15 February 2020 | New Scientist | 5THERE is something special about the
human brain. Yes, it contains 86 billion
neurons and billions of other cells, and
yes, it is arguably more complicated
than anything else we have discovered
in the universe. But more than that,
our brains make us who we are. They
keep us alive and functioning, while
storing our thoughts and memories,
shaping our behaviours, relationships
and our lives.
Perhaps that is why it is so remarkable
to hear that some people are living
with only half a brain. This week,
we cover the case of a teenager born
without a left hemisphere (see page 10).
Given that this is the half of the brain
specialised for language, you might
have expected her speaking and reading
skills to suffer. Not so. In fact, she has
above-average reading skills.It appears the right side of her brain
is compensating for the left side that
isn’t there. The right hemisphere is
unusually dense in white matter –
the tissue that enables brain regions
to communicate with each other –
especially in areas involved in language.There are other stories of the brain’s
astounding capacity to adapt. Perhaps
the most famous is the finding that
brain regions involved in navigation
grow in London taxi drivers – and get
larger as they spend more time on the
job. Learning new skills, such as juggling,
can literally grow your brain, too.At the same time, the brain can
repurpose regions that aren’t being used.
People who are blind appear to use the
parts of their brain normally involved
in vision for language processing, or
for maths, for example. People without
hands can learn to use their feet for
many of the same functions, including
to paint. Such artists’ brains have
dedicated “toe maps”: brain regions
that represent each toe. Such maps
simply don’t exist in people with hands.
There is plenty to learn about this
complicated organ. We are only just
discovering the brain’s potential to
regenerate neurons later in life, and why
sending a jolt of electricity into the brain
might treat neurological conditions or
improve cognition. But the more we do
learn, the more this squidgy organ will
continue to fascinate. ❚Our malleable minds
A teenager with half a typical brain offers more proof of the organ’s amazing plasticity
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to use the parts of their brain
normally involved in vision
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