A new study has shown that our brains work faster than previously thought.
Scientists have stated that some areas of the brain can heat up to 40 °C. It depends on gender, time and other factors. For comparison, the average temperature of the oral cavity is usually less than 37 °C.
But, according to the researchers, this is not a sign of a malfunction in the brain, but on the contrary, it may indicate that it is functioning normally. The team said that now the heat signatures of the brain will be able to track signs of damage or disorder.
According to John O’Neill, a biologist at the Molecular Laboratory (MRC) in the UK, the most amazing thing was to understand that a healthy human brain can reach a temperature that, under any other conditions, is diagnosed as a fever.
The team used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure chemical patterns using magnetic fields. So you can noninvasively measure the temperature of the brain. The researchers selected 40 healthy volunteers aged 20 to 40 years and combined the information obtained with data on circadian rhythms and time of day.
The researchers found that the average brain temperature was 38.5 °C. It varies depending on the time of day, brain area, as well as age, gender and menstrual cycle.
The female brain was on average about 0.4°C warmer than the male, this is most likely due to the menstrual cycle. The highest recorded brain temperature was 40.9 °C. The daily fluctuations were on average around 1°C, while the outer parts of the brain were usually colder.