From a physiological point of view, the human brain is the main organ of the central nervous system (CNS).. This fragile organ is enveloped by the bones of the skull, which protect it from mechanical stress and environmental influences, and weighs only about 1.4 kilograms. Thanks to this cellular conglomerate, we humans are able to define ourselves as members of a species, society and irreplaceable autonomous individuals.
We have already explored brain physiology on multiple occasions, both from an anatomical and functional point of view. The brain is a true work of art at the evolutionary level and, therefore, there is no shortage of words to describe the complex underlying processes that take place here.
Beyond anatomy, psychology and neuroscience classes, today we are going to be even more informative, as many structures of our body contain curious data that, if they are not given their own space, can get lost among technicalities and quickly forgotten. Based on the premises of interest and simplicity, today we show you 20 curious facts about the human mind..
The most amazing and fascinating facts about our mind.
We are going to try to approach this subject both anatomically and subjectively/psychologically. Therefore, we present you 20 curious facts about the human mind of great interest to scientists and psychologists alike.
1. The human brain is larger in men on average.
As we have said, the human brain weighs on average about 1.4 kilograms, reporting significant variations between individuals. The size (volume) is 1,130 cubic centimeters in women, while in men the figure is 1,260 cubic centimeters. in men the figure rises to 1,260 cubic centimeters..
For the same height and body surface area, the brain of men is, on average, about 100 grams heavier than that of women. The more sexist side of neuroscience has historically tried to wield this fact as proof that men’s cognitive system is “more developed”. As expected, this postulation has never been proven: cognitive capacity depends on the individual, not on its biological determination.
2. Communication between neurons is really fast
The synapse is defined as a functional approximation between neurons that explains the transmission of information throughout our body. Thanks to the morphology of neurons and their isolation from the rest of the extracellular medium (by myelin sheaths), the nerve impulse reaches the dizzying speed of 120 meters/second..
3. Each neuron presents an unimaginable connective tree.
Neurons are composed of 3 main parts: soma (body), dendrites and axon (tail). The dendrites that protrude from the soma give the neuronal element a characteristic stellate appearance, but also allow it to communicate with very many cells at the same time. The following figure is proof of this: one neuron in our body can connect with 50,000 other neurons..
4. The brain is a calorie-burning center
The Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is defined as the amount of energy necessary for the organism to remain in time without any physical effort, i.e. at absolute rest. You will be surprised to know that the brain consumes 20% of the body’s glucose and oxygen, which translates into about 350 kilocalories per day. Many physical exercises of considerable duration do not burn that much energy!
5. The brain is 60% fat
This curious fact about the human mind goes hand in hand with the previous one. Due to its high daily energy demand, the brain requires a near constant availability of lipids and, therefore, it is the organ with the highest percentage of fat in our body.
6. Adult neurogenesis exists
Neurogenesis in adults has only recently been demonstrated, and this represents a real revolution in neuroscience. Previously, it was believed that human neurons remained unchanged since the cessation of development (or since the cessation of development (or at most they could be lost through injury), but it has been discovered that this is far from being the case.
However, it should be noted that neurogenesis in adult mammals has only been detected in two areas of the brain: the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles.
7. The brain has an inconceivable number of neurons
Recent studies estimate that our brain houses some 86 billion neurons. Each of them processes its own information which it then sends to other cell bodies, from which it also receives news.
8. The brain remains a mystery
The brain has not yet been fully understood and research into its anatomy and functionality continues. Every day multiple scientific publications are made available to the public that discuss, evaluate and record new knowledge about our brain structure and its relationship with the rest of the body.
9. We do not use only 10% of our brain
The myth of the “10% of the brain” is very popular, but it is not based on any physiological basis.but it is not based on any physiological basis. According to neuroscientists, if 90% of the brain were not used during basic tasks, most brain injuries would not result in completely disabling processes for the patient. As you may already know, this is not true in almost any scenario.
10. The human brain can generate 23 watts
Due to the electrical connections between neurons in the brain, it is estimated that the brain generates up to 23 watts of electrical current. This energy is enough to light some types of light bulbs by itself.
11. Consciousness and consciousness are not the same thing
We leave the physiological terrain a little bit and we enter into more subjective concepts, since we are dealing with what the brain structure that we have described in the previous points is capable of generating in our personality and behavior. As a starter, did you know that the term consciousness and awareness are not the same thing?
Consciousness is the physiological state of wakefulness, i.e., the individual’s ability to recognize itself as a separate and distinct entity.Consciousness is the physiological state of wakefulness, i.e., the individual’s capacity to recognize himself or herself as an entity distinct from the environment. On the other hand, consciousness refers to the ability to discern events in a state of awareness based on a subjective and proper charge, such as morals and ethics imparted at the social level. A person loses consciousness when he faints, while the individual acts on the basis of his conscience, i.e., what he subjectively believes to be right or wrong.
12. Humans articulate an enormous number of words per day.
It is estimated that women articulate about 20,000 words per day, while men have a much lower rate of about 7,000. In any case, both are astronomical figures that highlight the social potential of human beings.
13. Human beings are happier in company
Studies have shown that people who are married or who share a life with a sex-affective partner are happier than those who live alone, have divorced or have lost a loved one to illness. Of course, these data reflect the average, since there are many people who are happy in solitude and do not require extensive company.
14. Negative bias could be an evolutionary vestige
The negative bias is based on a simple premise: when faced with two events of the same intensity, the more negative one stands out disproportionately above the neutral/positive one. This makes many people extremely pessimistic, as they unconsciously focus much more on the bad events than on the good ones.
Interestingly, this behavior could have certain utilities in nature. If a mammal perceives a negative stimulus more intensely, it is much more likely to flee from it on the other occasions, as it remembers it perfectly well. Thus, the negativity bias in humans could be an inherited vestigial trait. could be a vestigial characteristic inherited from our ancestors..
15. Communication in humans is not only about words
There is a very famous postulation that has been used historically to explain human communication. This is known as the “7%-38%-55% rule”. According to this theory, 55% of human communication is produced by non-verbal language, 7% is contained in words and 38% is defined by the tone of the speaker. Although this theory has not appeared without many detractors, it is still interesting.
16. Knowledge gives us happiness
Multiple studies have shown that the level of education and individual knowledge tend to correlate positively with greater happiness. In any case, this could be due to the fact that a higher student degree implies a higher rate of economic income in many cases, which could actually explain this postulation.
17. Concentration time in humans varies according to age.
Anyone who has worked with children will suspect this curious fact about the human mind, but it never hurts to put experiences into perspective on a numerical level. A one-year-old child has an average concentration span of 4 to 10 minutes, while a 10-year-old infant can concentrate for 4 to 10 minutes. a 10-year-old infant can concentrate for up to 50 minutes..
18. Repetition is necessary for learning
Research estimates that a student must face the same word an average of 17 times to learn it. We are not referring only to the phonetics of the word, but to its meaning and what it implies, that is, the ability to be able to apply it beyond the stated concept.
19. Constant thinking
Thinking in human beings is continuous and constant, since it defines us as individual entities and at the same time as a social collective. Scientists estimate that we produce, on average, about 60,000 thoughts a day. Even when you make an effort not to think, you are thinking about what you should not think about. Fascinating, isn’t it?
20. 80% of our thoughts are negative
The same source that argues the previous figure gives us the following one: of the 60,000 thoughts that we have a day, 80% are negativeThe same source that argues for the previous figure states the following: of the 60,000 thoughts we have per day, 80% are negative, generally referring to the past in a repetitive way. We do not realize it in many cases, but negativity dominates our behavior.
Summary
What do you think of this data? We have tried to collect something for everyone: from anatomy to subconsciousness and rationality, the human mind harbors countless curious facts to present. We encourage you to investigate for yourself the concepts that have most caught your attention, because, as we have said previously, knowledge is happiness, knowledge is happiness.