In this post we are going to discuss and up-and-coming
field: cognitive neuroscience. We are also going to debunk some myths about the
brain.
Cognitive neuroscience studies the biology behind cognition.
It focuses on the biological connection between the brain and cognition. If you
visit the website for the Cognitive Neuroscience Society (http://www.cogneurosociety.org/),
you will find a quote by one Eric R. Kandel who says, “Cognitive Neuroscience –
with its concern about perception, action, memory, language, and selective
attention – will increasingly come to represent the central focus of all
Neurosciences in the 21st century.” Now while I can’t argue that
this is a fact, I also can’t argue that it is improbable. Cognitive
Neuroscience seeks to explain a lot of things we otherwise would have no
understanding of, especially things we, as a society, want to know more about
such as Alzheimer’s Disease and how to help/slow down/prevent it.
Cognitive Neuroscience, as well as general Neuroscience, is
also responsible for our ability to reject certain myths about the brain.
For example, we do not use 10% of our brain. We use 100% of
our brain. Where does this myth come from? Well our brains do this thing called
culling, and when we are around seven years old, early childhood, we have a lot
more neurons and neural connections than we need. As we get to young adulthood,
our brain “culls” these surplus connections to increase the efficiency of the
neural connections in our brains. So though we may have fewer neurons than we
did when we were younger, we are still using the full power of our brains.
It is NOT all downhill after 40. It is often drilled into
our heads that as you get older mental abilities decrease, but this is not
entirely true. Yes, cognitive skills decline as you age; for example, it is
easier for a younger child to learn another language compared to your
middle-aged self. However, some mental skills improve such as vocabulary and
regulation of emotions.
People are not left-brained OR right-brained; we use both
sides of our brain. If we didn’t need both sides, evolution would have disposed
of one side centuries ago. While certain functions of the brain are dominated
by certain hemispheres, common everyday tasks require the use of both
hemispheres. (So that quiz you just took on Facebook about which side you are,
is not actually accurate).
Drug use does not cause holes in your brain. Only physical
trauma can cause holes in your brain. Though I am not condoning the use of
drugs, I find it important to specify that drugs do not cause holes in your
brain. They do, however, cause a reduction in size of key regions of the brain
and interfere with the set chemical connections of the brain. On a similar
note, alcohol does not ALWAYS kill brain cells. Moderate amounts are
acceptable, however if you blackout consistently each week (which you can read
more about in my earlier post “Last Friday Night”) then you may be killing a
decent amount of your brain cells.
Your brain is entirely capable of creating new cells. In
fact, it generates new cells constantly. It also continues to do so as you age.
Blasting classical music will not increase your
intelligence. Before you put some headphones on your pregnant wife’s belly to
make your unborn child smarter, take note of this: it doesn’t actually do
anything. There is no evidence of it increasing a child’s intelligence. In
fact, there is actually some evidence that it decreases a child’s vocabulary.
Playing games does not improve cognitive function. While you
may improve your vocabulary or puzzle-solving skills, you won’t actually
improve your brain’s overall function. To maintain the “youth” of your brain,
workout: not your mind, your body. Good nutrition and consistent exercise will
preserve your mental abilities more so than any “mind game.”
Brain damage/brain injuries are NOT always permanent.
Sometimes the brain is capable of repairing itself. Although it depends on
location and severity, it is important to note that they are not all permanent.
In fact, it has been seen in some instances that the brain is actually capable
of “rerouting” and developing new connections to repair its mental abilities
while not necessarily repairing its physical state.
I hope you found these myths interesting. Keep these in mind
and the next time someone tries to mention one of these you can shut them down
(politely of course!).
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