I remember when I first saw the movie, Limitless, with Bradley Cooper, a statement was made about how we only use about 10-20 percent of our brains. When I heard that, I was both fascinated, yet confused as to what the purpose was of the other 80-90% of our faculties. It seemed kind of useless to me. Well, the reason for my confusion was quite normal as that statement that we use so little of our brains is actually false. The same myth has been repeated numerous times in movies, television ads, and even books. The exact origins of this myth is unknown, but there are commonly held theories as to where it came from. Some of the most notable theories are that Albert Einstein’s intelligence stemmed from his ability to use more than 10% of his brain and that American psychologist William James made the statement that a person “develops only 10 percent of his latent mental ability.”
This myth is so widespread that a survey in 2012 showed that teachers from both Britain and the Netherlands supported this myth, with 48% of the teachers surveyed for Britain and 46% of teachers in the Netherlands. Even the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research sent out a survey with results expressing that 65% were behind this idea. Brain scans have repeatedly shown that the brain is constantly going even when a human is in a state of sleep. So why is the myth still floating around? It’s because it encourages people to strive harder as they feel there is more potential to be unlocked to accomplish greater things.
Those studying the brain hold a consensus that the brain is used for any number of tasks, some we may not known about. Whether it be from our thoughts, regulating emotions, planning, creating, dreaming, or sleeping. Every part of the brain is in effect to carry out these tasks. Behavioral neurophysiologist Eric Chudler states that, “”We use different parts of our brains in different ways when we do different things, but there are no parts of the brain sitting there unused.” This is confirmed based on what is known as a functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) machine which through scanning the brain can allow neurologists to see specifically what parts of the brain are currently in use. When more oxygen released from blood is received to the brain that particular area of the brain in action will light up highlighting that it is in use. Positron emission tomography (PET) scans, are another form of technology that can show what parts of the brain are active by using a radioactive chemical given off when scanned by the machine. 
Have you ever wondered why when a person suffers brain damage or has a portion of their brain removed that they don’t just fail to function. That’s because there is no 90% of the brain not being in use. The rest of the brain takes over to perform the tasks that it can, as not every part of the brain is affected by the trauma.
Sources:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-11/do-we-only-use-10-per-cent-of-our-brains/5648810
Some important science on disorders of consciousness – part 2
http://www.intechopen.com/books/advanced-brain-neuroimaging-topics-in-health-and-disease-methods-and-applications/active-and-passive-fmri-for-presurgical-mapping-of-motor-and-language-cortex
http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percent.asp
http://www.wired.com/2014/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-10-brain-myth-explained-in-60-seconds/
The “10% brain use” has been myth that bothered for a long time until I had to remember the functions of different parts of brain for my psychology class. Every part of the brain serves for a specific function and it seems there is no part of the brain that is not working. However, after the myth is proved wrong, I begin to wonder what causes the intelligence between people if it is not due to the brain use. This is probably going to be the topic for next blog period.
Back to your blog, the phenomenon you mentioned in the last paragraph is interesting and I found an article about people thinking half a brain works better than a whole brain after a brain-taken surgery. Here is the link http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-when-half-brain-better-than-whole/
This topic was so interesting to read about because it is such a widely held myth that it’s been featured in multiple, and I thought it was also really interesting how you brought up the question of why the myth is still around, citing that it motivates people to try and unlock their “full” potential, even though they’re already at full potential. This article featured on elitedaily.com also talks about reaching your full potential and overcoming adversity, and it’s actually really good life advice- http://elitedaily.com/life/motivation/12-steps-cultivating-successful-lifestyle-conquering-adversity-unlocking-potential/
Very nie blog, as I too fell victim into thinking the myth that we only use 10% of our brain was true. Your blog was very informative and very detailed in all the functions the brain does actually do. It’s quite amazing if you ask m, that the brain is capable of performing all those different kinds of tasks. What was most interesting to me was what you said about the rest of the brain taking over for the one part that fails to continue functioning because I didn’t realize that not every part of the brain is effected by trauma. Here’s a coolarticle I found more about brain trauma.
This is really interesting. I remember not long ago seeing all the commercials for the movie “Lucy” where a girl is able to access different amounts of her brain and have more powers with each increment of usage. Professor Ashley Bush of Melbourne’s Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health has been looking into this myth. After studying the brain for many years, she can’t give a specific percent of our brains that we use because we use different parts of it as we need them. So not all of your brain is needed to eat cereal but you might use more during your calc exam. Source.
The brain is one of the most fascinating parts of our body. Last year in psychology, I learned about all the different functions of each part of the brain. The amygdala controls our fear response, and the hippocampus aids with memory. I didn’t think it was possible that out of all the parts and functions of our brain, only ten-percent of it is used, and I am happy to see that there has been significant research concluding that that is a myth. Here are some fun facts about the brain: http://www.factslides.com/s-Brain