Stuff Your Brain Likes

You know that annoying song that you can’t get out of your head?

It’s one of those things about the brain that makes no sense.

Why, why, why am I humming S.O.S by Abba.

And while I’m at it -

• Why can’t I tickle myself?
• Why are my jokes funny (or not)?
• Is yawning contagious?

Two neuroscientists, Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang, have written an interesting book called “Welcome To Your Brain: The Science of Jet Lag, Love and other Curiosities of Life,” which answers many of these questions.

Here’s the top ten.

Know why you remember those really annoying songs?
It has to do with the “sequence recall” capability in our brains, a useful function when we have to remember how to sign our name or tie our shoes. Generally very important to daily living.

When you think about a song, your brain may repeat a sequence that strengthens the connections associated with it. This increases the likelihood that you will recall it, which leads to more reinforcement. The cure? Think of another annoying song and that will crowd the first one out of your memory.

Your brain is an energy hog.
It’s only 3% of your body weight but uses 17% of your energy. A Hummer in your head.

High altitudes can create strange visions.
People have had spiritual experiences at high altitude, felt a strange presence or seen strange things. True? Oxygen deprivation is likely to interfere with brain regions that are used in visual and face processing, and in emotional events. So, ya, Moses probably did hear the voice up on Mount Sinai.

You can’t seem to tickle yourself.
The cerebellum region of our brain (called the “little brain”) is where we distinguish the difference between our own touch and another person’s. That helps us drown out our own cluttered sensations (like the texture of our clothes) but immediately feel someone else’s touch. The cerebellum predicts the sensory consequences of our own actions. If a prediction matches the actual sensory information, then the brain knows that it’s safe to ignore the sensation because it’s not important. If reality does not match the prediction, for example someone is tickling you, then the cerebellum is telling you to pay attention.

Jet lag is not good for your brain.
The stress hormones released due to jet lag can damage the temporal lobe and cause memory problems.

Sunlight (and sometimes orgasms) can make you sneeze.
Sneezing is a reflex that is supposed to expel something irritating in your airwaves. A signal is sent to the lateral medulla in the brain by way of the trigeminal nerve. Bright sunlight is supposed to signal your brain to contract your pupils but sometimes this overloaded signal spills over into the trigeminal nerve and triggers the sneeze. It’s just nerve overload, causing crossed wires.

Yawn. I’m not bored, I’m waking up my brain.
Yawning expands our pharynx and larynx, sucking air into our lungs. The oxygen enters our blood, pumps into the brain thereby making us more alert. Is yawning contagious? Perhaps. The authors say it could be a way for individuals to transmit the need for increased alertness to others.

It’s hard to hear a phone conversation in a noisy place.
That’s because the noise in the room is going into your speaking piece, traveling through to the phone on the other end and being sent back to you mixed together with the speaker’s voice. Stick your finger on your mouthpiece. Or get off the phone.

There’s a “Comedy Central” in your brain.
Some people with damage to the right side of their frontal lobe often don’t get jokes, because they have difficulty interpreting the “surprise” that makes a joke funny. Of course it could also mean your jokes aren’t funny. No, it must be the joke recipient.

Video games can actually help you multitask.
Video games require sustained multitasking (guns, bombs, enemies shooting at you, scores, bonus points – there’s a lot going on) which can increase your ability to pay attention to many things at the same time.

Speaking of playing games, our site has a lot of brain stimulating games, which may not improve your multitasking abilities but they are fun to play.

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