The myth of 10% and how many percent our brain actually works at

The human brain and its capabilities have long been a subject of interest to people. Research continues to this day - scientists are discovering new abilities of this organ. People who have nothing to do with science know little about him. However, almost everyone has heard and believes that we are using only 10% of its capabilities. Have you heard rumors that if you activate it 100%, you can become a genius? It's time to dispel the myths and find out for sure how much the human brain is developed.

The human brain is a complex mechanism, as it is the source of all feelings, behavioral reactions, and logical thinking . In addition, it is considered a repository of memory and self-awareness. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that such a complex mechanism is still a mystery to humans.

Where does the 10 percent myth come from?

In an article published in 1907 in the journal Science [2], 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 [3]. 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 and reduces the risk of dementia, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Examples of pathologies that can affect speech and thinking

If a patient consults a doctor about difficulty speaking, suspicion falls, first of all, on a violation of the areas of the brain responsible for this function (even if they are individual and point-specific). For example, if a patient has difficulty pronouncing words, cannot string them together into a sentence, does not understand the coherent meaning of a picture and cannot describe it, these are most likely signs of a stroke. Didn't the man notice him? Unfortunately, if the hemorrhage is mild, you may not even feel it.

Another example is when the subject is unable to start a conversation, although there are no difficulties in moving the lips, vocal cords and tongue. X-ray of the brain revealed abnormalities in the left temporal cortex. More subtle studies (angiogram - with the introduction of a contrast agent into the vascular system of the brain) made it possible to establish: the blood vessels supplying this area of ​​the left hemisphere are closed. The diagnosis is: limited thrombosis in the clear part of the cortex responsible for speech.

If fluoroscopy and angiogram had revealed, on the contrary, increased blood flow and tissue compaction, the diagnosis would have been different: for example, a tumor. It could be on blood vessels and brain tissue.

There could also be degenerative changes in the brain, with the death of neurons. This happens in old age or with Alzheimer's disease (known signs are memory loss, dementia, trembling of arms and legs, etc.). Despite the difference in morphological and physiological reasons, the result is the same - speech and thinking disorder.

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

Walnuts

Walnuts are rich in antioxidants that promote brain health.

Lifestyles that improve brain function

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

Other available and inexpensive methods:

• a ride on the bicycle;
• run;
• swimming.

The more a person uses his brain, the better his mental functions become. For this reason, brain training is a good way to maintain overall brain health. A recent study found that people who trained their brains had a 29% reduced risk of developing dementia [4]. The most effective training is aimed at increasing the speed and ability of the brain to quickly process complex information.

Brain Test: Intelligence Test

Some “advanced” bosses use an IQ test when hiring, trying to determine the intellectual abilities of a future employee. This is convenient and understandable because this criterion is considered established and illustrative. However, in fact, an IQ test demonstrates only one type of human intellectual capabilities, not allowing the applicant to demonstrate even a tenth of the entire range of his abilities. Hence the conclusion: it is more advisable for the boss to conduct a highly specialized test with potential employees that relates directly to the work ahead - checking for:

• logical thinking,
• spatial memory
• attention and concentration,
• speed of decision making, etc.

However, the belief in the infallibility of the IQ test is not the only misconception that exists in popular culture. The same beliefs include the idea that intellectual abilities depend 100 percent on the number of so-called. “gray matter” (although not everyone knows what gray matter is). Or that there is a special female logic, and men are smarter than women.

Correction for male and female minds is sometimes legitimate. Girls, for example, from the first minutes after birth are more sensitive to touch, and women are better than men at capturing emotional nuances in speech and are generally more receptive to words. However, it does not follow from what has been said that male logic exists separately from female logic, and the male mind is more perfect than the female.

Here is one of many illustrations. In April 2015, the statistics of the most effective programmers were “raised” based on 4 million questionnaires. It turned out that customers are more satisfied with the work done by women, but only until they find out about the author’s gender. After this, in one case out of seven, customers become biased towards gender.

Research into how the brain works continues continuously. Based on the book “We are our brains” by Dick Swaab. From the Uterus to Alzheimer's", Chris Frith's book "Brain and Soul", Theo Compernolle's book "Brain Unchained", David Rock's book "Brain. Instructions for use" and many other publications, you can follow new discoveries in this topic and compare popular theories.

Other myths about the brain

Photo: Pixabay/geralt
Research shows [5] that in humans neither the left nor the right hemisphere is dominant, 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 challenges. For example, the study authors believe that the left hemisphere is involved in processing language, and the right hemisphere is involved in processing emotions [6].

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 fetal brain development and even cause fetal alcohol syndrome. Infants' brains may be small and have few cells. This can lead to learning and behavioral difficulties.

Research shows that subliminal messages can trigger an emotional response in people who are unaware that they have received an emotional stimulus. But can subliminal messages help you learn something new? A study published in Nature Communications [7] found that recording vocabulary while sleeping can improve a person's ability to remember words. This was only the case for people who were already learning 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 is constantly making new connections and breaking old ones, even in adulthood.

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

How does the human brain work?

The brain is considered to be the most complex organ of all living creatures on the planet. Just imagine, every moment it processes a huge amount of information and transmits signals to other body systems. There have been so many studies, and scientists still have not fully studied the structure and functional features of the brain. In humans, the latter affects:

• thinking;
• speech;
• coordination;
• consciousness;
• emotional sphere;
• reflex functions.

The human body is penetrated by a network of nerve fibers that continue the central nervous system. Through them, information flows to the entire body, as well as back for processing. A single information network is formed from all nerve cells and the brain.

Interesting facts about the brain

The brain makes up about 2% of a person's weight, but consumes 20% of oxygen and calories [8]. 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 an important role in the human brain. Without cholesterol, brain cells may not survive. About 25% of cholesterol in the body is found in brain cells [9].

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

Principles of the brain

The peculiarity of the functioning of the human brain is such that the norm within the framework of this topic should be discussed with great caution. The line between genius and pathology is so thin that it is almost invisible. Mental and nervous disorders are recorded so often that they have begun to outstrip cardiovascular diseases and oncology in number. However, there are standard indicators for the functioning of brain waves, various deviations in the registration of which make it possible to establish developmental pathologies.

Brain waves

“Brain waves” are low-intensity electromagnetic wave oscillations emitted by the brain with a frequency range from 1 to 40 hertz. Normally they have the following indicators:

• The alpha level of brain function with a frequency of 8-13 Hz is recorded in 95% of healthy people in a state of relaxed wakefulness, mainly in the areas of the back of the head and the crown.
• Beta rhythm. The frequency of the brain is 14-40 Hz. Normally, it has mild fluctuations with an amplitude of up to 3-7 μV in the areas of the anterior and central gyri. Occurs when awake while observing or concentrating on solving problems.
• The gamma wave occurs when solving problems that require maximum concentration. Oscillations from 30-100 Hz in the parietal, temporal, frontal and precentral regions.
• The delta rhythm with fluctuations of 1-4 Hz is associated with slow recovery processes and low activity.
• Theta rhythm. Its frequency is 4-8 Hz with registration in the hippocampus and frontal zones. Occurs during the transition from relaxed wakefulness to drowsiness.

The principle of reflex work

The basic principle of the nervous system is reflex.

A reflex is the body’s reaction to irritation of receptors (sensitive formations), the implementation of which occurs with the participation of the nervous system.

In the 17th century, Rene Descartes discovered the reflex principle of nervous activity in general. And the assumption about the reflex activity of the higher parts of the brain, that is, the principle of reflex work of the brain, was discovered by I. Sechenov already in the 19th century. I. Pavlov developed ways of experimental objective research of the functions of the cortex and a technique for developing conditioned reflexes to unconditioned ones. Developing these ideas, P. Anokhin created the concept of a functional system, within the framework of which it is argued that at each moment of time a complex system is formed - a temporary association of sensory receptors, nervous elements of brain structures with executive organs.

A man is not a computer

In general, the principles of brain operation differ from the principles of computer operation and comparison can only be made with numerous reservations. For example, a person, unlike a computer, does not have a single energy-intensive passive memory localization. However, the neurons responsible for the state of memory are still concentrated more or less grouped in the neocortox, which contains about 11 billion. neurons and even more glia. (This type of brain cell becomes the habitat of neurons, and their metabolism is related to the metabolism of neurons.)

Literature

1. Herculano-Houzel S. The human brain in numbers: a linearly scaled-up primate brain //Frontiers in human neuroscience. – 2009. – T. 3. – P. 31.
2. James W. The energies of men //Science. – 1907. – T. 25. – No. 635. – pp. 321-332.
3. Herculano-Houzel S. The human brain in numbers: a linearly scaled-up primate brain //Frontiers in human neuroscience. – 2009. – T. 3. – P. 31.
4. Edwards JD et al. Speed ​​of processing training results in lower risk of dementia // Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions. – 2021. – T. 3. – No. 4. – pp. 603-611.
5. Nielsen JA 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.
6. Corballis MC Left brain, right brain: facts and fantasies //PLoS biology. – 2014. – T. 12. – No. 1. – P. e1001767.
7. Schreiner T., Lehmann M., Rasch B. Auditory feedback blocks memory benefits of cueing during sleep //Nature communications. – 2015. – T. 6. – P. 8729.
8. Raichle ME, Gusnard DA Appraising the brain's energy budget //Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. – 2002. – T. 99. – No. 16. – pp. 10237-10239.
9. 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.