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My knowledge of neurobiology is weak. Having received a full callosotomy, how are the hemispheres able to communicate even at 1 bit / s? Secondly, how is that

My knowledge of neurobiology is weak. Having received a full callosotomy, how are the hemispheres able to communicate even at 1 bit / s? Secondly, how is that estimate generated?

kamac 10y ago
Fast google search provides us with an answer: > After the operation the brain has much more difficulty sending messages between the hemispheres. Although the corpus callosum is the largest white matter tract connecting the hemispheres, some limited interhemispheric communication is still possible via the anterior commissure and posterior commissure.
cpncrunch 10y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_callosotomy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_callosotomy "Although the corpus callosum is the largest white matter tract connecting the hemispheres, some limited interhemispheric communication is still possible via the anterior commissure and posterior commissure."
colordrops 10y ago
Two people in the same room can communicate information at far more than 1 bit/s even without speaking, and they aren't even in the same body. I could imagine that receiving very similar inputs and observing reactions to the movements and other actions taken by the other side could also act as a high-rate channel of information.
SlyShy 10y ago
As I understand it, they have most of the other pathways in the entire nervous system to communicate through.
phkahler 10y ago
That 1 bit per second made me laugh. The author is clearly trying to make a name for himself. Awareness of the location of something is extremely far removed from consciousness. I wouldn't put much weight on this one.
todd8 10y ago
The August, 1967 article in Scientific American on the split brain has an interesting comment about communication between the two parts of the brain: if one side of the brain saw a drawing (by showing the picture to only one eye), the person might not be able to describe it because voice functions were handled on the other side of the brain, but if the drawing was somehow embarrassing the facial flushing (from seeing a sexy picture on one side of the brain) could be detected by the voice side and the subject would be able to vocalize that he or she was seeing a racy picture. Note that my recollection of this 1967 article on the split brain is a bit sketchy, I read this article in a library (in 1967) and it is unfortunately now available only for purchase on the Scientific American website.
- lazyant 10y ago
  yes, this was described in Roger Penrose's The Emperor's New Mind; different pictures shown to the left or right eye and getting different answers

My knowledge of neurobiology is weak. Having received a full callosotomy, how are the hemispheres able to communicate even at 1 bit / s? Secondly, how is that estimate generated?

kamac 10y ago

Fast google search provides us with an answer: > After the operation the brain has much more difficulty sending messages between the hemispheres. Although the corpus callosum is the largest white matter tract connecting the hemispheres, some limited interhemispheric communication is still possible via the anterior commissure and posterior commissure.

cpncrunch 10y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_callosotomy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_callosotomy "Although the corpus callosum is the largest white matter tract connecting the hemispheres, some limited interhemispheric communication is still possible via the anterior commissure and posterior commissure."

colordrops 10y ago

Two people in the same room can communicate information at far more than 1 bit/s even without speaking, and they aren't even in the same body. I could imagine that receiving very similar inputs and observing reactions to the movements and other actions taken by the other side could also act as a high-rate channel of information.

SlyShy 10y ago

As I understand it, they have most of the other pathways in the entire nervous system to communicate through.

phkahler 10y ago

That 1 bit per second made me laugh. The author is clearly trying to make a name for himself. Awareness of the location of something is extremely far removed from consciousness. I wouldn't put much weight on this one.

todd8 10y ago

The August, 1967 article in Scientific American on the split brain has an interesting comment about communication between the two parts of the brain: if one side of the brain saw a drawing (by showing the picture to only one eye), the person might not be able to describe it because voice functions were handled on the other side of the brain, but if the drawing was somehow embarrassing the facial flushing (from seeing a sexy picture on one side of the brain) could be detected by the voice side and the subject would be able to vocalize that he or she was seeing a racy picture. Note that my recollection of this 1967 article on the split brain is a bit sketchy, I read this article in a library (in 1967) and it is unfortunately now available only for purchase on the Scientific American website.

lazyant 10y ago
yes, this was described in Roger Penrose's The Emperor's New Mind; different pictures shown to the left or right eye and getting different answers