The idea that we only use 10 percent of our brain is deeply entrenched in popular culture. Some parts of our brain are working harder than others at any given time. But 90 percent of our brain isn’t useless filler. Magnetic resonance imaging shows that most of the human brain is active most of the time. So according to these, how much of our brain do we actually use?
Hi Zahra,
We use all of our brain 100% of the time, but it comes down to what we are actually doing with it at any given moment in time. If you are working on a particular task, for example, then neurons in the brain that are part of the network involved in that task will fire (measured in Hz, i.e. frequency) at a synchronous rate i.e. in phase, which causes expenditure of energy, and then a rush of blood to those regions to replenish that energy - this is the blood-oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) effect that we observe (and measure) using fMRI (functional MRI). No part of the brain is dormant. Even when we do (or think) of 'nothing', various networks are active, which we call the 'resting state' networks - e.g. 'default' mode, e.g. 'executive control', etc.
Hope this helps.
Jerome
Please take a look at this useful RG link.
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