7 Enigmas Of The Human Brain

The enigmas of the human brain are a permanent source of research. Even so, they persist. There are many questions that science has not yet been able to answer in this regard. Hardly a few answers have been ventured, and they are all fascinating.

Our brain represents only 2% of our body. Even so, it consumes 20% of the total oxygen and the same percentage of the energy that enters our body. If we could connect an electrode to the brain, its energy would only be used to power a 60-watt light bulb. Despite this, that organ has transformed the entire planet.

Our neurons can only be seen under the microscope. They are more than 100,000 million, but they are unable to reproduce. With that colossal organ the human race has managed to be what it is. But the mystery continues and for example there are these seven enigmas that remain unsolved.

1. The inner secrets of memory

When we learn something new, changes occur in the brain. However, it is not yet known exactly what these changes are like  or what the consequences are that they have specifically.

Likewise, one of the great enigmas of the human brain is the way in which different types of memory are activated. There is long and short term memory. There is also declarative memory, which takes care of the exact data. And non-declarative memory, which has to do with actions, like swimming, for example.

Scientists suspect that there is a common element in all these types of memory, but they have not yet found it at the molecular level. Nor do they know how and why memories are modified or erased.

2. Emotions, one of the great enigmas of the human brain

Emotions represent one of the great enigmas of the brain. First of all, it should be noted that a consensus has not yet been reached on how to define them from a neurological point of view. It is known that they are brain states and that such states make it possible to assign a value to the facts. Also that from this an action plan is generated. However, this appreciation is not shared by all scientists.

Emotions have a physical referent. They involve changes in muscle tension, heartbeat, body temperature, etc. There are also changes in the brain in terms of neurotransmitters. However, the detailed operation of this set of processes is ignored.

3. We still do not know the secrets of intelligence

Neurologically, there is also no consensus definition of intelligence. To clarify the concept of intelligence, ideas associated with how it is evaluated are used. But there is no brain scheme that can be used to define this ability.

Some studies suggest that intelligence is related to working memory. Such investigations, in any case, are not conclusive. What is known is that different areas of the brain and various thinking mechanisms act at the same time in intellectual phenomena. However, intelligence remains one of the great enigmas of the human brain.

4. Why do we sleep and dream?

The act of sleeping and dreaming has always been associated with rest. However, in recent decades it has been discovered that the brain remains very active during sleep. In fact, there are times when you work harder than when the person is awake.

Currently there are hypotheses that have greater acceptance, but in reality we do not know what we sleep for and what we dream for. Although there may be a regenerative function, it is definitely not the only thing in the dream. Sleep is thought to facilitate problem solving and memory fixation and is therefore a preparation for action.

5. We are not aware of consciousness

Consciousness is a philosophical, psychological and anthropological concept, among others, but it is also a neurological issue. So far it is known that contact with material things generates small changes in the brain.

However, one of the great enigmas of the human brain is the way in which different levels of consciousness are produced. The so-called “higher consciousness” or ability to recognize universal reality in objective terms appears to be the result of massive feedback from brain circuits. There are no further details about it.

6. The simulation of the future, a mystery

One of the most extraordinary powers of our brain is that ability to simulate the future. That is, foresee what will happen, predict it or conjecture it. It is a wonderful expression of our intelligence and our potential.

It is not known how the brain manages to do this simulation. It is supposed to be related to the creation of models and their contrast with memory. At the moment it is unknown what are the mechanisms that make this type of simulation possible.

7. Temporal phenomena

It seems that the brain has some difficulty processing events that occur simultaneously. This occurs when two or more events occur at different speeds.

The brain seems to try to perceive them as synchronous; that is, as if they occurred at the same speed. Something that, for example, this can lead to dyslexia and falls in older people. It is not known why this occurs.

Although a great deal of progress has been made in neurology, there are still many puzzles to solve around the functioning of the human brain. It is not for less, if one takes into account that it is a very complex organ and that it is the organ itself that is applied in the extraordinary task of knowing itself.