10 things you should know about how your brain

2012 is the Year of Neuroscience in Spain. Here's selection of 10 things scientists learned about the brain in 2011 and you should know.
Eating less keeps the brain youngA molecule called CREB1, which activates when the diet is restrictive, starts to genes linked to longevity and good brain function.

The size of your network of friends on Facebook and the size of your brain are relatedThe number of friends you have in the social network Facebook is proportional to the size of certain regions of the brain. This emerges from a study conducted by scientists at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London (UK).

The success and failure throughout the brain activatedThe signals generated in the brain when a person when successful or when it fails are not processed in a restricted area of ​​the cerebral cortex. Neural connections in these cases extend virtually throughout the brain, according to a study by Yale University that was published in the journal Neuron.
Without vitamin B12, the brain shrinksFish, meat, milk and eggs are the main sources of vitamin B12, also called cobalamin. A lack of this substance in the diet can cause the brain to lose brain cells and develop cognitive problems, according to a study published in Neurology.


To keep your brain is tired, exercise Regular exercise increases both in muscle cells and neurons in the number of mitochondria, the organelles responsible for providing energy to the cells. This reduces mental fatigue, according to a study by the University of South Carolina.

How our brain remembers the important moments?Neuroscientists at the University of New York (USA) have identified the parts of the brain we use to remember the sequence of events within an episode of our lives, like a party or wedding. The study, published in Science, enhances our understanding of how memories are processed.


The human brain is shrinkingThe human brain has shrunk over the past 30,000 years. Specifically, the latest measurements show that the average volume of the brain of Homo sapiens in this period decreased by 10%, ie from 1500-1359 cubic inches, the equivalent of a tennis ball.

Distracted people have more gray matter in the brain People who are distracted by a fly and barely manage to keep the attention on one thing can blame a group of neurons in the superior parietal lobe, according to a work published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

So the brain reacts when expectations are not metThe human brain is able to adapt to the unexpected because it has a network of neurons that makes predictions about the world around us and also monitors how accurate are these predictions. The core network that is known in the orbitofrontal cortex, a brain area located above the eyes.
Identify the area of ​​the brain that controls the shameResearchers at the University of California (USA) have managed to identify the part of the brain that is put into action when we feel shame. This is the anterior cingulate cortex pregenual, made public this year as the authors at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology held in Hawaii