PsychBrief

The idea that some people have better memories than others isn’t a new or groundbreaking idea. But most people will feel they have a good memory with regards to events that have just happened or with events that have a personal meaning e.g. one of your birthday parties. This idea is the implicit assumption behind…

The idea that “brain damage is permanent” has been floating around for a while. It’s based on the idea that the brain has a finite number of cells at birth and once you lose them, you can never get them back.Now, this is partially true. Neurons that are damaged do not regenerate (hence why severe…

This idea has been floating around for a while and the most recent example I can think of is the main premise of the film “Limitless” with Bradley Cooper (which I thought was a good film. Unsatisfying end though but anyway). The main idea is that if you somehow unlock the ability to use the…

This myth is generally used to explain how some people tend to be creative compared to those who are more analytic.“Well I’m very intuitive and good at art because my right hemisphere is dominant”.“I’m left-hemisphere dominant so I’m better with numbers and more logical”.We associate various skills with a certain hemisphere of the brain and…

I’m going to be writing a series of articles about some of the most common myths regarding the brain and why they are all rubbish. These will be:1) Left-brain right-brain split2) We only use 10% of our brain3) Brain damage is always permanent4) A person’s memory of an event is very accurate5) Drug use creates…