Corpus callosum?

Question

What would happen to a person if a doctor would make an incision through the corpus callosum?

Answer 1

If the corpus callosum is severed, a person's brain is unable to communicate between it's two hemispheres. This means that anything shown only to the right eye cannot be pointed out by the right hand because the left hemisphere of the brain controls the right side and because of lack of communication does not know what was shown. On the other hand, if something is shown to the left eye, and the person was asked to verbally express what was shown, they would be unable to because according to the left side of the brain (which controls speech), nothing was shown. Similarly, if seperate objects are shown to seperate eyes, and the person given two pencils and paper, the opposite side of the body that is shown a specific object would produce a different picture. For example, if the right eye is shown a banana, and the left an apple, the left hand would draw the banana and the right the apple. In other words, if a person's corpus callosum is severed, the brain has a lack of communication between its hemispheres and caution must be taken in what the person experiences.

Answer 2

Severed Corpus Callosum

Answer 3

I think that most of the answers posted here thus far are fairly accurate; I'd just like to add though, that there are other areas where the right and left hemispheres communicate, so while severing the corpus callosum would impair communication between hemispheres, it wouldn't cease completely. The corpus callosum is simply the biggest of the tracts connecting the hemispheres, there are a few more though.

Answer 4

What makes an individual is his uniqueness. As for the cutting corpus callosum, you don't create two brains in a head. What happens if you divide 1? You get two halves, not two indivual ones. Same thing can be applied to the logic of cutting your corpus callosum. You merely separate the two sides of your brain.

Answer 5

I'm not a doctor or scientist, but I know that that procedure is sometimes used to help people who have seizures. The person survives after their corpus callosum is severed, but the two halves of their brain cannot communicate with each other anymore. These people are called "split brained" for that reason.

Answer 6

Agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) is a birth defect in which the structure that connects the two hemispheres of the brain (the corpus callosum) is partially or completely absent. ACC can occur as an isolated condition or in combination with other cerebral abnormalities, including Arnold-Chiari malformation, Dandy-Walker syndrome, Andermann syndrome, schizencephaly (clefts or deep divisions in brain tissue), and holoprosencephaly (failure of the forebrain to divide into lobes.) Girls may have a gender-specific condition called Aicardi's syndrome, which causes severe mental retardation, seizures, abnormalities in the vertebra of the spine, and lesions on the retina of the eye. ACC can also be associated with malformations in other parts of the body, such as midline facial defects. The effects of the disorder range from subtle or mild to severe, depending on associated brain abnormalities. Intelligence may be normal with mild compromise of skills requiring matching of visual patterns. But children with the most severe brain malformations may have intellectual retardation, seizures, hydrocephalus, and spasticity.
There is no standard course of treatment for ACC. Treatment usually involves management of symptoms and seizures if they occur
Prognosis depends on the extent and severity of malformations. ACC does not cause death in the majority of children. Mental retardation does not worsen. Although many children with the disorder have average intelligence and lead normal lives, neuropsychological testing reveals subtle differences in higher cortical function compared to individuals of the same age and education without ACC
The NINDS conducts and supports a wide range of studies that explore the complex mechanisms of normal brain development. The knowledge gained from these fundamental studies helps researchers understand how the process can go awry and provides opportunities for more effectively treating, and perhaps even preventing, developmental brain disorders such as ACC.

Answer 7

Well this is referenced by my Psychology book. Im 14 but smart. Basically the corpus callosum connects both hemispheres of the brain. When you severe this there have been positive results like no seizures. They had the same personalities and intellectual abilities. Which shows our brain has plasticity-modification.