When thinking about existence itself, one enters a spiral with no way out, then various enigmas come to mind. Those who descend deeper into that spiral, even come to question their own thoughts and where they come from. On more than one occasion, the mind has been associated with the brain, as this is the organ in charge of cognition. So we could say that the source of the mind determines human existence in the most philosophical sense. So, do we really need a brain to live and exist? Science says no.
The idea of not having a brain uncovers the greatest confusion and is absolutely bizarre to think about. How could we survive without the main control of the body? Surprisingly, science has discovered that we do not need a brain to live, at least as we know it.
The first to explore this strange question was John Lorbe, a British neurobiologist. In his writings entitled Is your brain really necessary? later taken up by Roger Lewin in 1980, he opened the way for hydrocephalus research. The latter is a condition that normally occurs in children, where the cerebrospinal fluid increases in large quantities, invading the cavities of the brain. If not treated in time, it can be fatal, and its survivors usually end up with brain damage due to excessive fluid pressure pressing on the brain. However, there are exceptional cases where there are no really appreciable negative consequences. Until some neurologist decides to scan their brains, and it turns out that they are almost non-existent.
The mathematician without a brain
Among the most remarkable cases in Lorbe’s research is that of a student at the same university where the neurobiologist worked. The student had a cranial shape slightly different from most students, although this did not represent a cognitive impediment for him. For this reason, Lorbe, who was studying hydrocephalus at the time, contacted him and he agreed to undergo some studies.
It was hoped that the images would reveal perhaps a small abnormality in the mathematician’s brain. But what Lorbe found was far beyond all prognosis. The student appeared to have a huge void where his brain was supposed to be. The brain mass simply did not show up on the brain scans; instead, there was a large amount of cerebrospinal fluid.
Living without a brain
The apparent absence of the organ in charge of controlling the body did not seem to represent a handicap in any way for the mathematics student. On the contrary, he had an IQ of 126 points, which is quite high for the average. Studying his case further, Lorbe noticed that the weight, which should have been at least 1.5 kilograms of brain mass, was reduced to a mere 50 to 150 grams.
The neurobiologist was totally amazed by his findings and decided to investigate further. He realized that he was the only case like this and helped to gather valuable information about it. He devoted great efforts to understand what happens to hydrocephalus survivors, that he even came up with a classification of four categories.
“[1] those with minimally enlarged ventricles. [2] those whose ventricles fill 50 to 70 percent of the skull. [3] those in which the ventricles fill 70 to 90 percent of the intracranial space. And the most severe group, [4] those in which the ventricle expansion fills 95 percent of the skull.”
The student belonged to the latter group, which interestingly can be divided into two apparent consequences. The first is severe neurological disabilities, but the second, as in the case of the mathematician, is a high IQ and normal social skills. In that sense, scientists wonder if we really need a brain to be able to live, and although for the majority of people it is a resounding yes, there are others, such as hydrocephalus survivors, where a no may apply.
Text and photos courtesy of Ecoosfera
Translated by María Isabel Carrasco Cara Chards
