Decode the phenomenon

The phenomenon of hands acting unintentionally is the result of a war for power in the brain.

The sight of left hand slapping Karen Byrne's face in a video.Photo: BBC.

After surgery to treat epilepsy at the age of 27, Keren Byrne, a woman in New Jersey state, could not control her left hand. He could slap her face, unbutton the shirt, take things in his bag at any time. The life of a 55-year-old woman becomes more difficult because of the syndrome that the scientific community calls " strange hands ". They said the syndrome was the result of a power struggle inside the human brain , the BBC said.

The two hemispheres of the human brain have completely different functions. Right brain hemisphere - controlling left hand and left leg - coordinating emotions, recording images, enjoying music, processing information provided by the senses. In contrast, the left hemisphere - controls the right hand and right leg - handles language skills. Corpus callosum helps the right hemisphere of the brain to know what the left hemisphere is doing and vice versa. Usually the left hemisphere is " stronger ", so it determines all actions of the body.

Scientists have discovered the superiority of the left hemisphere since the 40s of the last century, when surgeons first decided to cut the corpus callosum to treat epilepsy. After a while, many strange behaviors appeared in the patients. Those behaviors help scientists discover that each hemisphere has its own consciousness and can work independently of each other.

Roger Sperry, a neuroscientist in the United States, was the first to perform many tests to prove this incredible phenomenon. In an experiment that Sperry recorded, he asked a man who had been cut the corpus callosum to rearrange discrete shapes to form a meaningful picture. At first the man was pictured with his left hand (controlled by the right hemisphere) and he completed the task Sperry set.

Then Sperry asked the man to use his right hand (under the control of the left hemisphere). This time he didn't know how to shape. The left hand wanted to help, but the right hand didn't receive help. So two hands fighting.

Similar tests led Sperry to conclude that: Each brain hemisphere is a conscious and independent system of each other . They can all recognize, think, remember, reason, express emotions.

In 1981, Sperry received the Nobel Prize for his research. But at that time he was suffering from a neurodegenerative disease called kuru. The disease, which could lead to death, formed when Sperry began studying the independence of two hemispheres.

Most people who suffer from nerve fibers bundled with corpus collosum live normally after surgery. People can meet them on the street and not notice anything strange. Karen is an unlucky person. After the surgery, her right hemisphere did not let the left hemisphere dominate.