Sorry, Lucy: The 10-per-cent brain myth is 100 per cent false

One of the most popular biological myths that have been around for over a hundred years just won't seem to die – thanks to Hollywood.

Movies love to play fast and loose with science, and that’s partly why we enjoy watching them so much. But a number of blockbuster flicks just continue to perpetuate the popular legend that we humans only use ten per cent of our brains.

Movies like Limitless and Transcendence have touched on the same theme, and now the latest movie to have this bogus science as its premise is Lucy starring Scarlett Johansson.

She plays a drug mule who is accidentally exposed to mysterious substances that allow her brain power to get revved up from what we are told is the average 10 per cent usage we all muddle around with, to a full 100 per cent.

The misplaced contention is that if only ordinary humans could tap into the unused reservoir of our brains, we would be unimaginable geniuses with superhero-like memory and telekinetic powers. Well, at least that’s what the movie’s lead scientist, played by the venerable Morgan Freeman, would have us believe.

The average adult human brain weighs in at about 3 pounds, with most making up of the cerebrum, where all the higher cognitive action goes on. What takes up most of the energy in the brain are all the neuron connections and communications. It's these neural synapses firing off which gives rise to what scientists believe are the higher cognitive functions our species is so good at, like writing eloquent prose or solving complex mathematical theories, and yes, even more humdrum activities like composing emails, playing video games and reading that instruction manual for your new camera.

The truth is that we end up using pretty much all of our cognitive real estate each and every day, according to recent Scientific American interview with a Mayo Clinic neurologist.

While the true origins of this myth may never be known, some link it to Albert Einstein, who allegedly was referring to his imposing intellect. Or it could have gotten its start with well-publicized debates dating back to the mid 1800s when researchers argued we only use small portions of our brain and most remained untapped.

But there is no doubt that since then, popular media has been keeping this scientifically-unsound 10 per cent notion alive.

Regardless of its origins, the neuroscience community today, using its brain imaging and modern technologies, has known for years that we use many portions of our brain simultaneously – even for simple tasks. While not all neurons are actively firing off at the same time, all of them are thought to be standing at the ready, to be used at a moments notice, even while we are sound asleep.

Recent research has also shown that our brains are quite adaptable and can be retooled for functions that they normally would not be tasked with – as in cases where brain damage occurs from traumatic injury or stroke.

While the 10 per cent myth is definitely busted, we do underestimate the human brain's amazing powers.

We have learned that our brains can heal by actively rewiring themselves in ways that can allow an individual to overcome a lost function or even enhance certain skills like memory or mathematical skills.

Exploring this brain plasticity – the ability for it to modify itself due to changes in structure and environment – is a burgeoning field of science which holds promise to unlock some of the mysteries surrounding many psychiatric and degenerative brain disorders.

But those stories probably won't sell a lot of movie tickets.

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