Do Humans Use 100% of Their Brains?

Do Humans Use 100% of Their Brains?

Where did the persistent statement that humans use 10% of their brains originate and is it valid? It was first coined by William James, a philosopher and psychologist. Some professionals have even stated even lower percentages, like Margaret Mead saying that we use 6% of our brains (3). If this statement is true, it implies that humans could behave very differently and perhaps with greater thought and purpose. If the statement is a fallacy, it supports the brain equals behavior theory, such that the brain is not harboring unused capacities and behaviors.

The 1012 neurons in the brain have not all been researched for activity or not, but researchers have found no evidence for unused abilities or large, unused regions of the brain. Researchers know that humans do not use every region of their brain for every behavior, unless we are doing something so complex that it requires all of the brains capacities. At any given point in time, about 5% of the neurons are active, but over time and change of ones behavior, PET scans and fRMIs show that the vast majority of the brain is active (2). Perhaps this is an evolutionary adaptation: to conserve energy and prevent an electrical and chemical overload from all the neurons firing and inhibiting. The brain is about 3 pounds, using an inproportionate 20% of the bodys oxygen- rich blood, but is only 2% of the bodys total weight (3). The significance of the brain receiving so much of the bodys energy supply, reveals its ability to perform important functions. The heart and the lungs main function is to provide the brain with oxygenated blood, presumably because the brains will be performing essential neuronal activity relevant to the days behavior.

The highly specialized regions of the brain give some insight into the many functions that the brain is capable of doing. So the development of the brain into specific sections that have been researched to facilitate specific functions, provides evidence that these regions are active in a normal humans lifetime. The fact that the brain has a highly ordered procedure for developing, leads researchers to believe that each region of the brain is essential. In fact, researchers have found several regions to account for one function, to imply that the collaboration of several brain regions is sometimes necessary for normal functioning.

Other evidence against the statement that humans only use 10% of their brains.