Brain Health Myths | Are You Believing Fictions About Your Brain?

The assertion that humans use only 10% of their brain capacity is unequivocally false. This myth has persisted for over a century without any scientific basis. Modern neuroimaging techniques, such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), provide clear evidence that the brain is almost constantly active. An fMRI measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. These scans demonstrate that even during simple tasks or periods of rest, large areas of the brain show activity. Different cognitive functions are distributed across various neural networks, and no single area works in isolation. Furthermore, the brain is an incredibly energy-intensive organ, consuming about 20% of the body's total energy despite making up only 2% of its weight. It would be evolutionarily inefficient to allocate such a substantial amount of resources to an organ that is 90% dormant. Every part of the brain has a known function, and damage to even a small area can result in significant functional deficits, further disproving the 10% myth.

The concept of personalities being dominated by either the "logical" left hemisphere or the "creative" right hemisphere is a vast oversimplification of brain function. While there is a genuine scientific basis for functional lateralization—the tendency for some neural functions to be specialized to one side of the brain—it does not dictate personality traits. For instance, in most right-handed individuals, language processing is predominantly localized in the left hemisphere. However, complex cognitive tasks, including creative thinking and logical reasoning, require integrated communication between both hemispheres. This communication occurs via the corpus callosum, a thick bundle of nerve fibers connecting the left and right sides. True creativity and problem-solving emerge from the seamless collaboration of neural networks across the entire brain, not from the dominance of one hemisphere over the other.

No, severe cognitive decline is not a mandatory consequence of aging. While certain cognitive abilities, such as processing speed and fluid reasoning, may naturally decrease with age, conditions like dementia are pathological, not normal. The brain possesses a remarkable capacity for plasticity and resilience, often referred to as "cognitive reserve." This reserve is the brain's ability to improvise and find alternate ways of getting a job done in the face of pathology. Building a high cognitive reserve through lifelong learning, intellectual stimulation, social engagement, and regular physical exercise can help protect against age-related cognitive impairment and delay the onset of neurodegenerative symptoms.

The effectiveness of commercial brain training games in enhancing general intelligence is limited. Research indicates that while consistent practice with these games can improve performance on the specific tasks being trained (a phenomenon known as "near transfer"), there is insufficient evidence for "far transfer." Far transfer would mean that skills acquired from a game, such as a specific memory task, translate into broader cognitive improvements in unrelated real-world activities. A more scientifically supported approach to boosting cognitive function involves holistic lifestyle interventions, including aerobic exercise, a nutrient-rich diet, quality sleep, and engaging in novel, mentally challenging activities.

The human brain is not structured for simultaneous attention to multiple complex tasks. What is perceived as multitasking is actually rapid "task-switching," where the brain's executive control systems, primarily located in the prefrontal cortex, switch focus between tasks. This process is cognitively demanding and inefficient. Each switch incurs a "cognitive cost," resulting in a decrease in performance, an increase in error rates, and elevated stress levels. The prefrontal cortex must disengage from one task's rules and load the rules for the new one, which consumes time and mental energy. Consequently, focusing on a single task at a time, or "monotasking," is a neurologically more efficient and productive strategy for completing complex work.