In"Themythicalbrain"editorial1NatureNeuroscienceaddressedmythsabout

thebrain.Thatis,ideasaboutthebrainshownbysciencetobewrong,butstill
acceptedbythelaypublic.Thisisarecurringthemeinscienceeducation,notonlyin
neuroscience,andit'simportanceisveryclear.Thecatalyzerepisodeforthisspecific
editorialwasthemovieLucy,whichexplorestheideathatweuseonly10%ofour
brainswhichaccordingtoNatureNeuroscience'seditorial,iswrong.However,one
ofthemovie'smaincharacter,playedbyMorganFreeman,isaneuroscientistthat
giveslecturesabouttheneurons,brains,intelligenceandevolution.Andtheuntruthin
otherneuroscientificclaimsinthemovie,suchthatwithoneneuron,there'slife,with
twothere'smovement,seemstohavegoneunnoticedintheeditorial.
Whywasthe10%mythclearlyaddressed,whileothermythsrelatedto
neurosciencewerenot?Maybebecausethe10%mythisusedinthemovie's
marketing.Butmaybethere'sotherreasonsaswell.Ifunicellularorganismsarealive
andmove,aswellasplantsandfungi,withoutneedingneuronstodoit,whyhaven't
thesemythsreceivedattentionfromtheeditorial?Thedistinctionbetweenthese
examplesseemsessential.Becauseapossiblealternativeinterpretationtothemovieis
that,althoughthemetaphorisneurocentric,themeaningisnot.Thisalternative
interpretationbecameevenmoreappealingtomewhilelisteningtodirectorLuc
Bessontalkingabouthisworkandtheideathatweonlyuse10%ofourbrains:"Its
totallynottrue.DotheythinkthatIdontknowthis?Iworkonthisthingfornine
yearsandtheythinkthatIdontknowitsnottrue?OfcourseIknowitsnottrue!
But,youknow,therearelotsoffactsinthefilmthataretotallyright."2Thealternative
interpretationtoLucyisthatthemovieisnotaboutthebrain,butaboutconsciousness.
Changethemetaphorandyougetatotallydifferentmeaning.
Let'sreframethemythtorevealtheunderlyingmeaning:it'snotaboutusingjust10%
ofthebrain,butaboutperceivingonlyaverysmallfractionofthebrain'sdoings.And
thisisscientificallytrue!Thebrainisintimatelyconnectedtoallthebody,andlot'sof
itsworkingshavetodowiththingswhicharefarfromourconsciousexperience.At
everysinglesecondourheartsbeat,ourbloodvesselsdilateandcontract,ourlungs
bringairinandletitoutandthewholeautonomicnervoussystemoperate.Whyhave
wecalleditautonomous?Becausemostofthetimeitoperatesindependentlyofour
willandconsciousnessofit.Andsoitiswithmanyofthebrainsactivities:itgoeson
andon,butunnoticedbyus.
Butifwewill,wecanstopourusual,dailyroutineactivities,orourusualday
dreaming,andimmediatelywestartnoticingmore.Ohyes,Iambreathingandmy
heartisbeatingwhileIwritethisletter,eventhoughit'shardtofeelitatthesame
timeIwrite.AndthisisexactlythepuzzleexperiencedbyLucy.Howisittobecome
moreconsciousthaninoureverydayexperience?Howwoulditfeeltobeawareofall
thebodilyfunctionsatonce?Whatwouldbethepossibilitiesifwecould,atwill,
controltheneuropychoimmuneconnections?Howwoulditbetobeconsciousofall
memoriesandsensationsofone'sownlife?Poetically,Lucystartsrememberingher
experiencebreastfeeding,thetasteofhermother'smilkinhermouth,allthekisses
receivedfromherparentsinherentirelife.Andallthiswhileshe'sundergoing
surgerywithoutanesthetics:shechosenotfeelpain.Isallthispossible?Wedon't
know.Probablyunlikely.Butuntilthemolecularturnoverdilemmachallengingthe
neuroscienceofmemoryandthestrongplaceboeffectinpainarenotovercome,
impossibletodefinitivelyclaimit's100%wrong.Notlimitingthequestiontoone's
ownbrainandbody,Bessonhasfreedomtoimaginefurther:themoviehelpsus

imaginehowwoulditfeeltobeconsciousofotherpeoplesmemories,thoughtsand
emotions.Oryet,howwoulditfeeltobeawareofallthematterandenergyflowing
inatree?Abeautifulsceneinthemoviehelpsusseeatreeclosertohowitreallyis,
beyondourstaticperceptionofit:trulyalive,movingandpulsatingwithflowsof
matterandenergy.Inanothersurrealsceneinanairplane,themoviehelpusimagine
howwoulditfeeltobeawareofeverycellandeverymoleculeinthebody.IsLucy
transcendingtheskinencapsulatedego3whileundertheeffectsofapsychoactive
chemicalinanairplane?Ifit'saboutconsciousness,andnotjustaboutthebrain,these
othermeaningsbecomepossible.Andtheyaretherenotjusttoentertain,butto
educate.Scientistsinclusive.Andthisothermeaningsstretchtillthelastscene:Why
elsewouldLucybeeverywhereafterattaininga100%?Anyresemblancewith
Vedantamaynotbecoincidence.
ThebeautifulimaginativetouraboutconsciousexperiencedepictedinLucyis,
therefore,scientificvalidandwelcome,eventhoughnotallclaimsaboutbrainsand
neuronsareprecise.Andmanyofthemovie'svisualsandtheperceptualsituations
livedbythemaincharacterremindofotherquestionsaboutconsciousnessraised
before,basedontheveryrealconsciousnesschangeselicitedbypsychedelic
experiences4.Despitethelargedisinterestofmostbrainscientistsinsuch"mind
manifesting"substancesfordecades5,theireffectsonconsciousexperienceand
hypothesisofthebrainactingasareducingvalveforconsciousnesscontinue
challengingneuroscience.Andthisispreciselythemyththatneuroscientistsarenot
alwayswillingtoopenlytalkabout:neuroscienceashavingthefinalwordabout
consciousness.Despitethebesteffortsandrecentadvances6,7,westilldonothave
proofsthatthebraingenerateconsciousness,northatitisuniquelyhuman8.Going
evenfurther,itisindeedpossiblethatconsciousnessexistsinotherlivingorganisms
thatmove,learnandreproduceevenwithoutneurons7,9.Asmanyquestionsrelatedto
consciousnessarestillunansweredbymodernneuroscience,attemptstobringthis
topictothegeneralpublicshouldnotbeprematurelydismissed.Onthecontrary,they
shouldbewelcomedastheyincreasethespiritofenquiry.Ashumourouslyexpressed
byLucBessoninTheGuardian"Ifyoufindyourselfaskingwhat'srealandwhatisn't,
I'vewon"10.
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The mythical brain. Nat Neurosci 17, 1137 (2014).

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Tononi, G. Phi. (Pantheon, 2012).
Koch, C. Consciousness: Confessions of a romantic reductionist.
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(2004).
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10. http://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2014/aug/20/luc-bessonlucy-scarlett-johansson-video-interview