Human Brain - The Most Complex Thing Ever Discovered in the Universe

Would you be able to give me a definition of what a brain is? I don't think so, but for a simple reason: even scientists, despite having tried, have repeatedly failed. We are experiencing one of the greatest scientific endeavors in trying to understand this organ. Thanks to studies and research, we have acquired an enormous amount of data, but we still only know a tiny part of its activity. We can say that this three-pound tangle of gray and white matter is the most perfect machine we know of. Its dense network of communication pathways, made up of billions of neurons and countless synapses, is capable of controlling voluntary and involuntary actions and producing consciousness. It takes up only a small fraction of space, and yet it’s the most mysterious, intricate, elegant, astonishing, and powerful thing ever seen.

You might be wondering why I'm writing an article about the human brain… Well, there's something about this that has always fascinated me, and so I wanted to share some mind-blowing curiosities with you

Our Dreams

I'm sure some of you have thought about dreams after reading the term brain. But do you know what these really are? Dreams are an amalgamation of images, memories, emotions, imagination, wishes, physiological and neurological factors. They are basically stories that our mind creates during the REM phase (rapid eye movement, when the brain is most active during sleep). They can be vivid or confusing and make us feel happy, sad, or scared. Whether we remember them or not, during a night, we have about 7 dreams, each lasting from 5 to 30 minutes. The real reason why the brain produces such a bizarre thing is still unknown, but it is thought that this works as self-psychotherapy, helps to learn and develop long-term memory. Do you want to know something else cool? While we dream, we are still, as if paralyzed, and this is to avoid physically acting out the imagined experiences which could lead to injuries. Our brain spends an average of 6 years producing dreams (which are often colorless, i.e., black and white). Nightmares are the most common, especially in women and children, and are signals that our brain gives to warn us of problems related to anxiety, stress, or other illnesses.

23 Watts

Yep, our brain produces electricity. Neurons create and send (at a speed of 241 km/h) more messages than all the telephones in the entire world. This is possible thanks to the hundreds of billions of synapses that allow the exchange of electrical signals, generating enough watts to power a low-voltage light bulb.

Brain's Storage Capacity

The brain's storage capacity is virtually unlimited. Before buying tablets, computers, or phones, we consider the device's memory and always opt for technologies with the highest number of gigabytes… but no one thinks about the fact that our brain is the most capacious thing ever discovered to date! With more than 2.5 petabytes, we can absorb any type of information and never be full of knowledge. Despite this, however, we cannot remember everything because our memory is not linear and organized like that of a PC but complicated, changeable, and divided into:

Short-term: most information is eliminated after about 30 seconds, or as soon as it’s no longer useful;

Long-term: collects the vast majority of our life memories and indispensable information.

Bilingualism and Brain Health

Exactly! If you are among those who know two or more languages, you will develop cognitive reserves, and therefore neurodegenerative diseases will come to you years later than the average population (or maybe you won't have them at all). Having the ability to repress one language while using another allows you to create or modify connections/networks between neurons, expanding thinking, concentration, creativity, memory, and problem-solving. It's true; it can be difficult to learn new languages, but in addition to securing better jobs, it brings surprising personal benefits. So why not try? How many languages do you speak?

Like Fingerprints

No two people in the world have the same brain anatomy, and this is due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors, experiences, and health. We can be identified not only by our dermatoglyphics but also by the arrangement of the ridges of our cerebrum. Since we are endowed with neuroplasticity, it’s even more surprising to know that this uniqueness is not immobile (this structure is constantly changing, albeit slowly and slightly).

The Human Attention Span

Reading something like this may initially make us laugh, but it should then make us realize how much humanity is regressing, falling apart, wasting its potential, and limiting productivity. Research shows that the average human attention span has dropped from 12 to 8 seconds since 2000. This is probably a consequence of the availability of enormous amounts of information for us to consume in a short time (which has pushed us to concentrate on things for a few seconds before moving on to something else), multitasking, high levels of internet and social media use. How long will this article hold your attention? Not much, according to some brain studies…

Our Brains Are Chatty

Have you ever wondered why meditation is so difficult? Here is the answer: On average, each person produces 70,000 thoughts a day (i.e., 50 every minute), and therefore our brain has trouble shutting down. We literally talk to ourselves every second of our lives. At this exact moment, dear reader, you are not only looking at the text, but a voice in your head is pronouncing the words of this article in a quiet voice that only your “inner ear” can hear, without the external presence of a physical sound source. Amazing, isn't it?

This article has reached its end, but I don't think it deserves a conclusion. Most likely, the only thing that we will never stop studying will be the brain, so why write two last lines instead of inviting you to support research foundations that will lead us to discover many more things? I have only listed 7 curiosities, but the amazing facts discovered are many more (and correspond to only a small percentage of the information we will come to know in the future). Did you know that the brain is made almost completely of fat? And instead that this cannot feel pain? Would you have ever said that it’s the hottest part of our body? Have you ever been told that it’s possible to live without half a brain and be ok? Would you have ever believed that you would be able to process an image even if seen for just 13 milliseconds? Have you ever heard that the brain can eat itself due to an unbalanced, low-fat diet?… Of course not, or at least most of you. I hope that what I have written has not bored you but rather pushed you to want to know more, to support and encourage the study of our brain and the discovery of treatments to prevent its diseases.

"The brain is wider than the sky, deeper than the sea." - Emily Dickinson

Link to Brainfacts

Link to The Brain Research Foundation

Today’s Blogger

Hi everyone, for those who don't know me yet, I'm Marina Lostun, and I'm a student at the Braschi-Qurenghi high school. This bio is too short to contain all my interests, so, dear readers, you will discover them all gradually by reading my articles and posts. However, although I really like the idea of leaving you hanging, for now, know that I love travelling, nature and helping others.