Random Brain Facts

1. Random Brain Facts

2. Random Brain Facts • We’ve learned more about the brain in last 20 yrs than all time previous to that • No two brains are identical • Brain is mostly water (78%), fat (10%), and protein (8%) • Living brain is so soft it can be cut w/ butter knife

3. Random Brain Facts • The adult human brain weighs about 3 pounds (1,300-1,400 gm) • Elephant brains = 6,000gm • Cat brains = 30 gm • Brain is ~2% of body weight, but consumes ~20% of body’s energy • Total surface area of cerebral cortex = ~2.5 sq ft • Bigger brains are not necessarily better • Einstein’s was average size

4. Random Brain Facts • Human brain has ~100,000,000,000 neurons • If all neurons were stretched end to end, would reach to moon and back • Every second, brain receives 100 million messages from the senses • ¾ of body’s neurons are in brain • On day you’re born, all brain cells in place • They’re just immature – still developing • Explains why don’t have memories until ~3-4 y.o. • Will not regenerate – this is all you get • (Recent research is challenging this idea…)

5. Random Brain Facts • ~10 trillion pieces of information in the brain • There are 1,000 – 10,000 synapses for a typical neuron • Human brain is capable of processing 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bits of data per second • Intelligence has nothing to do with number of neurons – it has everything to do with number of dendrite connections

6. Random Brain Facts • World record for time w/o sleep: • 264 hours (11 days) – Randy Gardner, 1963 • Unconsciousness occurs 8-10 sec after loss of blood supply to brain

7. Random Brain Facts • Changing brain: • 525 billion neurons in brain at 26 wks gestation • 200 billion on day born • 100 billion today • Brain is ultimate “use it or lose it” machine • “neural sculpting” happens during REM sleep • Computer/TV has huge impact on brain • Recommend no TV/internet 0-2 yrs • Sesame Street?

8. Random Brain Facts • Humans can process 400-600 words/min • Talk about 100-125 words/min • Speaker needs to fill in gaps to avoid boredom, mind wandering • Older people take longer to learn, but retain information as well as younger ppl • Before age 5, brain is very plastic – can simultaneously adapt after injury • After age 5, severe, permanent damage more likely • Ex – 5 y.o. boy w/ severe seizures had entire left hemisphere removed – paralyzed on right side, but scored above avg on intelligence tests, finished college & grad school – today an executive

9. Random Brain Facts • Brain disorders cost Americans more than $600 billion a year • Alcohol use in teens devastating to the pre-frontal cortex • Mature neuron has myelin sheath protection, young adolescent brain does not • MN in top 5 for alcohol consumption • Also top 5 for FAS cases

10. WARNING:REALLY CORNY JOKES AHEAD

11. Bad brain jokes • What does a brain do when it sees a friend across the street? • Gives a brain wave • What did the hippocampus say during its retirement speech? • Thanks for the memories • What did the right hemisphere say to the left hemisphere when they couldn’t agree on anything? • “let’s split”

12. Bad brain jokes • What happens if you break the brain scanner? • You will have a CATastrophe • What kind of fish performs brain operations? • A neurosturgeon • What do you call a skull without 100 billion neurons? • A no brainer

13. Bad brain jokes • When does a brain get afraid? • When it loses its nerve • Why didn’t the brain want to take a bath? • It didn’t want to be brainwashed • Why was the neuron sent to the principal’s office? • It had trouble controlling its impulses