: [Philip-ACEclass/JohnstonElementary] Do you know if animals dream?
Again, I suspect that animals dream, a sleeping dog running in sleep (while lying down) might be an indication.

[ Wally/UW - 66 - 13:28:55 ]
RE: [Nick-UndertaQuer] Hi, I'm a 10th grader. I don't really know anything about Neurolab and I'm really more into physics than biology. Oh, I'm also a Smart Filter (I help answer and route questions for NASA about the Mars Pathfinder, Mars, and the Mars Global Surveyor).
Nick, I'm curious how you do your work and what your training is, and where you are going in life, as far as you can see

[ Wally/UW - 69 - 13:30:20 ]
RE: [Nick-UndertaQuer] What animals dream/sleep? I used to think it was only and all mammals.
Animal brains are so similar to ours that I would consider it strange if they didn't dream, think, emote and feel also

[ Wally/UW - 70 - 13:31:56 ]
RE: [Marcus-ACEclass/JohnstonElementary] Why do people dream?
I think that experts believe that dreaming allows a resorting of the memory systems, resolving conflicts in inputs during the day, and wiping the slates clean for new inputs the next day.

[ Wally/UW - 73 - 13:33:02 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Does lack of sleep cause much permanent damage on the brain?
Lack of sleep can accentuate stress responses and surely cause brain distress that mirrors mental stress that sleepless people report.

[ Wally/UW - 78 - 13:35:32 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Do humans have the largest brain when compared to body weight?
Humans and squirrel monkeys and some whales and elephants have the largest brain/body weight ratios. There are many good books on this topic. Search the Reference list on our Brain Collection Web Site (author= Jerison_

[ Linda/Ames - 80 - 13:36:31 ]
RE: [Nick-UndertaQuer] What's the URL for the scientist biography?
If you're speaking of Wally's, it's: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/team/welker.html

[ Wally/UW - 81 - 13:37:01 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] What high school classes do you need to take to go in your field?
Take all the science you can, but keep broad, in Math (if you can), get on the Web and search to your hearts and minds content. There is a lot of valuable information about what you should learn to be competent in any of the science subjects. More later

[ Linda/Ames - 85 - 13:40:02 ]
RE: [Nick-UndertaQuer] Are you Linda Conrad who I talked with about chat scheduling?
That's me!

[ Nick-UndertaQuer - 92 - 13:44:50 ]
Thanx then!

[ Wally/UW - 86 - 13:40:34 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] Wally, When you have time we are interested in hearing more about the electricity used in the brain.
Electrical activities in the brain are the byproduct of an enormously complex distributed neurochemical machinery. the Neurochemical transactions produce the electrical activities which are involved in transmission of information. Very complex subject these days. The Neuroscience Society is one the largest collections of professionals in the world. Go to one of their meetings sometime. You will be blasted away about the great flurry of activity in the many neuroscience subfields

[ Wally/UW - 87 - 13:42:08 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] Is there any research that compares the intelligence of land species (in general) to aquatic species?
Comparison of land species with aquatic species is not productive. The different adaptations are so numerous, that it is hard to compare their capabilities; like comparing apples and oranges; if that makes any sense. More later if you like

[ Wally/UW - 90 - 13:43:25 ]
RE: [Jennifer-ACEclass/JohnstonElementary] When I am in college, could you recommend any good classes where I could learn about the brain (at SFA)?
Go to SFA ahead of time and fine a good mentor. Where and what is SFA? I'll inquire for people you might contact

[ Wally/UW - 91 - 13:44:26 ]
RE: [Nick-UndertaQuer] Supposing we found ways to keep the human body alive or replace it or something, is there any foreseeable limit on the amount of time a human brain can last? Would things like alzheimers get us all?
We don't know what the limits are to keeping the body or brain alive. more later

[ Linda/Ames - 95 - 13:48:08 ]
We are getting close to the end of the chat, so we need to give Wally a chance to catch up. If you like, perhaps we could talk him into joining us again to ask more questions? Let's hold onto them for now though and let him answer the questions that are up.

[ Wally/UW - 96 - 13:48:28 ]
RE: [Brandon-ACEclass/JohnstonElementary] How can you tell if an animal is smart? Are animals smarter than humans?
What is Smart, is the question. Most scientists concerned with capabilities, feel that there are multiple intelligences. Some people have quick math skills, others are specialized in motor activities; think of musical geniuses, others are more people oriented and sensitive to moods and mentation of others. Some are analyzers, some synthesizers. All these talents are possessed by everyone, but are differently developed in all of us. You can be street smart. etc.

[ Wally/UW - 98 - 13:51:10 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] Which of your five senses requires the most "brain power" to use?
We usually don't speak of brain power. But each animal may have some sensory specializations. Dogs and polar bears are sniffers and probably have elaborate and complex olfactory "terrains" in their minds. Bats have acoustic environments and can perform enormous feats of localizing tiny targets by their auditory systems. Many other creatures are visual. For people too, some are audiophiles, or fiddle with numbers, or with drawings or can read a map correctly etc.etc.etc.

[ Wally/UW - 99 - 13:52:35 ]
RE: [Nick-UndertaQuer] Do you know how that myth about 10% of your brain started? Does it have any basis in fact?
The 10% figure has no basis in fact. I think it thrown out in conversation sometime several decades back. Maybe someone thought his dumb friend wasn't operating on all cylinders. I know of no factual bases.

[ Wally/UW - 103 - 13:56:41 ]
RE: [Nick-UndertaQuer] How do dolphins rate in intelligence as compared to animals in general, humans, and primates?
Dolphins are wizards for echolation, singing and talking to one another, using their vocal apparatus to communicate and maintain social order and identify individuals. Their capability is so far different from our capabilities that it is hard to make meaningful comparative statements. Each creature you mentioned has specializations that are pretty intelligent for the environment into which they have evolved. There is no clear way to compare them with apparatus, learning tasks, etc. Comparing intelligence is not a very useful way of approaching biodiversity in brain capabilities. I think the questions have to be phrased differently to be useful or meaningful. We can discuss this later

[ Wally/UW - 104 - 13:57:48 ]
RE: [Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary] Wally, Also wanted to let you know that we are in Verona, WI in case our class could connect with you later. Thanks
Please call me: I'm in the Madison phone directory. Perhaps you can come and see our specimens and we can talk about brain activities

[ Stephanie/Edmonton - 105 - 13:59:30 ]
Thanks for chatting with us today. Today was a very informational chat. Hope you can come again!

[ Nick-UndertaQuer - 106 - 14:00:16 ]
You guys are lucky living so close. Anybody know if there are any NASA things in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware?

[ Larry-Larry/CountryViewElementary - 107 - 14:00:24 ]
Thanks very much.

[ Ann-ACEclass/JohnstonElementary - 108 - 14:01:17 ]
Thanks for letting us talk to you. Most of my students have left to catch school buses! We will call this up next week from the archives to read everything. I appreciate your patience answering questions from excited fifth graders.

[ Wally/UW - 109 - 14:01:31 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] What high school classes do you need to take to go in your field?
Take classes in biology, more importantly, go to a University library and look for good books. There are many pop journals that explore brain science, including Scientific American. Browse a good book store Courses in basic biology, evolution, There is a good Brain or Nervous system coloring book that I have found useful, informative and fun, and simple enough to learn a lot about the brain. You will have to do a lot of search on your own. Many schools don't have the best or latest textbooks. Check it out.

[ Linda/Ames - 110 - 14:01:32 ]
I want to thank you all for joining us. If Wally is willing we will stick around and complete the 2 or 3 that he's working on answering now. Watch the schedule of chats for another chance to get your questions answered.

[ Stephanie/Edmonton - 111 - 14:01:44 ]
Bye!

[ Wally/UW - 112 - 14:01:52 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Thanks for chatting with us today. Today was a very informational chat. Hope you can come again!
You are very welcomel

[ Wally/UW - 113 - 14:02:05 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Bye!
Bye