Most Surprising, Amazing, and Interesting facts about the human brain: all the most interesting from the world of science!
There are many myths about the brain that are taken as “facts.” This is understandable: the human brain is still a mystery to science. All experts agree that we know less about the brain than we don’t.
Of course, in recent years, the knowledge base about the brain has grown dramatically, in the last 15 years we have learned more than in all the time before. In this article, we will present you with over 60 interesting facts about the human brain based on the latest science.
Numerical facts about the human brain
1. The brain weighs about 2% of the total body weight, but it uses 20% of all energy entering the body.
2. The brain is 73% water. It takes as little as 2% dehydration to impair attention, memory, and other cognitive skills.
3. The brain weighs about 1.5 kilograms. Sixty percent of the brain’s mass is fat, making it the “fattest” organ in the body.
4. 25% of the body’s cholesterol is found in the brain. Cholesterol is an essential part of every brain cell. Without adequate cholesterol levels, brain cells die.
5. According to the latest estimates, the brain contains about 86 billion cells.
6. Each neuron in the brain can transmit 1000 impulses per second and establish tens of thousands of synaptic connections with other neurons.
7. Brain tissue the size of a grain of sand contains 100,000 neurons and 1 billion synapses, all connected to each other.
8. There are no two identical cells in the brain.
9. The brain needs a constant supply of oxygen. Just five minutes without oxygen can lead to the death of brain cells, resulting in serious damage.
10. Children have big heads to support their fast-growing brains. A two-year-old’s brain is 80% of the size of an adult’s.
11. Only at the age of 25 (for men) and 23 years (for girls) does the brain reach full maturity.
12. Information in the brain is transmitted at a speed of 400 km. at one o’clock. It’s faster than Formula 1 racing cars.
13. The human brain produces about 12-25 watts of electricity. This is enough to power a low-power LED lamp.
14. There is a reason the brain is called a “random thought generator.” It is believed that the brain generates up to 50,000 thoughts a day.
15. Every minute 1 liter of blood flows through the brain.
16. The brain can process a picture that the eyes have seen in only 13 milliseconds. It takes longer to blink.
Interesting facts about brain size
Size matters for some things, but for the brain, “bigger” doesn’t always mean “better.”
17 . Overall, men have 10% larger brains than women, even with their larger body size. However, the hippocampus, the part of the brain most closely associated with memory, is usually larger in women.
18 . Albert Einstein’s brain weighed 1230 grams – 10% less than the “average” brain (1400 grams). However, the density of neurons in his brain was above average.
19. The brain of the Neanderthal was 10% larger than the brain of today’s people.
20. People have the largest brain in relation to body weight among all living things. The heaviest brain in a sperm whale is 7.5 kg.
21. The human brain has shrunk significantly over the past 10-20,000 years. Lost volume is equivalent to the size of a tennis ball.
22. The hippocampus, the part of the brain that is considered the “center of memory”, is much larger in taxi drivers with experience in metropolitan areas. This is due to the mental work that the brain does as it navigates thousands of streets.
The impact of modern lifestyles on the brain
Life changes our brain. And not always for the best.
Interesting facts about the human brain
“Your brain, doctor, is a breeding ground for question marks.”
Paul Valerie
23. Chronic stress and depression are widespread in modern life. This can cause a measurable contraction in the brain.
24. A modern diet low in omega-3 essential fatty acids results in brain shrinkage equivalent to two years of structural brain aging.
25. Average IQ decreases by 1.6 points per decade.
26. Technology is forcing most of us to become “multitaskers”. But our brain cannot concentrate on two things at the same time. He can quickly switch between tasks. Multitasking reduces attention span, learning ability, short-term memory, and overall mental performance.
27. Teens are more likely to forget what day it is or where they put their keys than their parents.
28. The intervals for increased attention span are getting shorter. In 2000, the average attention span was 12 seconds. Now it’s 8 seconds.
This is shorter than the 9-second attention span of some fish.
29. Brain cells eat each other as the last source of energy to prevent death. Thus, a diet, especially one that is low in fat, can force the brain to eat itself.
30. More than 140 types of proteins in the brain are negatively affected by the electromagnetic frequencies emitted by mobile phones and other electronic devices.
31. Using GPS for navigation destroys the innate sense of direction, a skill that our ancestors had for millennia.
When the brain regions involved in orientation are no longer used, the neural connections between them disappear.
Debunking Brain Myths
The rapid development of neuroscience means that old information is rapidly becoming obsolete. This is one of the reasons there is so much misinformation around the brain.
32. The information that we use only 10% of the brain is wrong.
Brain scans clearly show that people use most of the brain most of the time, even when they are sleeping.
33. Alcohol does not kill brain cells. It damages the connective tissue at the end of the neurons.
34. The “Mozart Effect” is refuted. While listening to certain types of music can improve memory and concentration, listening to Mozart is nothing unique.
35. You may have heard that we have more brain cells than there are stars in the Milky Way, but this is not the case. According to the roughest estimates, there are 86 billion neurons in the brain, and in the Milky Way, there are 200-400 billion stars.
36. It is often said that the length of the blood vessels in the brain is 16,000 km. In fact, this number is closer to 1000 km.
37. Contrary to popular belief, high total cholesterol is not harmful to the brain. What’s more, high cholesterol levels reduce the risk of dementia.
38. Until recently, it was believed that a person is born with a certain level of intelligence and the number of brain cells.
In fact, the brain has the ability to change throughout life through a property known as brain plasticity.
The brain can also continue to form new cells through neurogenesis.
Brain and Memory Facts
It was once thought that the brain records memories like a camera, but that’s not how memory works.
Rather than being a discrete recording of experience, creating a memory is more like creating improvised jazz.
Interesting facts about the human brain
“That. what we think is much less difficult than what we think. “
Stanislav Lem
39. The brain peaks for different cognitive skills at different ages. At any given age, you are likely to get better at some things and worse at others.
An extreme case is a vocabulary, which can reach its peak after 70 years!
40. If you drank alcohol and do not remember what you did last night, it means that you have forgotten it. While you’re drunk, your brain is unable to form memories.
41. Exclusive memory is a skill that can be developed, not an innate ability.
Facts about the shape and function of the brain
The “design” and function of the human brain are unique.
42. The tissues of the human brain are loose. They are very fragile and soft, similar to the consistency of soft tofu or gelatin.
43. The brain generates approximately 100 ml. liquids every day. He floats in this bath of cerebrospinal fluid, which acts as a shock absorber, preventing his own weight from crushing the brain.
44. Half of the brain can work as a whole brain. Surgeons sometimes remove or shut off half of the brain to stop seizures by a procedure known as a hemispherectomy.
It does not affect the personality and memory of the patients.
45. Although pain signals are processed in the brain, the brain itself does not have pain receptors and does not feel pain. This explains how brain surgery can be performed without anesthesia.
The headache is caused by sensations from the skin, joints, blood vessels, or muscles.
46. According to research from the University of Cambridge, the order of the letters in a word doesn’t really matter to your brain.
As long as the first and last letters are in place, the brain can rearrange the letters so that you can form words as quickly as you can read.
Brain versus computer
The human brain is usually compared to the most advanced technology.
You will be surprised to learn that the brain is still far superior to the most powerful computers in existence.
Interesting facts about the human brain
“The computer has the advantage over the brain that it is used.”
Gabriel Laub
47. Recent research shows that the memory capacity of the brain is a quadrillion bytes.
This is about the same as you need to store the entire Internet!
48. The human brain is capable of producing 1016 processes per second, which makes it much more powerful than any existing computer.
49 . Researchers at AI Impacts have developed a way to compare supercomputers to the brain – by measuring the speed at which a computer can move information through its own system.
By this standard, the human brain is 30 times more powerful than IBM Sequoia, one of the fastest supercomputers in the world.
50. The Japanese “K-computer” is one of the most powerful computers in the world. The amount of information that the brain processes in 1 second, he processed in 40 minutes.
Brain imperfections
You know a lot of evidence that our brains are really amazing! But it can also work in an illogical, erroneous, and counterproductive way. Here are some more interesting facts about the human brain.
51. There are 200 known cognitive biases that cause us to think and act irrationally.
52. Memories are incredibly unreliable and change over time. Emotions, motivation, context, and how often you use them can all influence how accurately you remember something.
53. It is estimated that of the thousands of thoughts that a person encounters every day, 70% are negative.
54. Do you think you are in control of your life? Don’t be so sure. 95% of your decisions are made in the subconscious.
55. The blood-brain barrier protects the brain by preventing the entry of many foreign substances from the vascular system into it.
But many substances seep through it. Nicotine breaks into the brain in just 7 seconds. Alcohol in 6 minutes.
55. Our brain craves mental stimulation. Some men would rather get an electric shock than sit quietly in a room and think!
56. Synesthesia is a condition in which stimulation of one sense organ causes the perception of another sense. People with synesthesia may “taste” words, “smell” sounds, or perceive numbers as colors.
It is not known exactly why this is happening. The hypothesis is that in the brain of such people there is a hyper-connection between sensory areas.
57 . Savant syndrome is a condition in which people with severe mental disabilities are brilliant in one area.
The most common “areas of genius” are music, art, mathematics, mechanical or spatial skills.
58. Brain cells need a constant supply of fuel, but they lack the ability to store energy.
Fortunately, there is a backup system. The liver breaks down stored fat to form ketone bodies that can be used as a fuel substitute for the brain.
Weird and incredible facts about the human brain
There are some facts that will make you smile 😉
59. The brain in the head is not the only brain in the body.
The gut has a “second brain” that contains 100 million neurons. Gut bacteria are responsible for the creation of over 30 neurotransmitters, including the “happy molecule” serotonin.
60. Apple users are truly different from Android users.
MRI scans show that Apple products stimulate the “God Spot” in the brain of their users – the part of the brain that is activated by religion.
61. The pathologist who performed the autopsy on Albert Einstein kept his brain in a jar in his basement for 40 years.
In the end, this man decided to give Einstein’s brain to his granddaughter. He went on a journey across America with a brain in a container.
Do you know more interesting facts about the human brain? Share with your friends…
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