The Human Brain—what is it?

There still remain numerous qualities of the brain that are yet to be discovered.

“It is difficult to say which part of the brain is carefully studied,” says academician Natalya Petrovna Bekhtereva. “The entire brain has been studied indeed, but not to the fullest extent. There still remain numerous qualities of the brain that are yet to be discovered. Researchers do in fact possess a great deal of information regarding our movements. We also know some general principles of the entire thinking processes as well as those of emotions. Also, researchers are well acquainted with such brain function as control of the internal sphere of one's organism.”

Brain's numerous capabilities can at times be quite unusual and unexpected. Scientists continue to be mesmerized by such remarkable powers of one's brain. It seems like everything in a human body is controlled by the brain. Is it really so?

In 1336 king Ludwig of Bavaria has sentenced one nobleman Dits von Shaunburg and four of his supporters to death. The nobleman was accused of creating rebellious moods in the country. All of the accused trouble-makers were supposed to be beheaded. Right before the execution, the king asked the nobleman of his last wish. Dits pleaded to have his supporters freed in case he manages to run pass them headless. In addition, the nobleman remarked that each of his friends has to stand eight feet apart from each other. Only those men whom the beheaded nobleman manages to pass will be freed.  

The monarch simply laughed at such strange plea but agreed to do everything as the nobleman had asked. Dits placed his people in one row, while carefully counting distance between each one of them. Afterwards, he kneeled before the executioner's block. In a blink of an eye, the nobleman's white-haired head rolled down the stars. His fully erected body with a fountain of squirting blood quickly ran by his accused friends. As soon as he passed the last man standing, after having made more than 32 steps (!), the body stopped and immediately collapsed to the ground. The king kept his word and freed all of the accused.

In 1935 a child was born in New York’s hospital of St.Vincent. At first sight, the child did not differ from any normal newborns. He ate, drank, cried and went potty just like any other baby his age. Suddenly, the baby died. The autopsy showed that the baby lacked…..a brain!

One famous German doctor, professor Hufland was once present during an autopsy performed on a person who had presumably died as a result of cerebral hemorrhage. The patient remained conscious until the end. Doctors however were shocked of the autopsy results. Instead of his brain, medics discovered nearly 300 milliliters of water!

Famous bacteriologist Louie Paster suffered from cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 46. As a result, his right hemisphere of the brain had stopped functioning. The scientist managed to live another 27 years and make many revolutionary scientific discoveries.

There are also known cases of people surviving after horrible, life-threatening brain traumas. One of New York’s medical journals informed of a case which had taken place in 1858. A man was discovered in a boat with his head stuck between the upper construction of the boat and the lower level of a bridge. A sharp square timber had cut off ј of the man's head. Doctors did not believe that the man would eventually survive. However, the man recovered in no time and uttered, “What happened?” The doctors did not even have enough time to place bandages on his head. The patient was ready to go home!  

It turns out that those neurophysiologists were right in claiming that “Scientists will continue studying the human brain even after astrologers put down myriad galaxies on their maps.”

Evgenya Shkolnikova
NLO 26, 1999