What are Neuromyths?

The word “neuromyth” is a compound word that joins:

• neuro, as in the cells related to the nervous system and the brain, with
• myth, as in a “widely held but false belief or idea” (Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2018, p. 11).

Tokuhama-Espinosa (2017 – 2018) asserts that myths encompass:

• Partial truths – false beliefs about the brain and/or its functioning.

• Overgeneralisations of scientific findings (exaggerations of the data beyond the original findings and purpose).

• Misinterpretations of the findings and data.

• Misconceptions and unsubstantiated beliefs.

• Neuromyths are “hypotheses which have been invalidated [but which] nevertheless leave traces and if these have captured a wider imagination, the ‘myths’ take root (OECD, 2007, p. 108).”