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A "half-brained" girl leads a normal life, and what may be shocking, she has a perfect vision. The brain has proved to have enormous powers we have never measured
Scientists have been trying to discover how this could have happened - the girl's brain, probably in the womb, changed so as one half could process information from both the right and left fields of vision. The functional resonance imaging (fMRI) revealed that retinal nerve fibers have gone to the left side of her brain, instead of the right side. The visual cortex of the left side of the brain, which usually processes the right field of vision, contained fragments of left visual field. Scientists are surprised to discover that the brain shows such a flexibility and how the single hemisphere can do the work of the missing half.
Doctors discovered that she had underdeveloped brain when at the age of 3 she suffered from seizures and twitching on her left side. Seizures have been treated and she has normal childhood with no problems at school or any problems with mobility. Even though she doesn't possess one hemisphere she manages to lead a totally normal life.
Usually, when one hemisphere is removed people loose vision from one eye. The girl's case is an exception because her hemisphere stopped developing early in the womb, so that the other half could take up all the functions of the lacking one.
Added by:
mary
not connected with health care system
Added on:
2009-07-29 14:13:43 ,
Updated:
2009-07-29 14:16:16
Bibliography:
www.livescience.com
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2008-06-16 09:56:33
