The amygdala processes an incomprehensible amount of sensory data. While it is impossible to accurately assess the scope of data processing that occurs in the amygdala itself (at least to my knowledge), it is estimated that the human brain processes an extraordinary amount of data each second – somewhere in the realm of twenty million billion pieces of data processed each second.

Here’s the math:

• The human brain supports roughly 100 billion neurons.
• A single neuron fires approximately 200 times per second.
• Each individual neuron is connected to approximately 1,000 other neurons.

When one neuron processes information, the neurons it is connected to fire as well.

• 100 billion neurons X 200 firing/second X 1000 connections =
• 20 million billion pieces of data being processed by the human brain each second.

That’s a lot of details!

Every activity that occurs in the human body is a reflection of neural activity.

It is reasonable to say that the amygdala is involved in a fair part of this processing. While the total volume of data processing includes conscious thought (what will I have for lunch today, what is the best way home tonight, etc.) – this data includes a spectrum of sensory data – what you are seeing, hearing, tasting and touching. It includes feedback from your body about the temperature, the position of your body, your movement, degree of physical discomfort, etc.   Most of this processing – in reality more than 99% of this processing – is done subconsciously without you being aware of it. In fact, it is suggested that your brain is only “conscious” of 2,000 – 8,000 bits of the 20 million billion bits of information that it processes each second.

Why are we not aware of all the data all the time? Well, unfortunately, the human brain has limited bandwidth.

The human brain – regardless of whose brain it is – only possesses about 30 watts of processing power in any given moment. That means that the energy in your brain available to problem solving at any given moment is roughly comparable to the energy required to illuminate the light bulb in your refrigerator. This is the total available bandwidth a human has to orchestrate the management of stimulus from moment to moment. This is the maximum bandwidth available for decision making, navigating your environment and engaging with the other humans around you: thirty watts of computing power. This is what neuroscience researchers often refer to as “working memory.”

Working memory is the part of our reality that we are aware of in this minute. Working memory allows us to make sense of what is happening around us as we experience it. Working memory is what gives us the capacity to have a conversation or debate, pulling facts and concepts relevant to the topic at hand from our long-term memory.

To reference computing once again, when we purchase most personal computers we are presented with information about the amount of available RAM (random access memory) each machine possesses. The RAM determines the available computing bandwidth on a PC or laptop. It is the limiting factor in how effectively the computer will work in its processing capacity. It does not matter how much storage capacity the computer has, or even the processing speed, the limiting factor in the computer’s performance is the space available for processing in any given moment. If the computer is asked to process too much information at one time, the computer will crash. The same applies to the human brain.

Consider for a moment how many times you have been involved in one activity, became distracted and completely lost the information your brain was just working on? Or, you were involved in one activity that requires a great deal of concentration and became irritable when someone turned on the radio or increased the volume of background noise? My personal favorite is walking from one room to another and completely forgetting what I came into the second room for because something else distracted me. These cases are examples of exceeding the brain’s available processing bandwidth.

To accommodate this limitation on the brain’s processing capabilities, the human brain learns to prioritize sensory input. The amygdala – the emotional center of the brain – plays a crucial role in this prioritizing and integration process. The amygdala – and all the emotions associated with it – including fear – is the core structure for the integration of various sensory input into learning.

Prioritizing sensory input is the evolution of expertise in the art of living and it begins the minute we start breathing. There is data to support that infants begin to recognize faces within 45 minutes of birth. From within minutes of its arrival in the realm of the living, the human amygdala begins to rapidly make sense of its environment; it prioritizes data, it begins to learn about patterns.

Any thoughts as to why a blog on addiction might include comments about how the brain prioritizes data and builds patterns?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.