In the Lecture Hall: 5 Shocking Human Brain Facts
The five of us were sitting on three-legged metallic stools in a circle.
We had pushed the center table of Hall 109 to the side. The rows of benches perched on the ascending stairs behind us.
After a two-hour long discussion of a myriad of science topics, we were about to start our last activity.
"So," Ananya began with a sparkle in her eyes, "I hope everyone is ready with their list of rapid-fire facts!"
"What was the topic again?" Vikram asked.
"The human brain," I replied.
Fact #1 - The brain uses 20% of the body's total energy.
"Even though it makes up only 2% of the the total body weight," Aarav said.
"That's a huge amount of energy!" Ananya said. "Why does it need so much?"
"To support a myriad of activities, such as:
"Wow," I said. "Alright, I'll go next."
Fact #2 - The brain continues to develop until the age of 25.
"Particularly in the prefrontal cortex," I said.
"Right," Meera said. "I did come across a fact once which said that we are not really adults till the age of 25."
"Yep. That's because the prefrontal cortex governs important functions such as planning, decision-making and impulse control."
"When we say the brain is developing, what is actually happening there?"
"Ah! The process involves the refinement of the connections between the neurons, and the increase in white matter density. This enhances the communication between different brain regions."
"I see," Ananya said. "Who's next?"
"I'll go," Meera said.
Fact #3 - The brain's memory is virtually limitless.
"That's slightly hyperbolic," Meera chuckled. "But it is often compared to a supercomputer. Some estimates place the brain's memory to be around 2.5 petabytes."
"Damn. How many hours of TV shows is that?" Vikram asked.
"Maybe a few million," I smiled. "But where does this capacity come from?"
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"From the immensely complex network of the neurons," Meera replied. "The brain is, also, incredibly plastic. This allows continuous formation and reorganization of these networks."
"And we are yet to design such a storage device!" Ananya commented. "Alright Vikram, you are next."
Fact #4 - The brain actively removes unused neural connections during sleep.
"This is done to improve learning and overall efficiency," Vikram said. "The brain eliminates weaker or unused connections during sleep."
"How does this help?" I asked.
"Well, it makes room for more relevant and frequently used pathways."
"I see. So it helps strengthen important connections, and discards the unnecessary ones."
"Exactly."
"Looks like I'm the last!" Ananya said.
Fact #5 - An average person spends about 6 years of their life dreaming.
"That's because a person dreams, on average, for about 2 hours per night," Ananya said. "You add it up, and it approximates to 6 years."
"When you put it like that," Aarav drew a sharp breath,"it seems like a lot!"
"Hold on," I said, "we dream only for two hours per night?"
"We might sleep for 8 hours, but we dream only during the Rapid Eye Movement - REM for short - phase. That's for approximately two hours.
Even though it might appear less, the REM phase is important mental and emotional health."
"And that's it!" Ananya almost shrieked. "Even though we are just five people here, we have already learned so much!"
"I agree," I said. "Let's do this again."
Everyone nodded enthusiastically.
As we gathered our things and left the hall, we shared a sense of excitement for our next meeting.
Hardik Medhi Stay Curious
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