Brain, Bits and Bytes

From the Panorama Memory Clinic:

There are many interesting facts about the brain and brain function that are frequently asked of memory care experts and persons in the medical field. The following are some interesting facts about our amazing brain!

Did you know?...

Every person has more than 435 miles of nerves in their body.

Your nerves can send messages faster than a Grand Prix car travels

The brain is the most complex machine in the universe - it has over 100,000,000,000 nerve cells each with up to 150,000 connections

If every person on the planet simultaneously made 200,000 phone calls, there would be the same total number of connections as in a single human brain in a day.

The gray cells occupy only 5% of our brains - 95%is taken up by the communicaiton network that runs between the grey cells!

The brain is a mass of nervous tissue that regulates all physical and mental activity

The brain weighs about 3 1/2 pounds in an adult human.

Brain damage results when brain cells are damaged through lack of oxygen, disease, or a head injury.

Common effects of brain damage include weakness of one or more limbs, imparied balance, memory loss and personality change, and epilepsy.

Damaged brain cells do not regenerate but mental and physical functions can improve after mild or moderate brain damage with skillful rehabilitation.

Compared to other animals, human brains are big for our body

The human brain is only just bigger than your two fists

On average, the male brain is slightly bigger than the female brain

Each half of the brain controls the other half of your body

In right handed individuals (which comprise 91% of people): the right side of the brain controls: musical talent, fantasy, imagination, dreams, drawing, and painting. The left side of the brain controls: mathematical ability, ability to solve logic problems, controls language skills, remembers names, dates, and facts.

The grey part of the brain is folded to fit inside the skull and, if flattened out, it would cover the surface of an office desk.

One brain cell connects to up to 25,000 others

The brain contains 100 billion brain cells of which, 100,000 are irretrievably lost each day.

You can retain about seven facts at any one time in short term memory, but over the long term your brain has to forget things to make room for new memories.

For more information about how to Power Your Memory - please contact the Alzheiemr's Association of WNY (716)626-0600

For more information about Elderwood Senior Care, please contact us at (716)633-3900.