TRUE OR FALSE: WE USE ONLY 10% OF OUR BRAIN.

FALSE

The 10% statement may have been started with a misquote of Albert Einstein or the misinterpretation of the work of Pierre Flourens in the 1800s. It may have been William James who wrote in 1908: "We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources"

 Perhaps it was the work of Karl Lashley in the 1920's and 1930's that started it. Lashley removed large areas of the cerebral cortex in rats and found that these animals could still relearn specific tasks.

Why Does the Myth Continue?  Somehow, somewhere, someone started this myth and the popular media keep on repeating this false statement. Soon, everyone believes the statement regardless of the evidence.

What does the brain do?  Controls our voluntary movements

What does the brain do?  Regulates involuntary movements such as breathing and heartbeat

What does the brain do?  Human consciousness  -stores memories  -allows us to feel emotions  -gives us our personalities

Interesting Facts  The average adult human brain weighs 3 pounds.

Myths  The brain is a uniform mass of tissue  It is composed of billions of specialized cells called neurons and trillions of “support cells” called glia  It is organized into specialized regions within in the brain

Frontal Lobe Concerned with reasoning, planning, speech and movement, emotions, and problem-solving.

Parietal Lobe Perception of stimuli related to touch, pressure, temperature and pain.

Occipital Lobe  Vision

Temporal Lobe  Hearing and Memory

Myth  Brain does not change  It is constantly changing.  Recent studies have shown that some neurons in the adult brain retain the ability to divide

The brain is part of the nervous system

 The nervous system can be divided into several connected systems that function together. Let's start with a simple division: The Nervous System is divided into: The Central Nervous System and the Peripheral Nervous System

 The central nervous system is divided into two parts: the brain and the spinal cord.

 The peripheral nervous system is divided into two major parts: the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.

 The somatic nervous system consists of nerve fibers that send sensory information to the central nervous system AND motor nerve fibers that send information to skeletal muscle.

 The autonomic nervous system controls smooth muscle of the viscera (internal organs) and glands.autonomic nervous system