TEN WEIRD THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT YOUR BRAIN

IT’S POSSIBLE TO LIVE WITHOUT MOST OF IT

01 In 2015, a team of neurologists and radiologists from Jinan Hospital in Shandong Province, China, wrote to the journal Brain reporting a rare and unusual finding. A 24-year-old female patient had been admitted with symptoms of nausea and vomiting. These were new symptoms, but she’d also suffered from dizziness and walking difficulties for most of her life. Despite these challenges, she was married and had enjoyed a successful pregnancy. The doctors referred her for computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to search her brain for a cause of these symptoms. What they observed was a disorder so rare that less than ten people throughout the world were known to be living with it. The patient was completely missing her cerebellum.

Known as the ‘little brain’, the cerebellum is a distinct structure that sits at the back of the brain. It only occupies approximately ten per cent of brain volume but contains a dense abundance of neurons estimated to be well over 50 per cent of the total neurons in the brain. Together these neurons work to coordinate motor actions, allowing us to walk with balance and speak with precision. Despite the cerebellum’s integral function, sufferers of cerebellar agenesis – where the structure is completely absent – are sometimes able to mentally develop normally aside from hampered motor functions.

Loss of brain tissue can also be seen in sufferers of hydrocephalus, a condition where cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain. In extreme cases, the fluid can accumulate to such an extent that it doesn’t leave much room in the skull for anything else, including brain matter. In Marseille, France, a 44-year-old male was found to be suffering from a case of hydrocephalus so severe that he was estimated to be missing over 50 per cent of his brain tissue. And yet the man had led a relatively normal life,