The Brain: Fact or Fable?

For those of you who didn't see this on my page, I found this in my biological psychology textbook and found it a bit intriguing.

- Some human nerve cells are 3 feet long. (true)

- Nerve impulses travel at the speed of light. (false)

- We normally use only 10% of our brain. (false)

- More people die each year from the use of legal drugs than illegal ones. (true)

- Only humans ingest mind-altering substances. (false)

- Only humans have created cultures. (false)

- Some people are incapable of feeling pain. (true)

- Different parts of the tongue are specialized to recognize certain tastes. (false)

- Dogs are colour-blind. (false)

- There are no anatomical differences between men's and women's brains. (false)

- In some animal species every individual is female. In some other species, individuals can change sex during their lifetimes. (true)

- Most of our energy is expended just maintaining our body tempurature. (true)

- We can lose weight permanently by surgically removing fat from our bodies. (false)

- The peaks in cases of depression and suicide occur around Christmas holiday. (false)

- During sleep the brain is relatively inactive. (not always)

- Sleepwalkers are acting out dreams. (false)

- Some animals can have half their brain asleep and the other half awake. (true)

- The left side of the face is more emotionally expressive than the right side. (true)

- It is possible to scientifically determine whether someone is lying. (false)

- Scientists are not sure why antidepressants work. (true)

- Some people are incapapble of producing any new memories. (true)

- A child can have half of the brain removed and still develop normal intelligence. (true)

**Taken from Mark R. Rosenzweig, S. Marc Breedlove, and Neil V. Watson's text: Biological Psychology: An Introduction to Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience.**