• Question: why does the brain only use a small percentage of it's capability?

    Asked by Emily to Rebecca, Chris, Josh, Rob, Susan on 16 Jun 2015. This question was also asked by Adam khan.
    • Photo: Susan Cartwright

      Susan Cartwright answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      It doesn’t. This is a myth. When neurosurgeons have to intervene in the brain, e.g. to remove a cancer, they have to be extremely careful to avoid causing serious problems – you need all of your brain. However, the brain is very flexible, and damage to one part can often be compensated by “workarounds” involving other areas. Not always: if you damage your visual cortex, for example, your vision will be affected, and there isn’t much that can be done.

    • Photo: Rebecca Dewey

      Rebecca Dewey answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      As far as we know the brain does all get used at some point. It’s not all being used all at once – that would just be confusing. But every part of the brain has a function and gets used when that function needs to be performed. The grey matter does all the “working things out” and the white matter transmits information between areas of grey matter that need to work together on something.

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