Half a brain is not too shabby

Question: How much could someone accomplish using literally only half a brain? You can probably guess how medical science determined the answer to this one.

Answer: This situation arises in "hemispherectomy," or surgical removal of the entire right or left hemisphere of the brain. In one such case, says David G. Myers in "Psychology," a 5-year-old boy had severe seizures, causing a deteriorating left hemisphere, which was removed. What hope for the future would such a child have? Amazingly, he later actually scored well above average on intelligence tests, completed college and attended graduate school. At last report he was an executive.

Yet half his skull was filled with nothing but cerebrospinal fluid— functionally it might as well be sawdust. Although paralyzed on the right side, this man testifies to the brain's extraordinary powers of reorganizing before it is fully developed.

When one brain area is damaged, others may in time take over some of its functionsas nearby neurons make new connections. But our brains are most plastic when young.

"One Johns Hopkins medical team, reflecting on the 58 child hemispherectomies they have performed, reports being 'awed' by how well children retain their memory, personality and humor."

Question: You're a deep-sea diver suddenly in the eightfold clutches of a giant octopus. What hope do you have?

Answer: Little or none, if you take to heart the beastly tales of Jules Verne, Victor Hugo and Hollywood, says biologist Marty Crump in "Headless Males Make Great Lovers."

But in fact these alien-looking creatures are generally shy, gentle animals that would rather hide than fight. Occasionally a diver will get "enveloped" by an octopus, whose sucker-clad muscular arms investigate every curve of this unknown object. Be advised: Stay calm and still until the octopus decides you're not edible and releases its grip.

Octopuses are playful, intelligent animals whose arms move separately or work together to crawl along the ocean floor. Such high level of coordination requires a highly developed brain, making them at least as smart as the average house cat.

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Send STRANGE questions to brothers Bill and Rich at strangetrue@compuserve.com, coauthors of "Can a Guy Get Pregnant? Scientific Answers to Everyday (and Not-So- Everyday) Questions," from Pi Press.