9 myths about the human brain that you absolutely should not believe

Myth 1. There is a right hemisphere and a left hemisphere type of thinking

Let's start with one of the most common myths. Many people refer to themselves as "left brain" or "right brain". It's about like "techies" and "humanities", only it sounds more scientific.

It is believed that the left hemisphere is responsible for logic and rationality, and the right - for creative thinking. And in general, there is a reasonable basis for this assertion.

There is such a thing as lateralization of brain functions, when its left and right halves take on different mental functions.

However, calling creative people "right brain" and analysts "left brain" not rightM. E. Halpern. Lateralization of the Vertebrate Brain: Taking the Side of Model Systems / Journal of Neurosciencebecause each person's brain lateralization is unique. It develops differently for everyone, and the left side is quite capable of thinking creatively, while the right side is analytical.

Moreover, the fact that one half of the brain is loaded more than the other does not mean that the rest is idle. They work in tandem. For example, in most people the left hemisphere handlesWhy the Left‑Brain Right‑Brain Myth Will Probably Never Die / Psychology Today the content of speech, and the right one takes into account intonation, stress and emotional coloring of speech.

Both hemispheres work together to solve common problems, exchanging data through the area, calledJ. liederman. The Dynamics of Interhemispheric Collaboration and Hemispheric Control / Brain and Cognition corpus callosum

The myth of right- and left-brain people appearedleft brain vs. Right Brain Dominance / Very Well Mindwhen neuroscientist Roger Sperry investigated the connection between the halves of this organ in 1981 to find a cure for epilepsy. His experiments showed that the left side is related to language, and the right side is related to the processing of spatial information. Journalists have taken Sperry's cautious assumptions and blown them up into a "brain dichotomy" theory.

Myth 2. My brain hurts during a migraine

Some people explain migraine because it hurts the brain. They argue something like this: the skull consists of bone, there is nothing to hurt there, which means that it is the substance in the skull that suffers. However, this mythIf the brain can't feel pain, why do I get headaches? / Brain Facts.

In fact, the brain is devoid of pain neurons, or nociceptors, that transmit pain signals.

Therefore, by the way, surgeons can operate on this organ, even when the patient is conscious.

In fact, a person experiences pain when get annoyedA, S. Jagoda. Clinical Policy: Critical Issues in the Evaluation and Management of Adult Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department With Acute Headache / Annals of Emergency Medicine pain receptors in the meninges and vessels next to it in the head, neck and spinal nerves, as well as in the periosteum (this is the connective tissue that covers the bones). So it is wrong to assume that migraines directly hurt the brain.

Myth 3. Brain in gray

We are accustomed to think of the human brain as gray. This is a fairly popular misconception, which appeared, most likely, due to the signature phrase of the famous character - detective Hercule Poirot: "The gray cells did a good job!".

In addition, the dissected brain in formalin may also appear colorless and sometimes yellowish.

In fact, the substance of the living tissues of this organ It hasb. Kolb, I. Q. Whishaw. Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology gray-brown color due to blood capillaries penetrating it. It also contains white fragments, as well as the so-called black substance, which is colored dark by the pigment neuromelanin. In addition, there are many red hues in the brain due to blood vessels. So actually the brain is far from pure gray.

Myth 4. After a certain age, the brain stops developing

Some people believe that when a person turns 40, 50, 60 - or whatever number you want - the brain stops making new cells. Accordingly, the learning ability of a person drops to zero.

“I don’t have the same brains anymore!” - Elderly relatives joke when they are trying to teach them how to use a computer.

But this is yet another misconception. The human brain continues to develop throughout life, and in older people, neurogenesis, that is, the formation of new neuron cells, going onMaura Boldrini. Human Hippocampal Neurogenesis Persists throughout Aging / Cell at about the same rate as the young.

True, with age, some of the receptors on the surface of neurons may not work as well as they used to, and therefore elderly memorization and concentration games are somewhat more difficult for people. But cells do not die offS. N. Burke. Neural plasticity in the aging brain / Nature Reviews Neuroscience with age is a tale.

In addition, older people increasesHow memory and thinking ability change with age / Harvard Health branching of nerve processes, dendrites, and connections between distant areas of the brain are strengthened. This allows you to better build logical connections. In addition, emotional control improves with age. And physical (mainly aerobic) and mental exercises allowHigher physical fitness levels are associated with less language decline in healthy aging / Scientific Reports older people to support brain function.

Therefore, absolutely not rightMost People Think Alzheimer's Is a Normal Part of Aging / The Atlantic say that people get dumber with age. This can be avoided if you lead a healthy lifestyle and constantly load the brain, not letting it idle.

So if your relatives refuse to learn how to use a smartphone, this is laziness, and not a natural state of the body.

Myth 5. We only use 10% of our brains

Another popular and long-lived mythDo We Only Use Ten Percent of our Brains? / Snopes.com, flashing in the media since at least 1998: people use only 10% of brain resources. Sometimes they also talk about 5%.

But if you unleash the potential of the brain by 100%, then you can become smarter than Einstein, and even start moving objects with the power of thought, like Scarlett Johansson in the movie “Lucy”.

True, it is not clear why the remaining 90% are needed.

Considering that this body absorbsWhy Does the Brain Need So Much Power? / Scientific American more than half of the glucose in the body even in sedentary people, it would be extremely wasteful to feed the brain when it is mostly idle. This is the most energy-consuming part of the body.

In addition, if only 10% of the brain were needed for life, damage to this organ would be much lessHow Much of Our Brain Do We Use? / Very Well Mind lethal.

In fact, the whole brain works. And even the simplest tasks like walking and talking use the organ fullyHow Much of Our Brain Do We Use? / Very Well Mind. Some parts of it may be more active than others, but there are no areas that are idle.

The myth of 10% is most likely aroseDo People Only Use 10 Percent of Their Brains? / Scientific American thanks to the work of the psychologist and philosopher William James. In his 1908 book The Energies of Men, he wrote: "We use only a small part of our mental and physical resources." And all sorts of motivational speakers and coaches picked up this slogan, took the figure of 10% from the ceiling and replicated it in the media.

Myth 6. Humans have a "reptilian" part of the brain

Perhaps you have heard expressionThe Triune Brain/Kheper "reptilian brain". This is supposedly the oldest part that we inherited from reptiles.

She is answersG. F. Striedter. brain evolution for biological survival, reproduction, functioning of the body, protection of territory, the desire to control everything and dominate the hierarchy. Reptiles are called the back and central parts of the brain, as well as the brain stem and cerebellum.

It is in them, in theory, that the most aggressive, primitive and animal desires and instincts are born.

According to theoriesJ. Cesario, D. J. Johnson, H. L. Eisthen. Your Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside / SAGE Journals "triune brain", developed by American physician and neuroscientist Paul D. McLean, on top of the primitive "reptilian" areas of the brain in the first mammals, more advanced parts have grown that make up the limbic system. She is responsible for feelings and emotions.

And in the most developed mammals, primates, a neocortex appeared - the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe cortex responsible for memory and thinking. She supposedly helps control animal urges and keep her "reptilian nature" in check. In primitive mammals, the neocortex is only outlined, while in humans isNeocortex (brain) / Science Daily 76% of the brain volume.

The "reptilian brain" theory was popular until the early 1970s, but then scientists criticized1. J. Cesario, D. J. Johnson, H. L. Eisthen. Your Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside / SAGE Journals,
2. G. F. Striedter. brain evolution it was recognized as a myth.

According to modern researchJ. Kiverstein. The embodied brain: towards a radical embodied cognitive neuroscience / Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, the brain develops as a whole, and not in “layers”, as McLean imagined. The so-called "reptile", or, as it is more correct to say, its basal part has undergone a huge number of evolutionary changes.

The cerebellum of primates is incomparably better developed than the brain of reptiles. And yes, it is now known that people don't happen from reptiles, as was believed in the 60s. Our evolutionary branches diverged much earlier - about 320 million years ago, in the Carboniferous period.

Myth 7. Separated from the body, the brain remains conscious for several minutes

There is a popular mythG. Abbott. The Executioner Always Chops Twice: Ghastly Blunders on the Scaffoldthat when Queen Anne Boleyn was executed in 1536, her lips continued to move even after the beheading, as if she was trying to say something.

A similar incident allegedly occurred during the French Revolution, when the guillotine was invented. On July 17, 1793, a woman named Charlotte Corday was executed with this infernal device for the murder of the radical journalist Jean Paul Marat.

After the beheading, the executioner (according to another version, the carpenter who put the guillotine) raised the girl's head and slapped her. Her face was supposedly flushed and contorted with anger.

However, modern neurophysiology claims that these cases are greatly exaggerated.

Some insects, such as cockroaches, mayFact or Fiction?: A Cockroach Can Live without Its Head / Scientific American live without a head for a while and starve to death. BUT snakes, turtles, chickens and some other animals are ableWhy do headless chickens run? / Science Nordic temporarily keep moving after being decapitated. But in humans, the nervous system is much more complicated and will not work without the control of the brain.

Such reactionsC. M. van. Rijn. Decapitation in Rats: Latency to Unconsciousness and the Wave of Death / PLoS Onelike the blinking and twitching of the lips on a severed head are reflex muscle twitches, not conscious actions. Separation of the brain from the spinal cord and from the circulatory system in 2-3 seconds causesTop 10 Myths About the Brain / HowStuffWorks to whom, and then death. So heads trying to transmit signals with their eyes or say something are fiction.

Myth 8. Classical music helps the brain develop

There is a popular misconception that regular listening to Mozart, Bach and Beethoven is beneficial. affects the mental and physical state of the body, no matter what biological species it belonged.

Children from classical music become geniuses, adults have increased efficiency, and in general, neural connections in the brain are getting stronger and IQ is growing. And also under Paganini, the beets begin to sprout and cows' milk yields increase.

But for those who listen to hard rock, brain cells will begin to die. Metalheads, tremble!

This is a myth that appeared in the 90s due to researchF. H. Rauscher. Music and spatial task performance / Nature scientists at the University of California at Irvine. They let the students listen music different genres, and then they conducted IQ tests. And those who enjoyed Mozart scored an average of 8 points more.

Baby Einstein Company, producingTop 10 Myths About the Brain / HowStuffWorks educational DVDs for toddlers seized on this idea and started churning out classical music CDs. And parents who want to raise geeks from offspring began to buy them in tons.

Some even began to listen to the classics during pregnancy, because it supposedly had a good effect on the developing fetus. As a result, thanks to the Baby Einstein advertising campaign, the so-called “Mozart Effect” appeared in the mass consciousness.

However, in fact, there is no evidence that listening to classical music develops the brain. Subsequent researchD. J. Bridgett, J. Cuevas. Effects of Listening to Mozart and Bach on the Performance of a Mathematical Test / Nature did not record any effect of music on intellectual abilities. So you can listen to any genre you like and don't force your ears with the classics if you don't like them.

Myth 9. Alcohol kills brain cells

Fans of a healthy lifestyle often argue that alcohol kills brain cells, which causes the head organ to “shrink”. Some particularly impressionable individuals even add that dead cells "leak out with urine."

On the Internet, there are often quotes in the spirit of "three pints of beer kill 10,000 brain cells."

But in reality this not this wayDoes Drinking Alcohol Kill Brain Cells? / Very Well Mind. Ethyl alcohol can destroy living cells on direct contact, making it an antiseptic. But you just can't drink enough ethanol to sterilize your brain—banal poisoning will knock you off your feet sooner.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis discoveredK. Tokuda. Ethanol enhances neurosteroidogenesis in hippocampal pyramidal neurons by paradoxical NMDA receptor activation / Journal of Neuroscience, what alcohol does not kill neurons, even if injected directly into them. It only blocks the communication between them, preventing the transfer of information, which makes drunks clumsy. But if you do not drink for a while, this effect disappears and connections are restored.

Therefore, to say that alcohol kills brain cells is wrong. Still the booze is bad affectsI. Y. Millwood. Conventional and genetic evidence on alcohol and vascular disease aetiology: a prospective study of 500,000 men and women in China / The Lancet on vascular health, which increases the risk of stroke. In addition, large doses of alcohol also interfere with neurogenesis, that is, the formation of new brain cells. Heavy drinking can literally make you dumb.