Brain rewiring can now be proven by scientists. This is after observing the brain of individuals with hemispherectomy and comparing them with controlled subjects.
Scientists have made a discovery on the changes that occur in the human brain when it is cut in half during childhood. They studied six adults who, during their childhood, had undergone hemispherectomy which involves the removal of one hemisphere of the brain.
The study also involved six more adults who acted as control participants. Scientists established that the remaining part of the brain rewired itself to form stronger connections that enabled these individuals to function normally. Scientists were also able to establish that the brain continued functioning as though it was intact.
The 12 participants were required to lie down in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. The scanner is used to measure the brain activity based on the idea that the blood flows in the cerebral area and neural activity are directly correlated. They work on the principle that when an area of the brain is active, the blood flows in that area.
Scientists establish brain can rewire itself
The participants were told to try not to sleep and their brain activities such as vision, movement, emotion, and cognition were observed. The data obtained from the Caltech Brain Imaging Centre was then compared to 1,500 typical brains from the Brain Genomics Superstruct Project.
The scientists doing the research had were expecting to find weaker connections for people with half a brain hemisphere. However, they were surprised to find that they had a stronger, normal global neural connection compared to their peers in the controlled group.
The individuals with hemispherectomies were high functioning and you would never tell that a part of their brain was missing.
Remarkably high functioning half-brains
Author Dorit Kliemann, a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology said,
The people with hemispherectomies that we studied were remarkably high functioning. They have intact language skills. When I put them in the scanner we made small talk, just like the hundreds of other individuals I have scanned.
She continued by further arguing that you would be mistaken to think that hemispherectomies individuals and the controlled group were any different. The difference was only visible when placed on fMRI.
The study was trying to understand the brain reorganization that occurs when part of the brain is removed. The scientists were able to make major strides in this field which will go a long way in advancing the knowledge on how the brain works.
Featured image by Pixabay
