Although people have studied the brain with even ancient times, many aspects of the brain are still a mystery.It is not surprising that we tend to simplify information about how the brain works, to understand it better.This led to the emergence of many misconceptions about our brain.
1. Color brain: our brain gray
you ever wondered about the color of your own brain?Most likely - no, if you do not work in the medical field.If you had the opportunity to see the brain stored in the bank, it usually had white or gray with a yellowish tint.However, a live pulsating brains in our skull is not so dull in appearance.There are white, black and red components.
Although most of the brain gray so-called gray matter, which represent different types of cells, it also contains a white substance containing nerve fibers attached to gray matter.
The brain also has a black substance (Substantia nigra), which has a black color due neuromelanin - a special kind of pigment that colors the skin and hair and is part of the basal ganglia.
Finally, the red color comes with a host of blood vessels in the brain.So why the brain is so dull?It's all because of formaldehyde, which keeps the brain in a jar.
2. The Mozart Effect: listening to classical music makes us smarter
Many parents buy the DVD, video and other products of classical music, art and poetry for children, believing that it is useful for the child's mental development.There are even collections of classical music designed for unborn children in the mother's stomach.This idea has become so popular that it was called "The Mozart Effect."
Whence came this myth?In 1950 otolaryngologist Albert Tomatis (Albert Tomatis) said that listening to Mozart's music helped people with speech and hearing impairments.
In 1960 36 students participated in the study, University of California, listening to 10 minutes of a Mozart sonata before you take the test IQ.According to psychologist Dr. Gordon Shaw (Gordon Shaw), on the IQ scores of students have increased by an average of 8 points and so was born "Mozart effect."
However, as it turned out, the researcher who conducted the experiment, never claimed that music can make someone more intelligent, but only showed that it improves the performance of some of the space-time tasks.Other researchers have failed to replicate the results, and now there is no evidence that listening to Mozart or other classical music could make you smarter.
The only thing that is known, so the fact that the study of playing musical instruments improves concentration, self-confidence and coordination.
3. gyrus: we are new folds in the brain when we learn something new
When we imagine what it looks like the brain, we draw a picture of the rounded gray mass of two parts with a lot of "wrinkles"or furrows.
As our development, the brain became larger to accommodate all the high features that distinguish us from other animals.But to the brain could fit into the skull, he must be in a certain proportion to the rest of the body and brain began to frown.
If you could straighten out all gyrus and sulcus, the brain would be the size of a pillow.There are different kinds of gyri and sulci with his name, and they are different for different people.
However, such a "wrinkled" appearance does not appear immediately.Fetus at an early stage of development is very smooth little brain.As the fetus grows neurons that move to different areas of the brain, creating depressions and grooves.After 40 weeks, it becomes the same brain folded (but smaller) as the adult human brain.
Thus new wrinkles do not appear at least as we are learning, and all the folds, with which we are born for life, unless of course we are healthy.
During training our brain actually changes, but not in terms of gyri and sulci.By studying the animals' brains, the researchers found that the synapses - connections between neurons and blood cells that support neurons grow and their number increases.This phenomenon is called neuroplasticity.
4. 25th Frame: We can learn, influencing the subconscious
25th frame - the message enclosed in a picture or sound has been done to implement it in the subconscious and affect the behavior of the person.
first person who coined the term, became James Vicary (James Vicary), who said that the implemented messages during screening of the film in New Jersey.The message flashed on the screen to 1/3000 of a second, suggesting to the audience "drink Coke" or "eat popcorn".
According to Vicary, Coke sales in the cinema increased by 18 per cent and 57 per cent of popcorn, which confirmed the effectiveness of the 25-th frame.The results of this experiment was to use television advertising to convince consumers to buy certain products.
But is it really the 25th frame to function?As it turned out, Vicary had fabricated the results of the study.Subsequent research, such as a message "Call Now", which was shown at the Canadian television, did not have any effect on the viewers.However, many people still believe that the music and advertising contains hidden promises.
And while listening to the special entries to self-hypnosis may not hurt, it is unlikely to help you quit smoking.
5. The size of the brain: the person the biggest brain
Many animals use their brain to perform the same actions as the people, for example, to find a solution to the problem, using the tools and showing empathy.Although scientists do not agree on what makes a person intelligent, most still agree that man is the most intelligent beings on Earth.Perhaps for this reason, many people come to the conclusion that we have the largest brain in animals.
But it is not so.The average weight of the human brain is 1361 grams.Dolphins - a very clever animal, the brain has an average of the same weight.While the sperm whale, which is considered not as smart as a dolphin brain weighs about 7800 grams.
On the other hand the brain beagle dogs weighing about 72 grams and 370 grams of brain orangutan.And dogs and orangutans are considered to be intelligent animals, but they have small brains.And the birds, such as pigeons, brain weight is only 1 gram.
Thus, dolphin weight averages 158, 8 kg, and 13 tons of sperm whale.Typically, the larger the animal, the larger his skull and brain, respectively.Beagles relatively small dogs, weighing 11.3 kg, and because their brains are smaller.In other words, the size of the brain is not important, and the ratio of brain weight relative to the total weight of the body.In humans, such a ratio is 1 to 50, and the brain have more weight than the other animals.For most mammals, the ratio is 1 to 220.
Intelligence is also associated with different components of the brain.In mammals, the more developed cerebral cortex, responsible for higher functions such as memory, communication and thinking, as opposed to birds, fish and reptiles.In humans, the biggest brain crust relative to the size of the brain.
6. The brain remains active after decapitation
Once, decapitation was considered one of the most common methods of execution, thanks in part to the guillotine.While many countries have abandoned this method of execution, it is still used among the terrorists and other groups.Thus guillotine was chosen as a relatively rapid and humane death.But how quickly it happens?
idea that after beheading you some time are in the mind, appeared during the French Revolution, when the guillotine was set up.In 1793, French Charlotte Corday was executed by means of the guillotine for killing a radical journalist, politician and revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat.
After cutting off a woman's head, one of the assistants raised her head and hit his cheek.According to witnesses, Corday's eyes looked at the assistant, and her face was an expression of indignation.After this incident, people were decapitated, were asked to blink after the execution, and some witnesses claimed that his eyes continued to blink for another 30 seconds.
Another example was the case described by the French physician Dr. Gabriel Bury (Gabriel Beaurieux), who watched the decapitation man named Longil.The doctor claimed that he saw the eyelids and lips clenched rhythmically for 5-6 seconds, and when he called him by his name, the victim's eyelids slowly lifted and his pupils focused.
All these cases can make us believe that after beheading a person can remain conscious even for a few seconds.However, most modern physicians believe that such a reaction is not more than a reflex muscle twitching.
brain is cut off from the heart, immediately falls into a coma and begins to die, and lost consciousness for 2-3 seconds, due to the rapid reduction of intracranial blood flow.As painless guillotine, the division of the brain and spinal cord after dissection of the surrounding tissues causes a sharp and very severe pain.For this reason, in many countries decapitation not applicable.
7. irreversible brain injury
Our brain is very fragile organ that is susceptible to a variety of injuries.Damage to the brain can cause anything from infection to a car accident, and often leads to the death of brain cells.For many people, the brain injury is associated with images of people in a vegetative state or with permanent physical or mental impairment.
But this is not always the case.There are different types of brain injuries, and how it will affect the man depends on the location and severity of damage.In mild brain injury, such as jitter, it recoils brain within the skull, which may lead to bleeding and tear, but the brain thus can recover well.In severe brain injury, sometimes surgery is required to remove or reduce the accumulation of blood pressure.In this case, the effects are usually irreversible.
However, some people with brain injury, may partially recover from the damage.When neurons are damaged or lost, they can not rise again, but the synapses - connections between them can.
part of the brain creates new connections, and some areas of the brain take on new roles and learn to re-do some things.Thus, patients who have experienced stroke, reduced speech or motor skills.
8. Action of drugs: drug use in the brain are formed holes
The way drugs affect the brain, is still a subject of controversy.Some believe that only the abuse of drugs may appear long-term consequences, others - that these effects appear immediately after the first use.
One study found that marijuana use leads to only a slight loss of memory, and the other that long and frequent use may wrinkle of the brain.Some people even believe that the use of drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy can cause holes in the brain.
In fact, the only thing that can make a hole in your brain - a physical injury.
However, the drugs do cause short-term and long-term effects in the brain.They can reduce the effect of neurotransmitters - nerve impulse transmitters such as dopamine.This may explain why addicts need to consume more of the drug to achieve the same feeling.It can also cause problems in the function of neurons.
A 2008 study showed that long-term consumption of some drugs can cause the growth of certain brain structures.For this reason, drug addicts is so hard to change their behavior.
9. Alcohol kills brain cells
One look at a drunken man can convince us that alcohol directly affects the brain.Among the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption observed confusion of speech, impaired judgment and motor skills.Also, people often suffer from headaches, nausea and unpleasant side effect - a hangover.But can another cup kill brain cells?What about drinking bouts or persistent consumption of alcohol?
In fact, even in alcoholics, alcohol does not lead to the death of brain cells.However, it really hurts the end of neurons called dendridami.This leads to problems that arise in the transmission of messages between neurons, although the damage is reversible.
have alcoholics may develop neurological disorder called Wernicke-Gaia Syndrome, in which there is a loss of neurons in certain parts of the brain.Also this syndrome causes problems with memory, confusion, paralysis of the eye, lack of muscle coordination and amnesia.Furthermore, it can lead to death.
itself is not due to violation of the alcohol and the lack of thiamine or vitamin B1.The fact that alcoholics are often malnourished and alcohol prevents the absorption of thiamine.
Although alcohol kills brain cells in large amounts it still damages the brain.
10. What percentage of people using brain?
You might have often heard that we only use 10 percent of our brain.As an example even quotes of famous people such as Albert Einstein and Margaret Mead.
source of this myth was the American psychologist William James, who once said that "the average person rarely reaches only a small fraction of its potential."Somehow this phrase turned into "10 percent of our brains."
At first glance, this seems illogical.Why do we have such large brains if we do not use it completely?There were even books that promises to teach people to use the remaining 90 percent of their brain.
But, as you can already guess, this view is mistaken.In addition to 100 billion neurons, the brain contains different types of cells that we constantly use.A person can become invalid even if a small area of the brain is damaged, depending on where it is located, and therefore we can not exist only 10 percent of the brain.
Brain scans showed that, whatever we do, our brain is always active.Some of the area are more active than others, but there is no part that would not work at all.
For example, if you sit at a table and eat a sandwich, you do not use your feet.You focus on how to bring a sandwich to his mouth, chew and swallow it.But this does not mean that your legs are not working.They saved the activity, such as blood flow, even if you do not move.
In other words, we do not hide the extra capacity that could be used.But scientists still keep
Articles Source: infoniac.ru
