Even though many question marks about human beings have been resolved in the light of science, and the veils of mystery have been lifted, there are still hundreds of unexplained things about the brain since the beginning of humanity. One of the most striking examples of this is people who have half their brains removed!
While even minor damage and differences in the brain affect human life seriously, the fact that half of it is removed sounds extremely frightening. We know that our brain consists of two parts, with its appearance resembling a walnut. But is half of it enough to hold on to life?
Scientists from the California Institute of Technology signed an interesting study on the subject in 2019.
Fighting epilepsy since childhood and unsuccessful in treatment with drugs 4 men and 2 women 6 patients were examined for this scientific study. It was aimed to get rid of intense epileptic seizures in patients who had half of their brains removed by surgery.
You have heard of epilepsy or witnessed from your relatives that it is a difficult disease to cope with. Epilepsy, in which uncontrolled discharges occur in neurons responsible for heavy traffic in the brain, is one of the most common neurological diseases.
In the California Institute of Technology study, the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) results of these 6 people who did not have half of their brains were examined and compared with the MRI results of healthy people.
The result of the examination surprised everyone! When radiological images were taken as reference; It was seen that there is a great similarity between the brain activities of these 6 people who continue their lives with half a brain and the brain functions of healthy people.
So it is possible to live with half a brain!
The healthy region of the brain tries to increase the network density in order to compensate to a certain extent for the lack of neuronal networks in the damaged hemisphere.
Moreover, it significantly supports cognitive abilities such as remembering, understanding information and reasoning. Although there are regressions and problems in body functions compared to a healthy person, life continues with half a brain!
59908
