Let's Get Brainy Operation Ouch!

Are you ready for our Ouch Snips?

Snip!

Ouch!

Exactly.

Is it...?

Especially if you're in maths class.

Believe it or not, the answer is B!

Your brain really does perform

10 quadrillion calculations

a second.

Which means your brain's the most

complicated computer on the planet!

So, why is it so wrinkly?

This is a case for

Investigation Ouch.

I'm here at the Brain Cut Room

at University College - London.

And I'm about to get very close to

a real human brain.

This is not for the squeamish.

We've got exclusive access to this

human brain to show you

all its inner workings.

This organ controls every single

thing you do.

Even now, your brain is busy sending

messages all over your body.

No, this brain feels rubbery

because it's been preserved.

But the brain inside your head right

now is soft and squishy.

That's because our brains

are actually made up of 75% water

and the rest is mostly fat.

And the average adult brain

weighs 1.5 kilos.

That's as much as three

tins of baked beans.

Try picking them up and you will see

how much weight a neck has to carry.

And if you look

closely at the brain, you can

see that it's actually

all folded up.

If we unfolded all this,

it would be enormous

and we would need a head the

size of a surfboard.

But there's more to find

out than that.

This big, wrinkly structure is

controlling your body 24/7.

Yes, even when you are asleep.

So, although the brain is

full of fat and water,

it's actually one of the most

amazing computers on earth.

Not bad for something that

looks like a sponge.

But how does your brain control

the rest of your body?

Well, it's all done by sending

electrical messages

through your nerves to your muscles.

Whether you're walking,

blinking or picking your nose,

it's these messages from the brain

that control movement.

But we have a clever way to

interfere with these signals.

Time to head to the lab.

And in order to do that, we

are going to use this multipulse

transcranial magnetic stimulator!

It's a big magnet.

But it's a cool, big magnet.

It sends electric magnetic

pulses to the brain,

which interfere with the brain's own

electrical signals and that

means we can use it to work out

which bit of the brain does what.

Let's give this brain

scrambler a whirl.

Now, Chris,

what I want you to do first of all,

is reach up with your left hand

and pick your nose. All right?

Perfect.

You did it perfectly, that's lovely.

Now, I'm going to get you to do

the same thing again,

but this time, I'm going to try and

interfere with the brain scrambler.

So, Chris, when you are ready,

pick your nose.

Every time Chris's finger wiggles,

that's the magnet

or brain scrambler,

interfering with his

brain's signals,

which means he can't

pick his nose properly.

Did you miss?

But the magnetic brain scrambler

is also showing us

which part of Chris's brain

controls his left hand.

I'm on the right

side of Chris's body,

but it's his left hand

that is twitching.

Now that's because your brain is

wired back to front.

So, the right side of his brain

controls the left side of his body,

and vice versa. So,

let's now try it on the other side.

And you are ready, go.

So, now I'm interfering with

the left side of Chris's brain

and look, his right hand

is all over the place.

I feel like a cup of tea.

That sounds lovely.

Actually, it's me that's drinking

the tea and it's cold tea,

but you'll see why.

I reckon we could have a bit of fun

with this brain scrambler.

Whoop, there it goes.

The brain scrambler is interfering

with our brain's normal signals

and it's creating a right mess.

So, we've shown you what a real

human brain looks like.

And that the brain is an amazing

organ that controls

everything you do with superfast

electrical signals.

See you next time!

BOTH:

Bye.

Bye.

Bye.

Bye!

Bye.

Byeee!

MOUTHS: Bye. MOUTHS:

Bye.