First modification:
It is one of the parts of our body that later began to be studied and yet it is one of the most vital organs, the conductor of the orchestra that allows us to live, think and feel. Much remains to be learned about the brain, although at least we now know that it is more than a simple “viscera of the head” as was believed in ancient times. We explain it on the occasion of World Brain Day that is celebrated every July 22.
There are almost 86,000 million neurons, although some claim that they reach up to 100,000 million, which make up our brain. Little did the Egyptians know it, the first to describe the organ thousands of years ago (at least, the first that we know of). For them, it was something “corrugated” similar to “the shape of molten copper” that mysteriously “fluttered”.
This is explained by a papyrus found in 1862 known as ‘the Edwin Smith papyrus’, the name of the Englishman who bought it and which dates from 1,600 BC, although it is believed that it could be a copy of an even older text, from 3,000 BC. . C. The text describes the case of a man with a head injury that allowed the brain to be seen and it is the first time not only that this organ is discussed, but also that it is related to the ability to move, since it is explained that the patient has trouble walking.
In Egyptian culture and in much of Western medicine, for centuries the heart was attributed the function of housing the soul, the spirit, of being the conductor of our bodies. The brain was limited to being an unknown “viscera of the head” that began to be studied much later than the rest of the organs, when in reality it is perhaps the most vital of all: it allows us to breathe, dance, learn, love and hate through circuits that are not fully understood even today.
the wonders of the brain
The billions of neurons in our brain and the rest of our nervous system communicate with each other: it is estimated that each neuron can establish some 50,000 connections with the rest of its peers. The electricity generated in these communications would be enough to make a light bulb light up.
In addition, information travels at an astonishing speed: approximately 240 kilometers per hour, although it could be even faster. That means that, between when we feel something on our skin and our brain perceives it, only fractions of a second pass and we experience it as something immediate.
Although the brain is 2% of our muscle mass, it consumes 20% of our oxygen and calorie needs, something that shows that it is truly the great engine of our body. A single organ requires a fifth of all our air.
It is also the most plastic organ that exists: several cases are known of people whose brain has adapted despite the fact that parts are missing or damaged, with a great capacity for metamorphosis and for rehabilitating communications between failed neurons. However, it is not true that we only use 10% of our brain: walking alone already requires more than a tenth of the organ.
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