Italian
The corpus callosum: the mysterious structure that connects the two cerebral hemispheres and reveals the value of connections in the mind and in life
ITALY – A bizarre name for a rather mysterious structure. It is a part of our brain, made up of nerve fibers and cells that anatomically interposes between the two cerebral hemispheres.
When scientists hypothesized and partially realized the localization of functions of the brain in anatomically distinct areas, they encountered this structure that had no other function than to connect the two hemispheres, the right and the left.
Many areas of our brain have not yet found a functional meaning. The brain is composed of two parallel and symmetric hemispheres that govern the parts of the body represented symmetrically.
Not all anatomical organs have this symmetrical representation: the heart, the liver, the spleen, and the digestive tract are unique organs that serve the entire organism. The operational center of the entire organic system is considered to be the brain.
This symmetry, two equal hemispheres, is ensured by the corpus callosum. The connection of the two hemispheres guarantees their unique functionality.
It was believed that the left hemisphere presided over sensory and motor functions, while the right hemisphere was the seat of less mechanical and automatic functions, such as creativity, consciousness, and emotionality.
The dissociation between these different functions would give rise to emotional, cognitive, and behavioral chaos. Thus, the corpus callosum holds all these functions together to harmonize them with the primary function of the organism: adaptation to the environment.
The adjective “callosal” refers to the consistency and apparent uselessness of the connection function concerning the areas localized in one hemisphere or the other, which take on primary importance in the noble functions of our brain.
Today we know that the connection is more decisive than the structures that are connected. The network of information is more important than the information itself. These gain value and meaning to the extent and intensity to which they are connected to each other.
All this premise serves to demonstrate how opposition and antagonism lead only to the rigidity of the system, with no possibility of change. When a connection is established, the system becomes modifiable and therefore more suited to needs and problem-solving.
In 1975, an American surgeon, Frank Mershberger, while observing the great fresco of the Last Judgment by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, had a surprising optical insight. The oval and hollow structure containing the image of God the Creator reaching out his arm to meet the hand of the first Man, Adam, closely resembled the human brain.
It seemed that Michelangelo wanted to depict the symmetrical likeness of God and the created Man, as the Scriptures say. This interpretation makes the work even more meaningful and profound.
The Word becomes flesh, as stated in the Gospel of John. If we think about our body and its countless functions and potentials, and project it into space, this space and the entire universe can be imagined as an amplified projection of our organism.
How the constellations tell us the myth, and the passage of the seasons harmonizes with our characters and our inner life.
Therefore, we understand the necessity of connections, relationships, and the dynamism that animates them. We should not conceive of joy as an absence of suffering, but rather the opposite: joy is a stable human condition, with pauses of pain, just as after the storm, good weather always follows.
What may seem useless and meaningless becomes essential for our physical and mental health. It is up to us to give this meaning to the things we have done and received.
