Sunday, 17 April 2011

Did We only Use 10% of our Brain? (2)

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Did We only Use 10% of our Brain? (2)
The 10% of Brain's Cells Are Neurons

The primary areas are surrounded by secondary areas, so that, for example, information from images perceived by the eye is sent to the primary visual areas, and then is analysed in the secondary visual areas where the three-dimensional reconstitution of the perceived objects takes place.
Information from the memory of the subject circulate in the brain to recognise objects, while semantic information from language areas comes into play so that the person can quickly name the object seen.

At the same time, the brain areas that deal with posture and movement are in action under the effect of nerve signals from the entire body, allowing the person to know whether (s)he is sitting or standing, with the head turned to the right or the left, etc. . Therefore, a partial, fragmented description of the areas of the brain can lead to a misinterpretation of how it works.




The 10% of Neural Brain's Cells Are Neurons
Another origin of the myth may be found in the fact that the brain is made up of ten glial cells (neuroglia) for every neuron. Glial cells have a nutritional role and support nerve cells, but they do not transmit any information. In terms of transmission of nerve impulses only the neurons are recruited (or 10% of the cells comprising the brain) so that this offers a further source of misunderstanding on which the “10% myth” might come.

But this vision of cell functions is simplistic: while the glial cells play a different role from that of the neurons, they Are No Less essential to the functioning of the whole.

"Understanding the Brain", The Birth of a Learning Science, 2007, page 113