PSI Tutor: Academic Mentor

How amazing life is. Neurocognition students might like to have a read of an article (and links) over at Corpus Callosum. The report is on recent finding of a 44 year old French man who has minimal brain tissue yet goes to work each day, maintains family relationships, walks, talks, reads and processes the days events much like the rest of us.

As MRIs, PET and CAT scans were not available when he was a child his experience of water-on-the-brain went without a complete neurological assessment. As an adult he had some leg pain, brain scans were part of the diagnostics, and walla! Wonders of wonders, plasticity had adapted available brain tissue to ensure that he functioned as well as many of us “normals,” if not better (he is a tax officer, this indicates a high degree of patience methinks).

His ventricles had enlarged to an enormous degree and so most of his brain consists of fluid. It has been suggested that his ability to function may be due to small changes continuously over time.

I remember as an undergrad watching a doco on a young Japanese boy who had only a small amount of brain surrounding his brain stem. He too was surprising doctors with his abilities at communication, locomotion and emotional intelligence. He was not functioning to the level of other kids his age (he was about 4 at that time), but he was engaging with the world around him, expressing joy and anger, and relishing the committed love of his mum.

The doco went on to say the boy’s ability to function beyond that expected was probably because mum spent so much time stimulating his senses through touch, sound, colour and movement.

Over at Alternative Science is an article about a uni student performing quite well with a similar minimal brain. Again, hydrocephalus was evident.

It also presents a healthy debate topic for psychology and the concept of consciousness. It may be, as the scriptures of old have foretold – a brain is not necessary] for existence.

For some “brainest” snarks about public servants and brain size skip to here.