The widespread claim that humans use only a tenth of their brain has no scientific basis, according to researchers whose findings were reported by the Times of India. This myth, which has persisted for over a century, continues to live in the public consciousness, but modern science unequivocally refutes it, reports infohub.kz.
Neurologists and psychologists have repeatedly emphasized that in reality, humans utilize nearly all parts of the brain. Thanks to functional magnetic resonance imaging, scientists observe activity in all regions of the organ even during sleep. This directly contradicts the idea that a significant portion of the brain remains unused.
The roots of this misconception lie in erroneous interpretations of early psychologists' statements and incorrect readings of scientific works from that time. In particular, past researchers did not fully understand the functions of glial cells, which make up a significant part of the brain and provide support for neurons. In fact, human potential is determined by the quality of neural connections, not by the presence of "dormant" areas.
From an evolutionary perspective, maintaining such a complex organ requires enormous energy expenditure. The brain constitutes only about 2% of body mass but consumes approximately 20% of the body's total energy. If a large portion of the brain were inactive, evolution would hardly have preserved such a costly mechanism. Furthermore, damage to any brain area inevitably leads to functional impairments, which also indicates its full utilization.