Does anyone have any interesting facts about the brain?

Question

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Answer 1

People who have had their corpus callosum (a "cable" connecting the left and right hemispheres) cut or damaged have some strange things occur. One lady reported that her left hand would suddenly grab her throat and try to strangle her while she slept, forcing her to sleep with it tied down. Many report that their left hand will do strange things if they're not paying attention to it, such as unbuttoning a shirt that was just buttoned and putting groceries back on the shelf.
Researchers have found that if these split-brain patients are shown images in ways such that each hemisphere see's something different, there is a curious result. If you show them a fork and an apple, the fork going to the right side of their brain and the apple going to the left, they will only report seeing an apple. But, when asked to pick up what they saw with their left hand they will, much to their surprise, choose the fork (the brain is cross wired, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa)

And as a message to those above who believe that we use only 10% of our brains, that simply is not true. That assumption is based on the fact that neurons make up only 10% of total brain mass, glial cells make up the rest. But neurons aren't the only cells involved in cognition. Current research is suggesting that glial cells act as more than neural nannies and they actually play an active role. In any case, the fact remains that we use 100% of our brains.

Answer 2

The brain is surrounded by a membrane containing veins and arteries. This membrane is filled with nerves of feeling. However, the brain itself has no feeling; if it is cut into, the person feels no pain.

Your brain has 1 quadtrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000) cells. Each cell has 10,000 macromolecules and receives 10,000 connections from other brain cells. The brain loses 1,000 cells per day which means a loss of 100 billion cross-linkages daily. Yet basic patterns and memories are maintained.

The brain is motionless. Though it consumes up to 25% of the blood's oxygen supply, it does not grow, divide or contract.

Your brain is the most complex and orderly arrangement of matter known in the universe.

To keep your feet warm, put on a hat. 80% of all body heat escapes through the head.

Answer 3

In animals, the brain or encephalon (Greek for "in the head"), is the control center of the central nervous system, responsible for behaviour. In most animals, the brain is located in the head, protected by the skull and close to the primary sensory apparatus of vision, hearing, equilibrioception (balance), sense of acceleration, taste, and olfaction. While all vertebrates have a brain, most invertebrates have either a centralized brain or collections of individual ganglia. Primitive animals such as sponges do not have a brain at all. Brains can be extremely complex. For example, the human brain contains more than 100 billion neurons, each linked to as many as 10,000 other neurons.

Answer 4

In Alzheimers a sticky substance in the brain kills off all the cells in the brain

Answer 5

It contains approx 100 billion cells the same number of stars in a galaxy

Answer 6

This little three pound organ is in charge of your every movement, sight, smell, taste and touch. It learns your language, arithmetic and history. Everything you say starts there. It modulates your heart rate and breathing.
And it is the source of your dreams, ideas, love, hope, anger and every other emotion. Physical pain is felt there, too.
Check out the link below for way more technical info.

Answer 7

The brain has no feeling because there are no nerves to detect pain!

Answer 8

Only 10 to 15 percent of its mass is used for cognative thought.

Answer 9

Generally speaking we only use about 5-10% of what it's fully capable of,...

Answer 10

If you fall over and hit your head, you risk damaging your optic nerve, and going blind. Cheerful stuff!!!