As you will know from your science lessons, the central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord. The brain is a fascinating organ – one which we still do not fully understand.
Scientists estimate that the brain contains around 86 billion cells! A piece of brain tissue the size of a grain of sand, contains up to 100,000 neurones and a billion synapses. Each of these neurones is able to transmit 1,000 nerve impulses every second, which is a lot of communication. Brain tissue is very fragile – and remarkably soft. In fact, it is one of the softest organs in the body. According to scientists in California, the average brain generates 48.6 thoughts per minute. That amounts to 70,000 thoughts every day!
In addition, the storage capacity of the human brain is immense. Studies indicate that it has 2.5 petabytes of memory capacity. A petabyte is a million gigabytes! This suggests the human brain can hold as much information in its memory as is contained in the entire Internet. While it is doing this it is generating enough electricity to run a light bulb. Very impressive. In order to have the same memory capacity and processing power as a brain, a computer would need a whole nuclear power station to run it!
However, the brain has a mind of its own. In fact, 95% of your decisions actually take place in your sub-conscious. Memories can also be unreliable, changing over time. How accurately we remember things is impacted by our emotions, motivation and context.
GCSE biologists, if you need help with understanding the structure of the brain, try our new guide “How to work with the Nervous System: Part 2”. It includes an explanation of what the main parts of the brain do, and how scanners can help us understand the brain. There are questions and answers included.
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