大脑是如何在一半切除后，重新连接自己的

扫描显示，大脑是如何在一半切除后，重新连接自己的

Most people know that you can survive without your appendix, spleen or a kidney when push comes to shove.

我们都知道，在紧要关头，没有阑尾、脾脏或肾脏也能活下来。

But now it turns out you can even live without half a brain.

但现在，你甚至可以在没有半个大脑的情况下生活。

Incredible new scans from six patients reveal how people are still able to function fully without half a brain.

来自6位病人的令人难以置信的新扫描显示，即使没有半个大脑，人们仍然能够完全正常工作。

Each of the individuals had one of their brain hemispheres removed during childhood to reduce severe epileptic seizures.

为了减少严重的癫痫发作，这些人在童年时都切除了一个大脑半球。

And their scans have now shown how the brain can miraculously rewire itself to help the body to function as if the brain were intact.

他们的扫描结果显示，大脑是如何神奇地自我修复，帮助身体正常运作，就好像大脑是完整的一样。

In particular, the case study, which appears in the journal Cell Reports, revealed that the brain makes unusually strong connections between different functional brain networks.

具体来说，发表在《细胞报告》(Cell Reports)杂志上的案例研究显示，大脑在不同功能的大脑网络之间建立了异常强烈的联系。

And medics have now revealed their shock at just how able patients with half a brain are.

现在，医生们表示，他们对那些只有半个大脑的病人的能力感到震惊。

All six of the participants were in their 20s and early 30s during the study, but they ranged from three months old to 11 years old at the time of when they had half their brain removed.

在研究中，所有6名参与者都是20多岁和30岁出头，但大脑被切除一半时，他们的年龄从3个月到11岁不等。

The wide range of ages at which they had the surgeries allowed the researchers to home in on how the brain reorganizes itself when injured.

他们接受手术的年龄范围很广，这让研究人员得以深入研究受伤时大脑是如何自我重组的。

Doctors had thought the scans would find weaker connections within particular networks in people with only one hemisphere.

医生们原以为扫描结果会发现只有一个半球的人在特定的网络中连接较弱。

However, they found surprisingly normal global connectivity — and stronger connections between different networks.

然而，他们发现了令人惊讶的正常的全球连接——以及不同网络之间更强的连接。

Researchers are now hoping to expand their study in order to find out more about how the brain develops and organizes itself in individuals with brain abnormalities.

研究人员现在希望扩展他们的研究，以便发现更多关于大脑发育和大脑异常个体的组织。

“As remarkable as it is that there are individuals who can live with half a brain, sometimes a very small brain lesion like a stroke or a traumatic brain injury like a bicycle accident or a tumor can have devastating effects,” Kliemann added.

“值得注意的是，有些人即使只有半个大脑也能生活，有时候一个很小的大脑损伤，比如中风，或者一个创伤性的大脑损伤，比如自行车事故，或者肿瘤，都会产生毁灭性的影响，”Kliemann补充说。

“We’re trying to understand the principles of brain reorganization that can lead to compensation. Maybe down the line, that work can inform targeted intervention strategies and different outcome scenarios to help more people with brain injuries.”

“我们正在试图理解大脑重组的原理，从而达到补偿的目的。也许最终，这项工作可以提供有针对性的干预策略和不同的结果方案，帮助更多的脑损伤患者。”