Ten percent myth

Ten percent myth

It is a common misconception that humans only use ten percent of their brains. Perhaps the myth emerged due to a misquoting, or even hopes of unlocking one’s psychic potential. More likely, the myth has its origins in misinterpretations of early scientific research. Before three-dimensional scans of the brain, researchers primarily focused on the brain’s surface. Research deeper in the brain was conducted using light electric shocks or the removal of parts with animals. If this showed no noticeable difference in the animal, it was assumed that those parts of the brain did nothing. In reality, areas of the brain have the ability to cooperate and overcompensate when one area of the brain has been lost.

It is possible that every so often, when relaxing and clearing the mind, a person only uses ten percent of his or her brain. But throughout the day, nearly every part of the brain is used for simple tasks and unconscious activities. Twenty percent of the body’s energy is used by the brain, mostly to make connections between neurons, but also to aid higher cognitive functions, motor functions, and involuntary functions. The largest part of the brain, the cerebrum, is responsible for higher cognitive functions, including language abilities and memory. Motor functions, such as coordination, movement, and balance, are controlled by the cerebellum. The brain stem, which continues to the spinal cord, controls involuntary actions such as heartbeat and breathing. Each of these parts of the brain play an active an important role in everyday life, and are used continually throughout the day, even during sleep.

Though evidence shows that all of the brain is active over the course of a day, it is difficult to determine exactly what each smaller part of the brain is responsible for. To remove a portion of a patient’s brain for experimental purposes is potentially very dangerous and damaging, but it is certain that if a part of the brain has been damaged in an accident, other areas go into “overtime” to compensate for what has been lost. Clusters of neurons form in the brain to perform similar functions, such as the movement of a hand or heart rate regulation. Thus, neurosurgeons take care to avoid areas of the brain vital to sensory perception and involuntary functions. The ten percent myth isn’t quite what it seems. It would be more accumulate to say that although we use one hundred percent of our brains, we only understand how ten percent is functioning at any given moment.