What we do Throughout March we’ve been sharing facts and knowledge about the brain as part of Brain Awareness Month. The brain is a pretty complex organ and every day more is being learnt.
During the month of March we have been celebrating everything and anything to do with the brain! Brain Awareness Month is a way for the Neurological Foundation to connect with supporters throughout New Zealand, and share our mutual adoration and excitement for brain research.
Throughout March we’ve be sharing facts and knowledge about the brain on our Facebook page. The brain is a pretty complex organ and every day more is being learnt. Each day we posted an interesting fact about our brain's and we thought we'd round up our favourite facts and share them with you!
In case you didn't know our brain's are constantly learning, and if you get to the bottom of this article you can test what you've learnt about the brain and be entered to win a fun prize pack from the Neurological Foundation.
Our 6 favourite brain facts:
1. The brain waves of two musicians can sychronise when performing together
It's true! A study was done were they examined pairs of guitarists repeatedly playing a duet in two voices. It was proven that synchronous oscillations within and between brains play a functional role in music performance.
Read more about this study CLICK HERE.
2. Brain information travels at up to 300 kilometers per hour
Faster than a cheetah... And ALMOST faster than a formula 1 race car, the brain sends information up to an impressive 300 KM/h. Although not as fast as a speeding bullet, it's pretty impressive!
Read more about this fact, HERE.
3. Smells are strongly tied to memory
Another study conducted has investigated how strongly memories are tied to odor and words. Evidence indicates that autobiographical memories can be evoked by smell and appear to be older, more emotional and induce stronger time traveling characteristics than other memories. The overall results showed that odor and word cued autobiographical memories activated regions typically associated with recollection of autobiographical information.
Read about this study HERE.
4. Enough electricity to power a light bulb
Did you know that at our peak performance, when we're fully awake our brain can produce enough electricity to power a low-wattage light bulb! Our brain is an incredibly impressive organ but to produce enough electricity to power a small light bulb is... well, shocking!
5. Tiny neurons
As we know, cells and neurons are quite small. We can't see them with the naked eye but did you know that neurons are so small that around 30,000 can fit on the head of a pin? So imagine how many are actually making up your brain!
6. You have a second brain
No we're not taking about some alien like creature, everyone has a second brain in our intestines that contains 100 million neurons, called the Enteric Nervous System. This "second brain" is an autonomous part of the nervous system and controls things like motor functions, local blood flow and modulates immune and endocrine functions.
Learn more about your second brain, CLICK HERE.
Hopefully you know a little bit more about your brain and how amazing it truly is.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
See how much you remember and take our quiz!
During the month of March we have been celebrating everything and anything to do with the brain! Brain Awareness Month is a way for the Neurological Foundation to connect with supporters throughout New Zealand, and share our mutual adoration and excitement for brain research.
Throughout March we’ve be sharing facts and knowledge about the brain on our Facebook page. The brain is a pretty complex organ and every day more is being learnt. Each day we posted an interesting fact about our brain's and we thought we'd round up our favourite facts and share them with you!
In case you didn't know our brain's are constantly learning, and if you get to the bottom of this article you can test what you've learnt about the brain and be entered to win a fun prize pack from the Neurological Foundation.
Our 6 favourite brain facts:
1. The brain waves of two musicians can sychronise when performing together
It's true! A study was done were they examined pairs of guitarists repeatedly playing a duet in two voices. It was proven that synchronous oscillations within and between brains play a functional role in music performance.
Read more about this study CLICK HERE.
2. Brain information travels at up to 300 kilometers per hour
Faster than a cheetah... And ALMOST faster than a formula 1 race car, the brain sends information up to an impressive 300 KM/h. Although not as fast as a speeding bullet, it's pretty impressive!
Read more about this fact, HERE.
3. Smells are strongly tied to memory
Another study conducted has investigated how strongly memories are tied to odor and words. Evidence indicates that autobiographical memories can be evoked by smell and appear to be older, more emotional and induce stronger time traveling characteristics than other memories. The overall results showed that odor and word cued autobiographical memories activated regions typically associated with recollection of autobiographical information.
Read about this study HERE.
4. Enough electricity to power a light bulb
Did you know that at our peak performance, when we're fully awake our brain can produce enough electricity to power a low-wattage light bulb! Our brain is an incredibly impressive organ but to produce enough electricity to power a small light bulb is... well, shocking!
5. Tiny neurons
As we know, cells and neurons are quite small. We can't see them with the naked eye but did you know that neurons are so small that around 30,000 can fit on the head of a pin? So imagine how many are actually making up your brain!
6. You have a second brain
No we're not taking about some alien like creature, everyone has a second brain in our intestines that contains 100 million neurons, called the Enteric Nervous System. This "second brain" is an autonomous part of the nervous system and controls things like motor functions, local blood flow and modulates immune and endocrine functions.
Learn more about your second brain, CLICK HERE.
Hopefully you know a little bit more about your brain and how amazing it truly is.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
See how much you remember and take our quiz!
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