Human Brain: Definition, 4 Facts, and Amazing Things It Can Do

What is the human brain?

The brain is a vital and complex organ protected by the skull and the membranes of the brain (meninges). It consists of a number of tissues and billions of supporting nerve cells and is connected to the spinal cord. Together with the spinal cord and nerves, the brain becomes the command center and the human nervous system.

As part of the nervous system, the brain has many important functions. It controls everything that happens in the body, such as thoughts, memories, speech, feelings, vision, hearing, arm and leg movements, as well as other organ functions in the body, including heart rate and breathing.

Some nerves in the brain go directly to certain parts of the body, such as the eyes, ears, and other parts of the head. However, some other nerves are connected to parts of the body through the spinal cord to control personality, senses, as well as other bodily functions, such as breathing to walk.

Human Brain Facts

Fatty brain

What percentage of the brain is made up of fat? About 60 percent of the human brain is made up of fat, and three-quarters of it is made up of water. Therefore, it is important for the consumption of foods that contain a lot of good fats such as omega 3 that are in fish.

Also, don’t get dehydrated. Because dehydration can affect the cognitive work of the brain, such as thinking, remembering, making decisions, and focusing.

The ancient human brain was bigger

The volume of the ancient human brain turned out to be greater than that of today’s modern human brain. But that doesn’t mean the brain gets smaller, so intellectually is also declining.

Researchers are still figuring out the exact cause of the shrinkage of the human brain. Many theories have developed about it, one of which is evolution. The human body is shrinking, followed by a brain that is also shrinking.

Annoying songs tend to be remembered more by your brain

A sense of resentment towards a song arises when there are lyrics that bother you. Some of these lyrics enter your brain as a memory aid and are stored in the brain. So don’t be surprised if annoying songs tend to attract attention and the lyrics are in your brain.

The brain will become “confused” in a noisy atmosphere

When you’re talking on the phone against a noisy background, you won’t be able to hear the other person clearly even if your phone is attached to your ear. This is because the human brain cannot distinguish background noise from the sound on the phone.

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Amazing things the human brain can do

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

The Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, better known as ASMR, is something that only certain people experience. Which triggers a kind of tingling sensation or a tingling feeling that creeps into the back of the head or neck. What caused it? It’s still unknown.

A 2018 study found that ASMR provides several mental and physical health benefits. However, not much research has been done about the phenomenon, the only scientific study conducted by Swansea University that examined the experiences of 500 people experiencing ASMR.

Although in this case, they did not understand what was happening as far as brain activity in people sensitive to ASMR, but they found that for most of the people surveyed, it was the sound of whispers that worked and made tingling in the back areas of the head and neck.

Lucid Dream

What happens when you dream lucidly? When a person experience lucid dreaming, he/she is fully aware that he is dreaming. Although some people admit that they can make decisions and influence what happens in a dream. There are parts of the brain that prevent a person from moving during sleep (most of the time) but the eyes can still move freely.

In the 1980s, psychologists worked with people experiencing lucid dreams. In the study, a lucid dream was asked to move their eyes to tell them they were sleeping in the middle of a conscious dream.

Researchers were able to track everything from electrical activity in the brain to heart rate, and found that the brain became more active during lucid dreams. Even more uniquely, one can control the lucid dream itself.