Woman Missing Large Part of Brain Ranks 98th Percentile in Speech
A recent study sheds light on the remarkable case of a woman who grew up without a key part of her brain and was barely affected by it.
In the endless search to understand the workings of the human mind, scientists take special interest in cases of the most unique brains. The most recent and fascinating is that of a woman known as EG (to protect her privacy.)
Now in her fifties, EG first learned her brain was atypical in her twenties when she had it scanned for an unrelated reason. She was told then that she had been missing her left temporal lobe from infancy, which was most likely the result of an early stroke. This part of the brain is thought to be involved with language processing, which makes EG’s story so extraordinary.
Despite being repeatedly told by doctors that she should have major cognitive deficits and neurological issues, EG has a graduate degree, has enjoyed an impressive career, and speaks Russian as a second language.
Several years ago, EG met Dr. Evelina Fedorenko, a cognitive neuroscientist at M.I.T. who studies language. Fedorenko was immediately fascinated by EG’s case and conducted a number of studies, the first of which was recently published in the journal Psychologia.
As part of the study, EG took a vocabulary test and scored in the 98th percentile. Brain imaging revealed that, in the absence of EG’s left temporal lobe, the task of language processing seems to have shifted over to her right hemisphere.
Ella Striem-Amit, a cognitive neuroscientist at Georgetown University told WIRED, “The remarkable thing about this patient and other such patients who were missing large chunks of their language system at birth, is how well they compensate.”
For EG, the study has been a welcome validation, after decades of being made to feel defective.
As she wrote in the published paper: “Please do not call my brain abnormal, my brain is atypical. If not for accidentally finding these differences, no one would pick me out of a crowd as likely to have these, or any other differences, that make me unique.”
Fedorenko’s team plans to conduct several more studies on EG and expects to come away with an even richer understanding of the brain’s seemingly limitless potential for flexibility and adaptation.
EG said she hopes, “it will also take some stigma away from atypical brains.”
Isochronic Tones: The Young Cousin of Binaural Beats
“If you look at the anatomy, the structure, the function, there’s nothing in the universe that’s more beautiful, that’s more complex, than the human brain.”
– Keith Black (Discover magazine, April, 2004)
The brain is experiencing quite the renaissance as of late. Not only has brain research become more easily accessible and immediately applicable, the implications of the latest research are pointing to a wonderful outcome: we now know that specific locations in the brain can be pinpointed, accessed, addressed, flooded with light to heal symptoms, and healed through the emission of sound.
What’s even more compelling is that several categories of brain research are inspiring the creation of accessible and wearable technologies that can help soothe and heal the brain, along with other parts of the body.
The brain is no longer an anomaly. It’s now scientifically proven that when the brain is nurtured by light, sound and frequencies, it passes that healing along to the whole system.
It’s All About Light & Sound
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.”
-Nikola Tesla
Sound therapy has come a long way since its new-age hippie roots. Sound Therapy is now utilized by a variety of global organizations and businesses. This includes business offices, hotel chains, medical facilities, universities, and a variety of treatment programs, as an effective treatment to alleviate pain and depression, lower blood pressure, overcome feelings of stress, improve learning, improve balance, and promote physical and mental endurance.
According to the Mayo Clinic, light therapy treats seasonal depression and other conditions by exposure a person to artificial light. During light therapy, the individual sits or works near a device called a light therapy box, which come in a variety of forms, shapes, and sizes.
