Alice Poon Y10T

How many percent of our brains do we actually use?

"The average person uses 10% of their brain capacity. Imagine what she could do
with 100%." was the tagline of the 2014 film, Lucy. The story follows a young woman
accessing the full 100% of her brain capacity after a super drug leaks into her system,
giving her superhuman abilities. A similar film, Limitless, illustrates the story of a man
gaining full access to his brain after using a drug. Both of these movies obeys a similar
concept; humans only use 10% of our brains. This belief is most commonly known as the
10% Brain Myth; a myth claims that humans only use 10% of their brains. This ideal is
frequently seen in movies or TV shows where the characters are able to access their
brains full capacity, and when the percentage increases, they will receive supernatural
and psychokinetic abilities.

The origin of the myth is said to be traced back to the 1890s, when American
Harvard psychologist William James spoke about how people only meet a fraction of
their full mental potential. However, in 1936, American writer Lowell Thomas claimed
in his writing that "Professor William James of Harvard used to say that the average man
develops only ten percent of his latent mental ability", giving this myth a specific value. The myth was further
supported in the 1970s when Bulgarian psychologist Georgi Lozanov said that We might be using only five to
ten percent of our mental capacity".

Ever since, the myth has been widely spread and has persuaded countless of people around the world.
Shockingly, a survey conducted in 2013 by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research discovered
that around 65% of the American population believe that the 10% brain myth is true. However, countless of
scientific research conducted by scientists, psychologists and neurologists have since been proving this myth
wrong from different perspectives.

Firstly, when looking at the importance and usage of the brain, the myth just does not make sense. The
brain is essentially the command center for the nervous system, containing over 100 billion nerve cells, and uses
up 20% of the bodys resources. Moreover, the brain uses the most energy when compared to all other human
organs. If the myth is true, saying that humans only use 10% of our brains, then why does the brain exercise
such large amount of the bodys resources? For an organ that uses such significant amount of energy in the
human body, it wouldnt make sense for 90% of the brain to be unnecessary and basically useless.

Secondly, MRI and PET scans have shown results that opposes the myth. MRI scans, or Magnetic
Resonance Imaging, is a medical imaging technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to see pictures of
patient's anatomy. PET scans, or Positron Emission Tomography, is a similar medical imaging technique using
radioactive tracers that allows results that are alike. When MRI and PET scans were used on human brains,
almost every part of the brain is active at all times - even when resting - as most parts of the brain lights up in
the scan. The results from these scans shows that most parts of our brains are active at all times, even near
100%.

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This picture shows the results of PET scans on an active human brain. The colour red signifies higher
activity in the brain region, and the colour blue signifies lower activity in the brain region. As you can see,
every action that we do uses our brain in different ways, especially in different regions, there are different levels
of activity.

Localisation is significant to this point; Different regions of the brain is responsible for different
functions. The results can be summarised by Benjamin Radford, who says Just as people don't use all of their
muscle groups at one time, they also don't use all of their brain at once. Similarly, you dont use all parts of
your brain for every action you do. Some parts of the brain are simply more active than the others, but they are
still being used constantly and consistently. A simple action, such as walking or grabbing an object requires a
majority of the brain to engage.

Thirdly, the effects of brain trauma and damage can be taken into consideration for this myth. Those
who suffer from brain trauma can exhibit a loss in abilities to perform simple tasks with profound effects.
However, people who suffered from brain injuries are also able to recover, because their brains compensate and
change when it recognises damage. This is caused by Neuroplasticity; the brain is able to reorganise, adapt and
learn new functions. However, the brain is simply forming new neural connections, not creating completely new
regions in the brain. Therefore, there is no possibility for humans to enhance their brain capacity through the use
of drugs to receive superhuman abilities, which is what the media representations of this myth suggests. If
humans really only used 10% of their brains, those who suffer from brain damage would not have such
significant differences, and they would not be affected so largely by the trauma.

Lastly, the investigation of mental illnesses and disorders merely contradicts to the 10% brain myth.
Although the technology isnt perfectly accurate, mental illnesses can sometimes be diagnosed with the use of
MRI or PET scans. This is because people with mental disorders and illnesses have alteration in their brain in
specific regions, which can be seen through the scans. Take depression for example. Using PET and MRI scans,
scientists have discovered that people with depression tend to have a smaller amygdala, hippocampus, and
anterior cingulate cortex, which are all responsible for emotional regulation.

This picture shows the results of PET scans on brains of people who suffer from specific mental illness.
The colour red signifies higher activity in the brain region, and the colour blue signifies lower activity in the

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brain region. As you can see, different mental illness can display different alterations in different regions of the
brain.

From an interview I conducted with a social worker and counsellor, Ms. Chan, she further explained the
reason behind these findings. It may sound harsh, but the brains of those suffer from mental illnesses do
function differently. This is why mental disorders are a part of brain disorders. Ms. Chan explained, Some of
the main causes for developing mental disorders include; Disruption and miscommunication between the brains
neurons, or Neurotransmissions, the loss of gray matter in specific regions in the brain, shrinkage of different
parts of the brain can also be a major factor for developing mental illnesses, and of course, inheritance can also
be a cause for mental illnesses. Ms. Chan also highlighted the effects of mental disorders. Mental disorders
can affect people greatly in their daily life. Some people struggle to even think positively. Mental illnesses can
seriously interfere with ones life and make everything more difficult and challenging.

In other words, mental illnesses and disorders would not bring such immense biological and
psychological effects and differences if humans only use 10% of our brains.

To summarise, from looking at different scientific perspectives such as psychology, biology and
neurology, it is demonstrated that humans use way more than just 10% of our brains. Most importantly, it shows
that humans use nearly 100% of our brains every day, completely debunking the 10% brain myth. Some parts of
the brain are simply more active than other parts at certain times.

Evidently, the origin of myths like the 10% brain myth started because of misunderstanding and
misinterpretation of neurological research, due to the lack of technology and research tools in olden days that
lead to many estimations of the human anatomy. Now that we have access to such advanced and innovative
technology, it is crucial to disprove these myths as they can hinder the advancement of our scientific
understanding. So, together, lets all put our minds to it, use our brains full potential, and spread the world
about the debunking of the 10% brain myth, and put this centuries-old myth to rest!

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Reference:

Websites:
"The Myth: We Only Use 10% of Our Brains." We Only Use 10% of Our Brains - The Psychology Of. Haverford
College, n.d. Web. <https://sites.google.com/a/haverford.edu/the-psychology-of/invited-talks-seminars-
conferences/we-only-use-10-of-our-brains>.
Boyd, Robynne. "Do People Only Use 10 Percent of Their Brains?" Scientific American. Scientific American, 07
Feb. 2008. Web. <https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-people-only-use-10-percent-of-their-
brains/>.
Brdey, Christina. "Does 90 Percent of Our Brain Go Unused?" The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's
Research. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, 17 July 2014. Web.
<https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/news-detail.php?does-90-percent-of-our-brain-go-unused>.
Campbell, Celeste. "What Is Neuroplasticity?" Brainline. Brainline, n.d. Web.
<http://www.brainline.org/content/2009/02/ask-expert-what-neuroplasticity.html>.
Hammond, Claudia. "Do We Only Use 10% of Our Brains?" BBC. BBC, 13 Nov. 2012. Web.
<http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121112-do-we-only-use-10-of-our-brains>.
Jarrett, Christian. "All You Need To Know About the 10 Percent Brain Myth, in 60 Seconds."Wired. Conde Nast,
24 July 2014. Web. <https://www.wired.com/2014/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-10-brain-
myth-explained-in-60-seconds/>.
Radford, Benjamin, Barry L. Beyerstein, Robynne Boyd, and Eric Chundler. "The Ten-Percent Myth." Cuyamaca
College. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Rpt. of "The Ten-Percent Myth, Do We Really Use Only 10 Percent of Our Brains?,
Do People Only Use 10 Percent Of Their Brains?, Myths About the Brain: 10 Percent and Counting." (2011):
n. pag. Web. <https://www.cuyamaca.edu/people/jr-jones/intro-psych/10_Percent_Myth_Articles.pdf>.

Pictures:
Brain Composition and Bipolar Disorder. Digital image. Brain Matters Imaging Centers. Brain Matters
Imaging Centers, 2007. Web.
<https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/shrinknp_800_800/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAPzAAAAJGYxMTc3ZGYyLW
UyNTUtNDg4Yy1iN2Q5LWM1YTdlNjgzNjgxYQ.jpg>.
Lucy (2014). Digital image. IMDb. IMDb, 28 Mar. 2014. Web. <https://images-na.ssl-images-
amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODcxMzY3ODY1NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzg1NDY4MTE@._V1_UY1
200_CR64,0,630,1200_AL_.jpg>.
Phelps, Michael E., and John Mazziotta. PET Scan Brain. Digital image. UCLA School of Medicine. UCLA
School of Medicine, n.d. Web. <https://kaiserscience.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/pet-scan-brain.gif>.