What are the side effects of a corpus callosotomy?

What are the potential risks or complications of a corpus callosotomy?

  • Loss of coordination or balance problems.
  • More partial seizures on one side of the brain.
  • Speech problems, including trouble producing speech (apraxia) and trouble speaking and comprehending (aphasia).
  • Stroke.
  • Swelling in the brain.

What happens if the corpus callosum is surgically cut?

A corpus callosotomy is an operation that cuts the corpus callosum, interrupting the spread of seizures from hemisphere to hemisphere. Seizures generally do not completely stop after this procedure (they continue on the side of the brain in which they originate).

How long does a corpus callosotomy surgery take?

Corpus callosotomy procedure: what to expect. The operation takes place under general anesthesia, and takes about four hours. Usually a linear incision is used, over the top of the head. A small window of bone is removed to perform the surgery, and then replaced after the corpus callosum has been divided.

What happens if you cut the brain in half?

For example, when half of the brain is damaged, disconnected, or removed, it causes weakness on the opposite side of the body. In particular, the foot and hand on one side will be weaker. It also causes vision loss on one side of the visual field.

Can the corpus callosum be repaired?

When the corpus callosum does not develop in a child (agenesis) or develops abnormally (dysgenesis), it cannot be repaired or replaced – but doctors are researching ways to improve the lives of those affected by the disorders.

Can split-brain patients move both hands at once?

They cannot, however, learn to perform new tasks that require interdependent movement of each hand, such as learning to play the piano, where both hands must work together to produce the desired music. Eye movements also remain coordinated.

How do split-brain patients think?

Control. In general, split-brained patients behave in a coordinated, purposeful and consistent manner, despite the independent, parallel, usually different and occasionally conflicting processing of the same information from the environment by the two disconnected hemispheres.

Does the corpus callosum affect emotions?

These findings suggest that the corpus callosum is not essential for experiencing and thinking about basic emotions in a “normal” way, but is necessary for more complex processes involving emotions in the context of social interactions.