ScienceneuroscienceasapscienceBrain Science

Do You Really Use Only 10 Percent Of Your Brain? Of Course Not

This Brain Myth Seems To Never Go Away
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By 

Senior Science Editor, The Huffington Post

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It's the neuroscience myth that just refuses to go away. No, you do not use only 10 percent of your brain. In fact, scientists say most of your brain is active all the time.

This myth about your brain has been thrust in the spotlight recently as it's the premise of the new sci-fi flick "Lucy," in which the main character (played by actress Scarlett Johansson) takes a drug that allows her to access 100 percent of her brain. Apparently doing so gives her some cool super powers.

The storyline may make for some fun movie-watching when the film releases Friday, but it's not accurate science.

"Most movies and sci-fi books have us believe that humans can only use around 10 percent of our brain, which is absolute nonsense" Mitchell Moffitt, co-creator of the popular YouTube series ASAPScience, says in a new YouTube video (just check it out above, where six other brain myths are busted).

"Thanks to modern brain scanning technology, we know that we use the whole thing all the time. Not necessarily all at once," Moffitt says, "however, there's no part of the brain that simply doesn't do anything."

After all, the brain uses around 20 percent of your body's energy, even though it only accounts for a small percentage of your whole body weight, Scientific American reported. See, your mind is way more impressive than you might have thought.

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Before You Go

Stunning Images Reveal Beauty Of The Fragile Brain
Sensory Superhighway(01 of16)
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Just like the electrical wires in the national grid, the electrical connections between brain cells, as shown in this picture, have to be well insulated. If this insulation is lost, neurons lose their ability to communicate efficiently. This is what happens in several neurological diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS). (credit:University of Edinburgh)
Navigating Axons: A Circuitous Route(02 of16)
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This colorful picture shows the wiring in a developing brain. Axons (red) are the cables that neurons use to transmit their information, often over relatively long distances and taking highly circuitous routes. The other colors represent different areas of the brain. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
Glial Grandeur(03 of16)
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At first glance this may look like a spider’s web but this web measures just 1/20 of a millimeter. It is made up of two types of brain cells – astrocytes in green and a white oligodendrocyte. These cells were originally thought of as the support cells for neurons but it is now known they are essential for many brain functions. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
Female Mosaic(04 of16)
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This picture of neurons from a female brain highlights those that have switched off the X chromosome inherited from the mother (in green), and those that have silenced the X chromosome inherited from the father (in red). In cases where an altered gene on one of the X chromosomes causes autism or intellectual disability, only around a half of the cells will be affected. This helps to explain why these conditions are less common in women than in men. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
Breakdown In Communication(05 of16)
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This image shows differences between a typical brain (left) and autism (right). The different colors identify different areas of the brain. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
The Astrocyte(06 of16)
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These star-shaped cells, or “astrocytes,” were once thought to be simple support cells for neurons. Now we know that they are much more important than this--they also help to create and maintain an environment in the brain that is optimized for electrical and chemical communication. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
Neuron Networks(07 of16)
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Scientists can use mathematics to model brain circuitry, as shown in this picture. They use this approach to predict how brain communication is altered in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and ADHD. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
Wiring The Brain(08 of16)
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This is a detailed map of the brain wiring in a sleeping newborn baby (left) and an adult in their seventies (right), visualized using MRI. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
An Electron’s View Of The Brain(09 of16)
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Neurons talk to one another across a gap called the synaptic cleft, rather than being directly connected to one another. A trained eye can identify the wires that are transmitting messages and those that are receiving information in this picture. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
Circuit Building Block(10 of16)
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Neurons have branched projections that extend from their cell body called dendrites which give the cells a tree-like appearance. It’s through these dendrites that neurons receive information from hundreds to thousands of other cells. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
Encoding Space(11 of16)
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Our brains hold specialized neurons called grid cells that help us to keep track of where we are. This heat map shows the regions in space where an individual grid cell becomes active during exploration of a circular room. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
The Egg: Mendel's Moment(12 of16)
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This picture shows the egg or “oocyte” preparing the genes that will be passed on to its offspring, which are highlighted in red. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
Regenerating Spinal Cord(13 of16)
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Images such as this one, which shows the spinal cord from a zebrafish repairing itself, are helping scientists to study biological mechanisms that could one day reveal treatments for people who are paralyzed due to spinal cord damage. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
High Fidelity(14 of16)
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This picture shows the difference in brain signals from a typical brain (left) and from a brain affected by a condition similar to Fragile X Syndrome, the most common inherited form of autism (right). (credit:University of Edinburgh)
The Seahorse(15 of16)
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This is a close-up image of a particular area of the brain called the hippocampus, named from the Greek word for “seahorse” because of its shape. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
A Fragile Balance(16 of16)
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This image shows a series of MRI pictures from the brain of an individual with Fragile X Syndrome, the most common inherited form of autism. (credit:University of Edinburgh)
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