10 amazing facts about the brain

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1. The brain does not feel pain

Have you ever wondered how neurosurgeons conduct brain surgery without anesthesia? Just in the brain no pain receptors. But they are in the meninges and blood vessels. Therefore, when we are experiencing a headache, sore was not the brain itself, and the surrounding tissue.

2. The brain works more active when we sleep

While working, the brain produces electrical fields which can be measured at the scalp surface by the method of electroencephalography (EEG). We believe that during sleep the brain is turned off, but in fact it works even more active than during the day. During waking hours, he produces alpha and beta waves, and during sleep, especially in its initial stages, the theta waves. Their amplitude is greater than the other waves.

3. brain cells - is not only neurons

One neuron for about ten glial cells. They provide access to neurons of nutrients and oxygen is separated from each other neurons are involved in metabolic processes and transmission of nerve impulses.

4. Falling in love can be seen in the fMRI images

Someone thinks that falling in love - it's just a concept, but the fMRI brain images prove the opposite. People in this state, the active areas of the brain associated with pleasure. The pictures can be seen as "light up" the place in which there is dopamine - a neurotransmitter that causes pleasurable sensations.

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

By data Scientists from Stanford University, the robot with the processor comparable in intelligence to the human brain, to complete the work will need at least 10 megawatts of electricity. And our neurons during the day themselves produce enough energy to light a light bulb. In addition, the brain works much faster than the smartest computers.

6. The brain consists of 60% fat

The brain - the body, which contains the most fat. Therefore, his health is so important diet rich in beneficial fats (omega-3 and omega-6). They strengthen the walls of brain cells, as well as to carry and store fat-soluble vitamins. In addition, fats reduce inflammation and help to correct the immune system works.

7. Nerve cells are required for the survival of oxygen and glucose

These two substances are necessary for the survival and functioning of the human brain. If it is within 3-5 minutes is not getting enough oxygen or glucose, there occur irreversible damage. Curiously, the death is almost never instantaneous. Even if a person is decapitated, the brain does not die even for a few minutes until it has cells of oxygen and glucose.

8. The volume of the brain's memory is practically unlimited

It is not possible to know too much or get so much new information that she has nowhere else to place (even though it seems so after long meetings). In our brain, as opposed to computers and telephones, the place is never ending. Although, for example, lack of sleep can have a negative impact on the ability of store the data.

9. On the brain, like muscles, apply the rule of "Use it or lose it"

We can expand your cognitive reserve, or the innate ability of the brain to recover, with the help of different types of learning and new experiences. It has been proven that people with more advanced cognitive reserve better able to cope with the unexpected. But if the brain is not used, this reserve will decrease.

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

Have you ever wondered why, after a while we were distracted, we forget what they wanted to say? This is due to the brain's ability to keep in mind the small amounts of information. He saves it for easy access, but only for 20-30 seconds. Number, e.g., retained in memory, on average 7.3 seconds, and the letters - 9.3.