Researchers conclude that one hemisphere of the brain can adequately function as if it were doing so for two hemispheres.
People who underwent surgery as children to remove half of their brain were still able to accurately recognize differences between pairs of words or faces.
The research was done to study brain plasticity and perception. Plasticity is when the brain can be molded to reorganize itself in the hemispheric region not injured, or in this case, the only hemispheric region that is there. The participants were able to correctly identify differences between words or faces with more than 80% accuracy.The large volume of brain tissue removed allowed researchers to discover the brain’s ability to restructure itself and adapt to damage or surgical procedures.
“Working with hemispherectomy patients allowed us to study the upper bounds of functional capacity of a single brain hemisphere. With the results from this study, we now have a foot in the door of human neuroplasticity and can finally begin examining the capabilities of brain reorganization,” said Dr. Marlene Behrmann, senior author of the study and professor of ophthalmology and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.
The study provides a positive outlook for patients that need to get a hemispherectomy due to epileptic seizures. “While we can’t definitively predict how any given child might be affected by a hemispherectomy, the performance that we see in these patients is encouraging. The more we can understandafter surgery, the more information, and perhaps added comfort, we can provide to parents who are making difficult decisions about their child’s treatment plan,” Granovetter continued.
The study allows researchers to understand the functionality of the human brain and realize its ability to reorganize under certain circumstances.