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My theory is unlikely perhaps. Neural connections on the left side are potentially protected from damage to the right side of the body and vice versa. If the
by thevagrant 3y ago
My theory is unlikely perhaps.
Neural connections on the left side are potentially protected from damage to the right side of the body and vice versa.
If the damage occurs to one side of the body but the brain is protected, would it not make for better chance of repair as the body heals?
- robbiep 3y agoWhy? I don’t understand the logic of what you’re theorising. If your right side is damaged, why does having your ipsilateral side help? How common would this have been from an evolutionary perspective? And if your right side is damaged, and it’s taken out your right brain, now you’ve got a right side that doesn’t work and a left side you can’t control
- XorNot 3y agoI kind of get the idea: if damage is coming to one side of the body, then the sensory data reporting it would be better handled by putting the brain half dealing with it on the opposite side, to give it a chance to react rather then also be damaged. But, I think the visual processing explanation is more compelling - since it seems unlikely this scenario would arrive in enough non-catastrophic situations to be evolutionary significant.
- brokenkebaby 3y agoBut visual processing theory doesn't make any sense with those worms, for instance
- NikkiA 3y agoThat was my intuitive first thought, but a healthy left brain stuck trying to control a crippled right body is a worse situation than a healthy left brain controlling a healthy left body and merely deadweight on the right.