Myth-Busters: The Human Brain

Myth-busters: The Human Brain

I would like you to take a moment, and imagine a man, we'll call him Peter, who is sitting on his couch mindlessly watching television--a diet soda in one hand, the remote in the other, and an oversized bag of chips in his lap. Can you picture it? How much of his brain do you think he is actually using? If you said little to none, you are dead wrong. Peter needs to activate several areas of his brain in order to watch television, eat, and even breathe! 

The human brain: one of the most fascinating wonders that is still leaving scientist scratching their heads. Consisting of over 100 billion neurons, the brain is responsible for just about everything we experience in our lives, and it plays a major role in keeping us alive. For example, our cerebral cortex is what allows us to be able to perform higher level thinking, and our brain stem is responsible for our involuntary functions, such as breathing. Unfortunately, there is a myth that still exists that claims that humans only use about 10% of their brain. The myth originated long ago from an unknown source, and has been lingering ever since. The myth made a reappearance on a movie called Lucy, where they claim that humans only use 10% of their brain, and if they were able to control their entire brain, they would have supernatural powers. I'm here to explain to you why that is simply one of the most outrageous claims ever made.

This image shows the complexity of neurons in the human brain

First off, the human brain weighs about 3 pounds, which makes up roughly only 2.5% of an average person's normal mass. That being said, the human brain also uses nearly 20% of our calories to function. These calories serve as energy for the neurons in the brain to be able to function. Now, with all of this information in mind, why would such a large chunk of our calories go towards an organ that only uses 10% of itself? In terms of conserving energy, it would not make sense for the body to exert so much energy on an organ that is hardly put to use. 

Secondly, there is very convincing scientific evidence that much of the brain is being used all the time. Tests such as MRAs (magnetic resonance angiography) can be used to prove that much of the brain is being used at all times. MRAs accomplish this by providing images of blood vessels to the brain. This is important because when a certain area of the brain is being used, blood is supplied to that area. It has been shown time and time again, using these magnetic resonance tests, that many areas of the brain are being used at the same time, well over 10%. 

This is an image of an MRA of the human brain

On the other hand, we also do not use all of our brain at the same time. If every neuron in the brain was firing at the same time, too much information would be processed and your brain would seize. The actual percentage of how much of our brain we use varies, depending on the situation. For example, if we feel threatened, we use more of our brain, and more blood is transported to certain areas of the brain in order to be able to process more information. 

So as for the myth that we only use 10% of our brain: BUSTED