The brain is one of the most important and studied organs in the human body. The increase in gray matter compared to our predecessors was what made Homo sapiens evolve and could come to form the complex social world that we know today.
There are many reasons to want to take care of and know how the human brain works, and here are 10 curiosities that we should all know :
Eating less keeps the brain young
A molecule called CREB1 , which is activated when the diet is restrictive, turns on some genes linked to longevity and proper brain function.
The size of your network of friends on Facebook and the size of your brain are related
The number of friends we have on the social network Facebook is proportional to the size of certain regions of our brain . This is deduced from a study carried out by scientists from the Institute of Cognitive Neurosciences at University College London (United Kingdom).
Success and Failure Activate the Whole Brain
The signals that are generated in the brain when a person succeeds or fails are not processed in a restricted area of the cerebral cortex . The neural connections in these cases extend practically throughout the brain, according to a Yale University study published in the journal ‘ Neuron’ .
Without vitamin B12, the brain shrinks
Fish, meat, milk, and eggs are the main sources of vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin. A lack of this substance in the diet can cause the brain to lose brain cells and develop cognitive problems, according to a study in ‘ Neurology’ .
To prevent your brain from getting tired, exercise
Exercising regularly increases the number of mitochondria in both muscle cells and neurons . These organelles are responsible for supplying energy to the cells and, in this way, mental fatigue is reduced as shown by a study from the University of South Carolina .
How does our brain remember important moments?
Neuroscientists from New York University (USA) have identified the parts of the brain that we use to remember the succession of events within an episode of our life , such as a party or a wedding. The study, published in Science , improves our understanding of how memories are processed.
The human brain is shrinking
The human brain has shrunk in size in the last 30,000 years. Specifically, the latest measurements reveal that the average volume of the Homo sapiens brain in this period has decreased by 10% , that is, from 1,500 to 1,359 cubic centimeters, the equivalent of a tennis ball .
Distracted people have more gray matter in the brain
People who are distracted by a fly and can barely keep their attention on a single thing can blame a group of neurons in the upper parietal lobe , according to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience .
This is how the brain reacts when expectations are not met
The human brain is capable of adapting to the unexpected thanks to the fact that it has a network of neurons that makes predictions about the world around us and also monitors how accurate those predictions are. The core of this network is in the so-called orbitofrontal cortex , a brain area located above the eyes.
Identify the area of the brain that controls shame
Researchers at the University of California (United States) have managed to identify the part of the brain that goes into action when we feel shame. It is the anterior pregenual cingulate cortex , as made public at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
