Soon to be released movie, Lucy seems to suggest that human beings use only 10 percent of the brain. Administration of a specific drug allows a person to better make use mental physical power. These powerful abilities included telekinesis which infuses the ability to instantly absorb information and travel in time within one’s mind. That leaves people wondering whether there is any sort of scientific logic that supports this claim. Truth is that there is absolutely no scientific proof that would hint at any such possibility. Allow me to shed light on the facts to convince you.
This myth is not entirely new, mind you. Back in the 1900s Karl Lashley, a neurosurgeon surgically cut out parts of the brain of a rat that could expertly make its way through mazes. Karl found out that upon the removal of some parts of the brain, the rat was still able to navigate through the maze just as effectively. As more parts in the brain were harmed, the rats would become worse at completing the task. Interestingly, the deficiencies were recovered with more time as well as training. Karl also put forward the ‘equipotentiality’ principle that allows the human brain to carry out similar functions.
However, the human brain is a lot more complex compared to the rats that Karl experimented on. It is made up of merely 2 percent of the mass but makes use of 20 percent of the energy. They are pretty large compared to an animal’s brain. A large number of neurons make use of the energy that the brain receives. Technically, if 10 percent of the brain was used it would not make any sense if the remaining 90 percent was to power an idle brain. Neuroscientists continue to study various sorts of brain cells to understand the primary functions. Merely 10 percent of the brain cells are neurons while the remaining 90 percent are glial cells. Such cells bind neurons together but more research has revealed that they play much more pivotal role in memory formation.
