As we will see shortly; It is possible to come across unhealthy brains of different shapes and sizes. Photographer Adam Voorhes, who has nothing to do with neurology, made a very interesting discovery on this subject in 2011.
In the warehouse he entered to take pictures, he found jars containing even an uncurled brain. Let’s take a look at the scene and details that Voorhes saw in the hospital.
First, let’s take a look at brain and mental illnesses.
The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system. Its most important task is to provide central control of the other organs of the body. The brain, which has the same shape and number of folds in all healthy people, can vary in some cases.
Just as a disease in any part of our body can change that region, mental illnesses can really have an effect on our brain.
So, how is a convoluted brain possible?
The indentations and protrusions that we call “brain folds” are scientifically called “sulcus” and “gyrus”. The absence of these sulci and gyri in every healthy brain is actually caused by a disease.
This disease, called lissencephaly (flat brain), occurs as a result of the neurons not being transmitted as they should during embryo development and unfortunately there is no cure. Many people with more likely variants of lissencephaly die before they reach the age of 10.
“Forgotten Brains of the State of Texas Mental Hospital”
When Texas photographer Adam Voorhes was sent to Austin State Hospital to take a photo for ‘Scientific American’ magazine, he thought he would only take a brain photo, but was surprised by what he saw.
When he entered the Animal Resources Center in the back warehouse of the hospital, one of the interestingly shaped brains in liquid-filled jars was devoid of folds! This event stunned many scientists.
Voorhes has photographed these brains that had been forgotten in the back of an animal lab for more than 20 years and published a book titled “The Forgotten Brains of the State of Texas Asylum.”
Adam Voorhes describes what he saw as follows:
“I entered a warehouse filled with about 100 human brains, none of which were normal, from patients at the Texas State Asylum. Each of the brains was in liquid-filled jars labeled with the date of death or autopsy, a short description in Latin, and a case number. How amazing are these collections? And while they were fascinating, they hadn’t been touched or studied in almost 30 years.”
Voorhes not only took the photos, but continued his research and learned that the brains at the Animal Resources Center belonged to patients at the Texas State Asylum, which dates back to the 1950s. He also tried to investigate the reasons for the different shapes of brains, but he was unsuccessful in his efforts.
What happened to the brains in the collection?
Although researches are published by science journals, the collection still remains a mystery. Some brains in the collection are robust and easy to work with, but some have not been taken out of their jars because they are so fragile and severely damaged by Alzheimer’s or meningitis.
This rare collection of brains currently continues to be used as a teaching tool in the psychology department of the University of Texas.
- Sources: Atlas Obscura, Ifl Science, Feature Shoot, Slate, Stone Ridge
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