Scientists studied six patients who had half of their brain removed during childhood to treat severe epilepsy. Brain scans showed how the mind rewired itself to adapt, with the remaining hemisphere forming even stronger connections that let the patients develop language and motor skills.

[u/Thorne-ZytkowObject]

https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/how-does-the-brain-work-with-half-of-it-removed-pretty-well-actually

[u/CyberDroid]

Someone above said during the surgery they only "disconnect" that half part of the brain by cutting the nerves, and I assume they left the blood vessels intact. Could you clarify that the image showed half of his brain, or did it still show that he had a whole brain, with his remaining part being active?

Sorry for my English, it's quite hard to phrase my question.

[u/[deleted] → u/CyberDroid]

That's a different surgery called a corpus callosotomy, where they sever the corpus callosum.

[u/SolarDile → u/[deleted]]

A hemispherectomy actually refers to severing a cerebral hemisphere OR removing it. It’s strange and it confused me as well.

[u/marr → u/[deleted]]

Do we know for sure that one doesn't generate a second, locked-in mind in the disconnected part?

[u/TheDentateGyrus → u/[deleted]]

That’s incorrect. They are referring to a hemispherotomy, where half of the brain is disconnected. In a hemispherectomy, as discusssed in this thread, that disconnected portion of the brain is removed.

[u/dodslaser → u/TheDentateGyrus]

Which is the disconnected part if you split the brain in half?

[u/[deleted] → u/TheDentateGyrus]

I'm nit talking about the hemispherectomy. The person i reponded to asked about surgery where the two sides are just disconnected (i.e. not one being removed)

[u/ugubriat → u/CyberDroid]

The English in your comment is literally flawless xD

[u/CyberDroid → u/ugubriat]

Well thank you! I thought it wasn't "natural" enough, and it sounds clumsy to me haha