The Root of Thought: Unlocking Glia—The Brain Cell That Will Help Us Sharpen Our Wits, Heal Injury, and Treat Brain Disease

1Cities and highways

Back in the 1960s, it was discovered that glial cells are 90 percent of the brain. Neurons make up 10 percent. One would think that as a result of this revelation, the conclusion reached would have been that glial cells function as a main component of the nervous system. But it wasn’t. The conclusion was that we use only 10 percent of our brain.

From an early age, we are taught that the major cell in the brain is the neuron. We are also taught that neurons hold all the information in the brain. Even through graduate-level studies, the central tenant of neuronal importance is the basis of the study of neuroscience. But the Neuron Doctrine has become more religion than scientific truth, explaining away even the most blatant ...