July 23, 2009

If You Had Half a Brain..


BBC News goes further with:












  1. Stories like this have always made me wonder - if a person can live their life with apparently normal intelligence with only half a brain, then why is the brain so large in the first place? It seems like that would mean that we have far more neural tissue then needed, yet, given how metabolically expensive it is, why would we have so much?

  2. Hi Ranka,

    good question! Actually this case of AH is a rarity and she is very luck that plasticity worked out well for her. Many other individuals with deficits of this sort aren't so lucky and any plasticity that happens usually has the result of compromising one or more functions. So even though AH was born with only half a brain, she is incredibly lucky that her brain rearranged itself so that she can see properly out of her one good eye and also have reasonable intelligence.

    As for the amount of neural tissue, speaking from the viewpoint of evolution, the brain has grown accordingly over many millions of years to deal with ever more complex tasks and actions. The brain of a neanderthal, for instance, would have been much smaller than the brains we have now, because neanderthal environments and demands did not require a sophisticated level of brain power. As humans have evolved and come across more sophisticated needs and actions, the brain has evolved accordingly to meet these demands.

    So, generally speaking, the size of the human brain is about adequate for current purposes of humans.

    Hope that helps.

  3. Hello Ranka and HI.

    (Not to split hairs, but the brain of a neanderthal was slightly larger than the brain of a modern human. What matters more is the degree of complexity in the interconnections.)

    The girl in the story is giving up some degree mental capacity in other areas in order to maintain her vision in both eyes. Through carefully mapping the brains of primates, scientists have found that the brain shifts the use of cells to process the information we have more need of, or to more finely process the skills we employ more often.

    With appropriate training, we can also stimulate the growth and use of new brain cells. This is another marvelous result of brain plasticity.

    For instance, my company publishes a brain training program that strengthens working memory and attentive focus. We use these core functions for practically every conscious mental task, so the training has very broad benefits to problem-solving, comprehension, analysis, focus, and attention. (It even helps with social awareness and musical aptitude.)

    Best wishes,
    Martin Walker

  4. hi,
    My brother Ujjwal Agarwal also born with half developed brain,his right side brain is not developed almost 70-80% as shown in the MRI scans.
    He born on 22 December 1987, now he is 25 years old. He have a difficulty to read text,but he can understand all the things and sounds he saw or listen. And also memorize in a better way than any other person. He doing all their daily works itself without any help of other person. He is left handed. His all body parts functions normally. We contact many neurologists in India, but they do not saw this type of case before.
    Can anyone suggest me a better treatment for this type of disorder.
    I hope hear u soon.
    My email id is uttkarsh.agarwal@gmail.com
    Uttkarsh Agarwal