Limitless - Jim Kwik Page 0,14

language. You learned dozens of new words and their meanings on a daily basis and kept doing so all the way through school. And while you were learning to communicate, you were also learning to reason, to calculate, and to parse an endless number of complex concepts—and all of that was before you read a single page of a book or attended one class!

Our brains are what separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Think about it. We can’t fly, we aren’t particularly strong or fast, we can’t climb with the dexterity of some animals, we can’t breathe underwater. As far as most physical functions are concerned, we’re just average. But because of the power of our brains, we are overwhelmingly Earth’s most dominant species. By harnessing that incredible mental power, we have created ways to explore the ocean depths like a fish, move tons of weight like an elephant, and even fly like a bird. Yes, the brain is quite a gift.

The brain is so complex that we know more about our vast universe than we do about its workings, and we’ve learned more about it in the past decade than we’d previously learned over the course of human history . . . and we’ll learn even more about it from the time this book goes to press to the time it hits the bookshelves. Our understanding of the brain is ever evolving, and we know that what we’ve learned about it is only a tiny fraction of what there is to be learned. But what we already know is staggering. So, let’s take a journey through your limitless brain.

The brain is part of the central nervous system (CNS). Similar to the control tower at an airport, your brain acts as its control center, directing all the comings and goings of information, processes, and impulses. The brain has three major areas: the brain stem, the cerebellum, and the cerebral cortex (both the cerebellum and cerebral cortex start with cere, Latin for “wax,” because of its waxy appearance). The brain is made of fat and water, weighs approximately three pounds, and facilitates incredible power and ability.1

The brain stem moderates the basic functions we need to live, such as breathing, maintaining a regular heart rate, impulses to eat or have sex, and our fight-or-flight responses. It is located at the top of your spine and the base of your skull, buried deep within the brain. At the back of the brain, the cerebellum is responsible for moderating movement and coordination. There’s also increasing evidence that it plays a role in our decision-making.

The cerebral cortex is the largest part of our brain, where the majority of our complex thinking, short-term memory, and sensory stimulation take place. It is made up of the occipital, parietal, temporal, and frontal lobes. Our frontal lobes are where most of our thinking takes place: where logic and creativity derive.

The brain is split into two halves that are connected by the corpus callosum, which acts like a bundle of telephone wires between the lobes, sending messages back and forth. Right now, you have somewhere around 86 billion neurons (also called brain cells) firing and acting together in concert as you read these words and assimilate the information on these pages.2 These neural signals are released into the brain and received by neurotransmitters, which then pass the message along to other neurotransmitters or stop the message altogether if that’s the appropriate response.

We used to think that we reached our neurological peak in late adolescence, after which our brains never changed—other than to deteriorate. We now know that this is far from the truth. Our brains have the capacity for neuroplasticity, which means that it can be changed and shaped by our actions and by our environments. Your brain is always changing and molding itself to your surroundings and to the demands you place on it.

Because our brains are subject to the influence of our genes and environment, we each possess a brain that is entirely unique to us. They’re like snowflakes; no two are alike. Each brain adapts to the needs of its owner. Let’s look at someone raised in an environment that was full of stressors such as poverty, lack of access to food, or lack of safety. That person will have a very different brain structure than someone brought up in a very comfortable, affluent, well-cared-for setting. But before you jump to the conclusion that one environment is “better” than the other and breeds a