John Medina on Hippocampus and Memories

Amazing Brain Facts

• An average human brain weighs around 3 lbs or 1400 -1500 gms.
• Your brain is around 2% of your body weight but uses 20% of oxygen in your body.
• Your brain also uses 20% of blood circulating in your body.
• Human Brain is 75% water.
• There are some 100 billion Neurons in an average human brain.
• There are anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 synapses for EACH neuron!
• There are 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the brain.
• Your brain generates 10 to 23 watts of power when you’re awake (that’s enough to turn on a light bulb!) 
• Your brain is the most fatty organ in your body! 
• Memories triggered by scent (like cologne) have a stronger emotional connection, and therefore appear more intense than other memory triggers.
• Sleep is the best time for your brain to file away all the memories of the day. So cherish your sleep time!
• The brain can feel no pain as there are NO pain receptors in the brain!
• If one's brain loses blood for 8 to 10 seconds, he will lose consciousness.
• Every part of the brain has a known function so it's not true that humans use only 10% of their brain.
• Every time you recall a memory or have a new thought, you are creating a new connection in your brain.

Test Your Executive Attention through Stroop Test

Say the color you see in every word given in the picture. Remember, don't say the word, just say out loud the color.

 What is a Stroop Test?

In psychology, the Stroop effect is a demonstration of the reaction time of a task. When the name of a color (e.g., "blue," "green," or "red") is printed in a color not denoted by the name (e.g., the word "red" printed in blue ink instead of red ink), naming the color of the word takes longer and is more prone to errors than when the color of the ink matches the name of the color. The effect is named after John Ridley Stroop who first published the effect in English in 1935.

The Stroop Test is considered to measure selective attention, cognitive flexibility and processing speed, and it is used as a tool in the evaluation of executive functions.