10 surprising facts about the brain

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The brain is one of the most mysterious organs in the human body. Here are some interesting facts to help you learn more about him.

1. The brain does not feel pain

Have you ever wondered how neurosurgeons perform brain surgery without anesthesia? It's just that there are no pain receptors in the brain. But they are in the meninges and blood vessels. Therefore, when we experience a headache, it is not the brain itself that hurts, but the tissues surrounding it.

2. The brain works more actively when we sleep

As it works, the brain creates electrical fields that can be measured on the surface of the scalp using electroencephalography (EEG). It seems to us that the brain is turned off during sleep, but in fact it works even more actively than during the day. During the waking period, it produces alpha and beta waves, and during sleep, especially in its initial stages, theta waves. Their amplitude is greater than that of other waves.

3. Brain cells are not just neurons

There are about ten glial cells per neuron. They provide neurons with access to nutrients and oxygen, separate neurons from each other, participate in metabolic processes and the transmission of nerve impulses.

4. Falling in love can be seen on fMRI images

Some people think that falling in love is just a concept, but fMRI scans of the brain prove otherwise. People in this state have active areas of the brain associated with pleasure. The pictures show how the places in which dopamine is present, a neurotransmitter that causes pleasant sensations, "light up".

5. The brain produces enough electricity to light up a small light bulb

According to scientists from Stanford University, a robot with a processor comparable in intelligence to a human brain will need at least 10 megawatts of electricity to fully function. And our neurons generate enough energy during the day to light a light bulb. In addition, the brain works much faster than the smartest computers.

6. The brain is 60% fat

The brain is the organ that contains the most fat. Therefore, a diet rich in healthy fats (omega-3 and omega-6) is so essential for his health. They strengthen the walls of brain cells and also carry and store fat-soluble vitamins. In addition, fats reduce inflammation and help the immune system function properly.

7. Nerve cells need oxygen and glucose to survive

These two substances are essential for the functioning and survival of the human brain. If he does not receive enough oxygen or glucose within 3-5 minutes, irreversible disorders occur in him. Curiously, death is almost never instantaneous. Even if a person is decapitated, the brain does not die for several more minutes, as long as there is oxygen and glucose in its cells.

8. The volume of brain memory is practically unlimited

It is impossible to know too much or get so much new information that there is nowhere else to post it (although this is how it seems after long meetings). In our brains, unlike computers and phones, space never ends. Although, for example, lack of sleep can negatively affect the ability to remember data.

9. The brain, like the muscles, is subject to the rule "Use it or lose it"

We can expand our cognitive reserve, or the brain's innate ability to regenerate, through different types of learning and new experiences. It has been shown that people with more developed cognitive reserves are better at dealing with surprises. But if the brain is not used, this reserve will diminish.

10. Short-term memory lasts for 20-30 seconds

Have you ever wondered why after we are briefly distracted, we forget what we wanted to say? This is due to the ability of the brain to retain small amounts of information in memory. He saves it for quick access, but only for 20-30 seconds. Numbers, for example, are held in memory for an average of 7, 3 seconds, and letters - 9, 3.