Myth Vs. Fact

Headaches are thought to be caused by the tension and swelling of blood vessels of the brain. But there are no pain receptors in the brain itself. However, the meninges (coverings around the brain), periosteum (coverings on the bones), and the scalp have pain receptors. Headaches are actually caused by the tightening of the muscles in the neck and the head. Headaches may also be caused by an imbalance in serotonin levels.

The brain can repair or compensate for certain losses, and even generate new cells by a process called neurogenesis.

There are small anatomical differences between male and female brains. The hippocampus, involved in memory, is usually larger in women, while the amygdala, involved in emotion, is larger in men, which is quite contrary to the myth. Evidence suggests that prevalent gender disparities are a result of cultural expectations as well as socialization rather than a product of biological differences.

While experts do recognize that there is lateralization of brain functions (that is, certain types of tasks and thinking tend to be more associated with a particular region of the brain), no one is fully right-brained or left-brained.

Though some cognitive functions do decline as you get older, plenty of your mental skills actually improve with age. For instance, vocabulary, comprehension, conflict resolution and emotional regulation are just a few areas in which older brains have proven to account for better performances than their younger counterparts.

Though the pressure of a deadline can motivate you to work harder, it doesn’t result in better brain performance. In fact, stress is more likely to impair brain function than improve.

Intelligence is determined by the number of connections between brain cells, called synapses, not by the size of the brain itself.

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