Brain- the most complex organ in the human body. It weighs about 3 kg and contains 100 billion neurons - cells that carry information. It is believed that a person uses only 10% of his brain. Researchers have debunked this myth.

One common brain imaging technique is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which can measure activity in the brain while a person performs various tasks. Using this and similar methods, researchers have shown thatmost of the brain is used by humans, even when he performs a very simple action. The brain is active even when a person is resting or sleeping.

Where does the 10 percent myth come from?

In an article published in 1907 Science magazine, psychologist William James argued that people use only part of their mental resources. However, he did not specify the percentage. This figure was mentioned in Dale Carnegie's 1936 book How to Win Friends and Influence People. There is an opinion among scientists that neurons make up about 10% of brain cells. This may have contributed to the myth of 10 percent brain utilization. The myth has been repeated in articles, television shows and films, which explains why it is so believed.

Like any other organ, the brain is affected by lifestyle, diet and exercise.

Eating healthy foods improves overall health and well-being, reduces the risk of dementia, obesity and diabetes mellitus 2 types.

Foods that improve brain health

Foods that promote brain health:

Fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin E, such as spinach, broccoli, blueberries, and rich in beta-carotene, including red peppers and sweet potatoes. Vitamin E and beta-carotene promote brain health.

Fatty fish

Fish species such as salmon, mackerel and tuna are rich in fatty acids Omega-3s, which help support cognitive function.

Walnuts

Walnuts are rich in antioxidants that promote brain health.

Lifestyles that improve brain function

Regular physical exercise also reduce the risk of health problems and improve brain function. Walking for 30 minutes a day can reduce the risk of dementia.

Other available and inexpensive methods:

• cycling;
• running;
• swimming.

How more people uses his brain, the better his mental functions become. For this reason, brain training is in a good way to maintain general health brain A recent study found that people who trained their brains had a 29% reduced risk of developing dementia. Most effective training aims to increase the speed and ability of the brain to quickly process complex information.

Other myths about the brain

Research shows that in humans neither the left nor the left is dominant. right hemisphere, both sides of the brain are used equally. Many people believe that a person is either left-brained or right-brained, with right-brainers being creative and left-brainers being logical. Indeed, the hemispheres face different tasks. For example, the study authors believe that left hemisphere is involved in language processing, and the right is involved in emotion processing.

There is a myth that drinking alcohol kills brain cells. But everything is not so simple, the reasons for this are complex. If a woman drinks too much alcohol during pregnancy, it can affect the fetal brain development and even cause . Infants' brains may be small and have few cells. This can lead to learning and behavioral difficulties.

Research shows that subliminal messages can cause emotional reaction in people who do not know that they have received an emotional stimulus. But can subliminal messages help you learn something new? A study published in Nature Communications found that recording vocabulary while sleeping can improve a person's ability to remember words. This was only the case with people who had already studied vocabulary. The researchers noted that receiving information during sleep may not help a person learn new things.

The human brain is covered in folds, the depression in each fold is called a sulcus, and the raised part is called a gyrus. Some people believe that a new gyrus is formed every time a person learns something new. This is wrong. The brain begins to develop folds before a person is born, and this process continues throughout childhood. The brain constantly makes new connections and breaks old ones, even in adulthood.

Now that we've debunked some common myths, here are some facts about the brain.

The brain makes up about 2% of a person's weight, but consumes 20% of oxygen and calories. Scientists estimate that the brain is 73% water. Dehydration of as little as 2% can impair a person's ability to perform tasks involving attention, memory and motor skills.

Everyone knows that cholesterol is bad for the heart. However, cholesterol plays a role important role for the human brain. Without cholesterol, brain cells may not survive. About 25% of the body's cholesterol is found in brain cells.

Although there is still much to learn about the brain, researchers continue to fill in the gaps between fact and fiction.

Literature

1. James W. The energies of men //Science. – 1907. – T. 25. – No. 635. – pp. 321-332.
2. Herculano-Houzel S. The human brain in numbers: a linearly scaled-up primate brain //Frontiers in human neuroscience. – 2009. – T. 3. – P. 31.
3. Edwards J.D. et al. Speed ​​of processing training results in lower risk of dementia //Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions. – 2017. – T. 3. – No. 4. – pp. 603-611.
4. Nielsen J. A. et al. An evaluation of the left-brain vs. right-brain hypothesis with resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging //PloS one. – 2013. – T. 8. – No. 8. – P. e71275.
5. Corballis M. C. Left brain, right brain: facts and fantasies //PLoS biology. – 2014. – T. 12. – No. 1. – P. e1001767.
6. Schreiner T., Lehmann M., Rasch B. Auditory feedback blocks memory benefits of cueing during sleep //Nature communications. – 2015. – T. 6. – P. 8729.
7. Raichle M. E., Gusnard D. A. Appraising the brain’s energy budget //Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. – 2002. – T. 99. – No. 16. – pp. 10237-10239.
8. Björkhem I., Meaney S. Brain cholesterol: long secret life behind a barrier //Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology. – 2004. – T. 24. – No. 5. – pp. 806-815.

Science

You may have seen in movies or heard that the human brain is only used by 10%. By the way, this statement is even attributed Albert Einstein, which pointed to the supposedly small activity of our brain. But in fact, this is not true (if Einstein knew that they were slandering him, he would probably have been very surprised).

Now, if this figure were 100%, then people would have superpowers. So we are assured by rumors that come from out of nowhere.

Why does this myth live for so long and continue to spread?

Misconceptions of People

Research results show that 65% of people surveyed believe this myth is true; and 5% think this number is increasing due to their belief in evolution.

Even the TV show MythBusters a few years ago wrongly corrected the myth of 10% of the brain being used by 35%.

Like most legends, the origins of this fiction are unclear, although there is some speculation. The origins come from a neuroscientist Sam Wang(Sam Van) of Princeton, author of "Welcome to Your Brain."

Perhaps it was William James(William James), who was considered one of the most influential thinkers in psychology at the beginning of the 20th century. He said: "People have untapped intellectual potential."

This quite reasonable statement was later revived in distorted form by the writer Lowell Thomas(Lowell Thomas) in 1936 in his preface to the book How to Win Friends and Influence People.

"Professor William James of Harvard said that average person develops only 10 percent of his latent psychic ability," writes Thomas. It appears that he or someone else at one time simply mentioned a number he liked.

Specifying 10% explicitly is false for several reasons.

What percentage does the human brain work at?

All the brain is active all the time. The brain is an organ. Its living neurons and cells, which in turn are supported by these neurons, Always cause activity. Have you ever heard that the spleen is only 10% used? Surely not.

This is how Joe Ice, a professor of neurology and psychology at New York University, explains how the human brain works. Let's say you are watching a video image in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner.

Some areas of the brain involved in hearing or visualization, for example, are now more active than other areas. Their activities will be depicted as colored spots.

These clots meaningful activities, as a rule, occupy small parts of the brain, even less than 10%. Therefore it may not seem knowledgeable person that the rest of the brain is idling.

However, Joe Ice argues that the brain, with small actions of certain functions, still works at 100%.

Scientists have been trying for a very long time to find out what percentage of the human brain works. These searches have more than once led to all sorts of misconceptions and false theories. Some researchers claim that a person uses the brain at only one percent of its available potential, others give 15-20 percent. Ordinary people begin to object and note that their brain works everywhere and always, providing breathing, heart rate and much more. This is certainly true. But when talking about what percentage scientists work at, they mean hidden capabilities and

A little anatomy

The central nervous system includes the brain and which, in turn, are represented by two types of cells: neurons and gliocytes. Neurons act as the main carriers of information, receiving input signals through dendrites that resemble tree branches and sending output signals along cable-like axons. Each neuron includes up to ten thousand dendrites and only one axon. But axons can be a thousand times longer than the neurons themselves: up to four and a half meters. The areas where dendrites and axons touch are called synapses. These are something like toggle switches that connect neurons to each other and turn the brain into a single network. It is these impulses that are transformed into chemical signals.

Gliocytes are human brain cells that serve frame structure, they play the role of cleaners, eliminating dead neurons. In total, there are fifty times more gliocytes than neurons. The peculiarities of the human brain are such that it simultaneously contains up to two hundred billion neurons, five million kilometers of axons, and one quadrillion synapses. The number of options for exchanging information exceeds the content of atoms in the Universe. Truly, the potential is limitless. Why then do we only use our brains to such a small extent? Let's try to figure it out.

Load level

Let's give an example. Let's say a mathematics graduate and a thirty-year-old alcoholic were given the same task: multiply 63 by 58. The action is not at all difficult, but which of them will have to use a larger percentage of the brain to carry it out? It is not surprising to guess that the second one. Why? Because a mathematician is smarter? Not at all. He is simply more trained in this matter, and to solve the example he needs much less workload. However, initially both one and the other are approximately equal. And the number of neurons is also approximately the same. The difference is only in the number of relationships between them, but, as you know, broken connections can be restored and even acquired new ones. Therefore, an alcoholic certainly has opportunities for intellectual growth.

Experiments on monkeys

Michael Mezernich, a university professor from San Francisco interested in how much of the human brain works, conducted several experiments on monkeys. He put the animals in cages and placed containers of bananas outside them. While the primates tried to reach the fruit, Mezernich took computer pictures of their brains. He found that as the monkeys' skills developed, the area of ​​the part of the brain that ensured the completion of the task also increased. Once the animals were able to fully master the technique and easily extract bananas, the area of ​​the brain in question returned to its previous size. Thus, the connections between neurons were strengthened, and reactions began to occur without any effort, automatically. And this immediately opened up the potential for even greater growth.

Extreme situations

What percentage of the brain does a person use while in extreme situation? No one will say the exact figure, but it is known that in this case the speed of perception grows at a fantastic pace. Some disaster survivors noted that at the moment of danger they felt as if time had stopped, and this gave them the opportunity to maneuver. It would be nice if such an ability were inherent in us in everyday life, and not just during periods of great shock. But is this possible? If possible, it is extremely dangerous. Just imagine how much energy the brain requires in this state!

Mystical abilities

There are people who move objects with the power of thought, rotate hands on watches, scatter laser beams, and the like. Surely many have heard about such magicians and sorcerers. Who are they - superhumans or hoaxers? Or maybe each of us has such abilities, they just lie dormant? Perhaps nature deliberately limits us, keeping reserves for some unforeseen event. What matters is not what percentage of a person’s brain works, but how we spend our intelligence. The smarter people are, the more they strive to satisfy their selfish needs. So, Hitler was a very gifted man, but what came of it? A sea of ​​tears, oceans of blood. Let's take other geniuses as examples: Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci. They achieved a lot in their lives, but they were known to be greedy, selfish and power-hungry. If one of them had been given power, perhaps the consequences would have been the same.

What percentage of the brain does a person use?

If people do not change internally, do not grow spiritually, then they cannot use their hidden abilities. So, what percentage of the brain does a person use? To satisfy animal instincts, even three percent is enough for us. To be able to provide yourself with food - two more. Five percent is enough for formation, the same amount is required for the learning process. That's basically it! The dark storehouses of the brain can only open up to us if we strive for more, decide to engage in development logic problems and puzzles, explore the world and improve yourself as a person.

How the brain works

The number of neurons in the brain of a newborn child is greater than that of an adult. However, there are still almost no connections between the cells, so the baby cannot use his brain correctly. Initially, the newborn hardly hears or sees. Even if retinal neurons sense light, they cannot transmit information to the cortex cerebral hemispheres, because they have not yet formed connections with other neurons. That is, the eyes see light, but the brain does not perceive it. Gradually, the necessary connections are formed, the part of the brain that interacts with vision activates its work, as a result, the child begins to see light, then silhouettes of objects, colors, shades, and so on. But what is most surprising is that such connections can only form in childhood.

Development of skills and abilities

Say, when a child could not see anything in early age because of congenital cataract, then even if he undergoes surgery as an adult, he will still be blind. This is confirmed by cruel experiments conducted on kittens. Their eyes were sewn up when they were just born, and the stitches were removed when they were adults. Despite the fact that the animals' eyes were healthy and saw light, they remained blind. The same applies to hearing and, to a certain extent, to other abilities: touch, taste, smell, speech, reading, orientation in space, and so on. An excellent example is the Mowgli children raised by animals in the forest. Because they did not practice speaking as children, they will not be able to master human speech as adults. But they can navigate in space in a way that none of the people who grew up in civilization can.

How to increase brain efficiency

From all of the above, we can conclude that the percentage at which a person’s brain works depends on the degree of his training. The busier the brain is, the more efficiently it functions. Moreover, in children it is more receptive and flexible, so it is easier for them to adapt to a new situation, for example, to master computer program, learn foreign language. By the way, you never know exactly how what you have acquired will manifest itself. childhood skill. For example, a person who, as a child, was engaged in modeling, drawing, knitting, or any type of needlework and thereby trained fine motor skills hands, has every chance to become an excellent surgeon and easily carry out precise, delicate operations, in which any wrong movement can lead to failure. This is why you should train your brain from childhood. And then any great discoveries will be possible!

A common myth states that we only use 10% of our brain - the remaining 90% of capacity is idle. Various charlatans in their books and methods promise to unlock the untapped potential of the brain with the help of neuroscience - in fact, it’s all a hoax.

Two-thirds of all people and just over half of all teachers in the world believe this myth. In the 1890s, William James, the father of American psychology, said, “Most of us do not use our mental potential.” By these words he meant challenging our abilities, not limiting them, but the most popular misinterpretation of his words has become. She was supported by the fact that for a long time scientists could not understand the significance of the large, frontal and parietal lobes of the brain. Their injuries did not cause motor or sensory disturbances, so it was believed that they did nothing. For decades, these parts were called “quiet zones.” Now we know what they are responsible for rational thinking, planning, decision making and adaptation.

“If most neurons were not used, evolution would have gotten rid of unnecessary brain volume long ago.”

The idea that 90% of the brain is idle all the time seems absurd when you consider how much energy it consumes. Rodents and mammals use 5% of their body energy to support the brain, monkeys 10%, adults 20%, with the brain occupying only 2% of their body, children 50%, and infants 60%.

The human brain weighs 1.5 kg, the elephant brain weighs 5 kg, and the whale brain weighs 9 kg. We are superior to any other living creature by quantity neural connections. This requires a lot of energy, which we can obtain to great advantage thanks to the invention of cooking. Food comes to us already prepared for digestion, so we can afford to maintain a brain with 86 billion neurons - 40% more than that of monkeys.

If all the neurons in at least one part of the brain worked simultaneously, the overall energy load would be unbearable. Therefore, only small areas of neurons are simultaneously activated in the brain, which are constantly replaced - this is called the sparse coding method. It allows you to spend a minimum of energy while processing maximum information - from one to 16% of neurons are used at a time. A person does not cope well with multitasking - we simply do not have enough energy to keep everything under control - as a result, we do each task worse than individually. If most neurons were not used, evolution would have long ago gotten rid of unnecessary brain volume.