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It’s one of the most important parts of your body. It controls all your nerves, thoughts, memories, and moods. And it only weighs about three pounds. Your brain is responsible for everything you do and it’s no wonder that we’re always learning more about it!
Your brain is a fantastically complicated organ; there are billions upon billions of neurons firing at any given time to let you read these words and make sense of them. But if you know the right way to tap into it, it can also be incredibly powerful.
Here are seven fascinating things you probably didn’t know about your brain.
1) Your brain is always building new cells!
Your brain doesn’t reach full growth until you’re at least twenty years old (though some parts of it finish developing much sooner). Even when you’re an adult, however, your brain is still growing new neurons.
How? Well, according to neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel, your neurons don’t die when they’re damaged; instead, they basically shed their outer layer and start over. So your gray matter isn’t made up of dead cells, it’s made up of more cells than there were before.
