The hard body It is a bundle of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain. It is one of the most obvious structures of this body and participates in interhemispheric integration and communication..
It was first described in 1812 by Johann Christian Reil, and has since received much attention from the scientific community. Its name derives from the Latin expression used to describe a hard body or resistant, Well, that is one of the main characteristics of its appearance.
In this brain structure, which is the main interhemispheric commissure, is where the largest amount of white matter in the brain is found, as it is mainly composed of neuronal, myelinated and unmyelinated axons.
The axons are long projections that characterize the nerve cells -the neurons- that put their body -the soma-, generally resident of the brain or spinal cord, in contact with the organs and / or tissues they innervate. That is, they work in the conduction of nerve impulses.
The corpus callosum develops during the first 4 years of life due to an increase in the number, diameter and amount of myelinated coverage of neuronal axons, however, it continues to grow until around the age of 30, although much more slowly.
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The main function of the corpus callosum is to connect and communicate the cerebral hemispheres with each other, allowing the transmission of information and facilitating the associative integration between both regions..
The cerebral hemispheres are the two portions in which the brain is divided: there is a left and a right. Although on a large scale they are very similar to each other, at a microscopic and functional level both are very different, since they participate in different brain processes:
- The right hemisphere is responsible for the control of the left side of the body, as well as the creative and artistic notions of the brain, the ability to distinguish depth, intuition, imagination, etc..
- The left hemisphere is responsible for controlling the right side of the body, but it also participates in logical and analytical reasoning, in the functions of language, writing, learning mathematics, etc..
All the nervous information that the human brain perceives first reaches one of the two hemispheres and the function of the corpus callosum is to serve as a “bridge” for the transmission of said information to the hemisphere that did not receive it first..
Based on observations of patients who have undergone a procedure known as callosotomy, it has been determined that the corpus callosum is involved in the transfer of visual, auditory and somatosensory information between the two cerebral hemispheres.
Many experts in the field are of the opinion that the corpus callosum also participates in the cognitive process, since evidence suggests that patients with compromised integrity of the corpus callosum show a decline in cognitive functions.
On the other hand, it has been shown that those children who present a considerable thickening of the corpus callosum during their development are characterized by greater intelligence, problem-solving capacity and processing speed than those who do not present it..
Other studies have also linked variations in the morphology of the corpus callosum with some of the difficulties experienced by children with dyslexia, especially those related to reading or writing, which involve the transfer of information between the cerebral hemispheres..
If one of the two hemispheres suffers a significant injury, the corpus callosum participates in the delegation of the functions of that hemisphere to the healthy hemisphere.
It has also been proposed that this structure participates in the movement of the eyeballs, since through it motor information is transmitted to the muscles of the eye.
The corpus callosum of the brain of an adult human being is approximately 10 cm long and 1 cm wide. It is located below the cerebral cortex, in the midline of the brain; It is shaped like a “C” and is composed of more than 200 million myelinated and unmyelinated axonal fibers.
For some authors it is a fibrous plaque and the most prominent structure of the human brain. It is normally described as a structure composed of 4 anatomical regions that, from the anterior to the posterior end, are:
The rostrum It is the front part of the corpus callosum, that is, the one in the anterior part of the brain. Connects the orbital surfaces of the frontal lobes.
The genu, Also known as "knee", it is the curved region of the corpus callosum that is responsible for connecting the medial and lateral surfaces of the frontal lobes. The axonal fibers of this region intersect and form the minor forceps, what is the connection between the frontal lobes.
The Body, on the other hand, it represents the elongated central region that is immediately after the genu. It thickens towards the posterior region and has contact with other portions of the brain such as the hippocampus and the thalamus. Connects with the temporal lobes of each hemisphere.
The nerve fibers of the Body, as they move transversely into the cerebral cortex, they form the corona radiata, a structure that connects the cerebral cortex with the lower regions of the brain and spinal cord.
Finally, the splenium, Also known as the “buckle”, it corresponds to the most distal section of the corpus callosum, that is, the most posterior, which has a bulbous appearance. The axonal fibers of this region form what is known as the major forceps, what is the connection between the occipital lobes.
The splenium, in addition, it connects with the pineal gland and the habenular commissure. Some authors also include a region called isthmus, located between the body and the splenium, which is characterized by being thinner than these two regions.
The corpus callosum is necessary for some important cognitive functions and those who have defects in its development or in its morphology can suffer from various neurological conditions such as:
Like practically any organ or structure of the human body, the corpus callosum can suffer from different pathological conditions that are manifested in the rest of the body.
These conditions include viral infections, trauma injuries, metabolic defects, appearance of lipomas (benign tumors), ischemias (decreased blood flow, i.e. transient oxygen depletion, aneurysms and bruises, etc..
The abuse of alcoholic substances or drugs such as cocaine and heroin has also been shown to be a trigger for nerve demyelination and other lesions in the corpus callosum..
A common condition of this brain structure is the well-known agenesis of the corpus callosum, presented by some children whose brain develops in the absence of this.
It usually happens during weeks 5 and 16 of embryonic development and can be caused by:
The main symptoms of this condition are blindness, deafness, inability to learn to speak or walk, autism, and others. However, it is not specifically considered as a disease, as there are some who are born with agenesis of the corpus callosum who live perfectly normal lives.
This is one of the conditions that has been most associated with the corpus callosum; it results from lesions in this structure and its peripheral regions that cause a demyelination of the axonal fibers that compose it.
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