Still living well despite missing half a brain

A man was really shocked when he went to the hospital to examine his painful leg. Brain scan results show that he has only one side of the brain.

How will people live if there is only one side of the brain?

At the age of 44, the father of two children, a French patient discovered that he had only half the brain. In 2007, when information about the man was revealed, the researchers only knew that the patient's half of the brain had disappeared, but could not explain why he still lived well with the side of his brain. .

The man doesn't know his brain problems at all.

However, a recent study has shed light on this. It is thought that the size of the brain has nothing to do with its ability to work. A 2007 study of this bizarre case was published in the scientific journal "The Lancet", revealing that the patient had lost a significant amount of substances in the brain , estimated at 50-75%.

X-ray images of this case.

In an interview, study co-author Lionel Feuillet said "The whole brain has shrunk - the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital - both sides of the brain. Areas of action control, sensitivity , language, vision, sound, affection and awareness ".

Despite this shortcoming, the middle-aged man mentioned above was married, working and had no signs of this problem. He has a slightly below average IQ and still has normal awareness in life.

The half-brain section of the patient is reduced.

The cause of this disease may be "brain support after birth" , which is stagnant water on the head . Fluid builds up in the skull and causes a brain bulge. After diagnosis, the doctors helped this patient drain excess fluid. This happens when the patient is only 14 years old, the fluid continues to accumulate in his brain for 30 years to begin to stop and start creating brain problems.

As for patients who can live so long, experts point out the concept of "plasticity" . As you can see, although different parts of the brain are used for specific tasks, scientists now believe that the brain can reorganize neurological tasks to areas in the brain. perform the duties of other areas.

Dr Max Muenke, a brain defect specialist at the National Institute of Human Genome, said: "If a part of it doesn't work for a long time, other parts of the brain will sacrifice temporary function. normal to help perform defective functions ".

So be assured that we can still live well even if only half of the brain. That's great, isn't it?