11 common myths about the brain that need to be smashed
Getty Images/Dan KitwoodWe know surprisingly little about one of the most important organs in our body — the brain. Nevertheless, the world is filled with dozens of ideas about why we think the way we do.
Here are 11 of the most common brain myths — and the surprising science to counter them:
Myth #1: You only use a fraction of your brain.
If this were true, we'd be able to remove a large portion of our noggins with nearly no consequences! Some scientists think the root of this myth may lie in the fact that you're not constantly using 100% of your brain at once.
"It turns out though, that we use virtually every part of the brain, and that [most of] the brain is active almost all the time," Barry Gordon, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, told Scientific American.
"It turns out though, that we use virtually every part of the brain, and that [most of] the brain is active almost all the time," Barry Gordon, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, told Scientific American.
Myth #2: It's all downhill once you hit your 20s.
Sure, some skills, like our ability to think quickly and recall information (also known as fluid intelligence), follow the familiar pattern: peaking at roughly age 18 and getting worse over the rest of our lives.
But recent research suggests that — in addition to getting wiser with age — we may also actually get smarter, at least in some ways.
Our ability to do basic math and use a larger vocabulary, for example, likely continue to improve until we turn 50. And our prowess at reading others' emotions and recalling recent events doesn't start declining until after age 30.
But recent research suggests that — in addition to getting wiser with age — we may also actually get smarter, at least in some ways.
Our ability to do basic math and use a larger vocabulary, for example, likely continue to improve until we turn 50. And our prowess at reading others' emotions and recalling recent events doesn't start declining until after age 30.
Myth #3: Your personality is based on whether you're "right-brained" or "left-brained."
Myth #4: Alcohol kills your brain cells.
There may be some merit to wherever this idea originated, since pure alcohol does a great job of killing cells (that's why we swear by it as a disinfectant!). But the kind of booze you can get at a bar has very little effect on the number of neurons in your brain.
A 1990s study of the brains of former alcoholics and non-alcoholic drinkers revealed that even when done far too frequently, drinking has little to no effect on the overall number or density of brain cells.
All that said, too much drinking can damage the links between neurons and the way the brain processes information. A recent study in the journal Neuroscience suggested that people who drank daily had significantly less new cell development (a process called neurogenesis) in part of the brain crucial for learning and memory.
A 1990s study of the brains of former alcoholics and non-alcoholic drinkers revealed that even when done far too frequently, drinking has little to no effect on the overall number or density of brain cells.
All that said, too much drinking can damage the links between neurons and the way the brain processes information. A recent study in the journal Neuroscience suggested that people who drank daily had significantly less new cell development (a process called neurogenesis) in part of the brain crucial for learning and memory.
Myth #5: You're born with all the brain cells you'll ever have.
Myth #6: Drugs create holes in your brain.
We know different drugs make us experience the world around us in very different ways — and their after-effects are often nowhere near as pleasant as the immediate results they produce. Thankfully, while many substances can have significant effects on your brain's structure and function, gaping, Swiss-cheese-esque holes are not one of them.
Drugs work by messing with our brain chemistry, not by drilling physical holes in its structure. More specifically, substances like heroin alter the levels of neurotransmitters, chemical messengers that ferry information and consequently help our nervous system run.
Heroin, for example, which gets converted into morphine in the brain, hijacks our motivational system by binding to special receptors that affect how we perceive pain and rewards.
Drugs work by messing with our brain chemistry, not by drilling physical holes in its structure. More specifically, substances like heroin alter the levels of neurotransmitters, chemical messengers that ferry information and consequently help our nervous system run.
Heroin, for example, which gets converted into morphine in the brain, hijacks our motivational system by binding to special receptors that affect how we perceive pain and rewards.
Myth #7: So-called 'aha!' moments are rare and random.
The neuroscientists who led the study and have been studying creativity and insight for a decade also emphasize that these so-called "Eureka" moments happen all the time, and include moments like the time you got the punchline of a joke to the moment you recalled the word on the tip of your tongue.
Plus, contrary to the popular idea that we come across these ideas suddenly, "aha!" moments are most likely the result of the same creative process that leads to any new idea or concept.
Myth #8: Big brains = smart creatures.
"But what about the ratio of brain to body weight?", an ardent fan of this myth might counter. Nope, that line of reasoning doesn't work either. While a human's brain-to-body-mass ratio is massive compared to that of a horse (about 1:50 and 1:600, respectively), it's just about the same as that of a mouse (1:40), and inferior to the ratio you'd find in small ants or small birds.
Myth #9: Male brains are more logical, female brains are more empathetic.
There are minor anatomical differences between male and female brains. Problem is, they haven't been linked with any particular differences in ability. Instead, most evidence suggests that these gender-based differences are the result of cultural expectations.
For example, women tend to do better than men on tests of emotional intelligence and empathy. But as Laura Helmuth at Smithsonian points out, "They do — unless test subjects are told that men are particularly good at the test, in which case men perform as well as or better than women."
The same thing can happen in reverse: A 1998 University of Waterloo study found that when women and men were given a tough math test, the women — even those with extensive math experience — did worse than the men. But if the participants were told beforehand that men and women had performed equally on the test in the past, they performed equally well.
For example, women tend to do better than men on tests of emotional intelligence and empathy. But as Laura Helmuth at Smithsonian points out, "They do — unless test subjects are told that men are particularly good at the test, in which case men perform as well as or better than women."
The same thing can happen in reverse: A 1998 University of Waterloo study found that when women and men were given a tough math test, the women — even those with extensive math experience — did worse than the men. But if the participants were told beforehand that men and women had performed equally on the test in the past, they performed equally well.
Myth #10: You're necessarily an "auditory" or a "visual" learner.
A student at Brescia House School in Johannesburg, South Africa using a Windows tablet.
But this consistently reinforced idea that some of us learn better by seeing, hearing, or touching doesn't have much research to back it up.
There is evidence to suggest that many of us prefer to learn through a specific means — some of us would rather to listen to a lecture than read a book, for example — but there's no evidence to suggest that we do better when we are taught in our preferred method. When psychologists have compared students' results on tests after they've been taught using either their preferred method or another method, for example, their results are the same.
Myth #11: You only have 5 senses.
You've probably heard plenty about the first five — touch (tactioception), hearing (audioception), sight (ophthalmoception), taste (gustaoception), and smell (olfacoception). But what about the others?
These, which all include the Latin root 'cept' for take or receive, give us even more data about the outside world:
These, which all include the Latin root 'cept' for take or receive, give us even more data about the outside world:
- Equilibrioception: A sense of balance, otherwise known as your internal GPS. Tells you if you're sitting, standing, or lying down. Located in the inner ear.
- Proprioception: A sense of where your body parts are and what they're doing.
- Nociception: A sense of pain.
- Thermo(re)ception: A sense of temperature.
- Chronoception: A sense of the passage of time.
- Interoception: A sense of your internal needs, like hunger, thirst, needing to use the bathroom, etc.
READ NEXT: Here's how different drugs change your brain
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