The human brain sends hundreds of billions of neural signals each second. It\u2019s an extraordinarily complex feat.\u00a0A healthy brain must establish an enormous number of correct connections and ensure that they remain accurate for the entire period of the information transfer\u2014that can take seconds, which in \u201cbrain time\u201d is pretty long.<\/p>\n
How does each signal get to its intended destination?\u00a0The challenge for your brain is similar to what you\u2019re faced with when trying to engage in conversation at a noisy cocktail party. You\u2019re able to focus on the person you\u2019re talking to and \u201cmute\u201d the other discussions. This phenomenon is selective hearing\u2014what\u2019s called the cocktail party effect.<\/p>\n
When everyone at a large, crowded party talks at roughly the same loudness, the average sound level of the person you\u2019re speaking with is about equal to the average level of all the other partygoers\u2019 chatter combined. If it were a satellite TV system, this roughly equal balance of desired signal and background noise would result in poor reception. Nevertheless, this balance is good enough to let you understand conversation at a bustling party.<\/p>\n