Have you ever woken up from a dream feeling terrified? You might even feel devastated. You look around and see that your partner hasn’t actually dumped you or you haven’t run through the halls of your school in your underwear. As you wake, you realize that your dream was absolutely ridiculous! Yet, everyone looked so real. Your emotions felt real. Your chest may still be tight and you might be sweating even as you get out of bed....

Our brains are fascinating, complex organs. At any given moment, neurons are sending electrical signals back and forth to help you think, breathe, move, and contemplate your own consciousness. So let’s take a moment and think about why we have a brain. Where did they come from? Who had the first brain? Let’s answer all of these questions (as best we can) as we explore the evolution of the brain....

The central nervous system is able to take in sensory information all around you, interpret that information, and potentially instruct the release of hormones to respond to that information. Certain parts of the brain also instruct the release of hormones in response to what’s going on inside the body. Our central nervous systems are a big part of why our hormones make their way through the body, but hormones are actually a part of the endocrine system....

We know that the brain contains tens of billions of neurons. These neurons build connections and communicate, forming our thoughts, perceptions, and memories. But is this number of neurons set? Can we do anything to increase the number of neurons in the brain? Or at least, can we stop the brain from shrinking? Yes, the brain shrinks. Depending on your age and lifestyle, it is likely shrinking right now! If you want to keep your brain healthy, keep reading....

Have you ever experienced brain freeze? After you eat ice cream or slurp down a cold drink, you might feel a throbbing pain in the front of your head. This “freeze” only lasts for a few seconds and causes no damage to the brain or mouth, but it’s certainly painful! This is just one example of our brains inducing pain although no damage has been done to the body. And knowing that this happens is key to understanding why we feel pain in the first place....

Discussions about important brain cells usually center on neurons. Electrical signals sent between neurons form our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. What we often fail to discuss are the cells that make this process possible: neuroglial cells. Myelin sheath is composed of two different types of neuroglial cells: Schwann cells and oligodendrocytes. In the peripheral nervous system, myelin is made from Schwann cells. In the central nervous system, myelin is made from oligodendrocytes....

You’ve probably heard this phrase before: we only use 10% of our brains. That idea is either discouraging or encouraging depending on how you view it. It means you’re not doing as much as you could, or there is so much you could achieve if you only tap into that other 90%. No matter how you respond to this idea, don’t worry about it. It’s a total myth. What Percentage of the Brain Do We Use?...

How much time do you spend playing video games each day? This number might change during the seasons, as you age, or if a global pandemic is forcing you to stay inside. If you tell people you play more than ten hours a week, you might raise some eyebrows. But is playing video games as bad for the brain as people think? Not at all. Think of video games like wine or corn syrup....

Our brain is a complicated, fascinating, mysterious place in our body. It contains our innermost thoughts and reflexes that may cause embarrassment. In an instant, our brains can regulate our body temperature or recall a memory from middle school. For better or for worse, we can thank our brain cells for just about everything that goes on inside our brain. What do you know about brain cells? That we’ve got a lot?...

Take a moment to tap on your keyboard, hum a little tune, and continue listening to the sound of my voice. That’s a lot of sound coming in at once, yet we can take in all this information pretty clearly. Hearing is a fascinating process that requires a massive amount of tiny, tiny cells throughout the ear and in the brain. Even the part of the brain that controls hearing is small, yet it activates as we listen to music, have phone conversations, and take in all the sounds around us....

Picture this. You see your ex, and suddenly your heart starts beating fast. You start sweating and your hands get clammy. This knee-jerk reaction is not ideal; you would prefer to keep things calm and collected when you say hello. After a minute of talking yourself down, you do become calmer. What happened there? Why did your brain process emotions “without” you?The answer is not completely clear, to be honest. Psychologists have undergone years of research on our emotions, physical reactions, and cognition....

Picture this. You bite into a bean burrito, and your mouth is filled with many different and delicious tastes. You recognize one in particular - cilantro! Cilantro tastes great in burritos, on salads, and infused in oils. But your friend can’t stand the taste of it! They think cilantro tastes like soap. Why do your brains process the taste of cilantro so differently? To answer this question, we must dive into what part of the brain processes the sense of taste....

Is there anything more satisfying than quenching your thirst? You wake up at night or finish a long workout, notice you are thirsty, and then have a big drink of water. It feels nice, and it’s something that we often do without thinking. Why does quenching our thirst feel good, and why are we thirsty in the first place? The answer is actually more complicated than you might think because the body experiences two types of thirst!...