Half a Brain is Enough: The Story of NicoHalf a Brain is Enough is the extraordinary story of Nico, a three-year-old boy who was given a right hemispherectomy to control his severe intractable epilepsy. Antonio Battro, a distinguished neuroscientist and educationalist, describes his work with Nico over several years and explains how a boy with only half a brain has developed into a bright child with relatively minor physical and mental impairment. Eight years later, he runs and plays with only a slight limp. So far, there is no significant cognitive or affective disorder and it appears that Nico's so-called right-hemisphere skills--mathematics, visual arts, and music--have migrated to the left hemisphere. At school, he performs as a child of his age in arithmetic and music; only his draftsmanship and handwriting are poor for his age, but he has not lost his cognitive spatial ability. Battro and his colleagues have been studying and teaching Nico with computers and he is mastering written language with a word processor and is able to make good graphic designs with a computer. Nico performs well above average verbally, a left-brain skill. Battro charts what he calls Nico's "neuroeducation" with humor and compassion in a book that is part case history and part a study of consciousness and the brain. Filled with fascinating details about Nico's abilities, Half a Brain is Enough also includes the latest information about brain surgery, neuronal architecture, and the use of technology in education. Throughout the book, it is clear that Battro and his collleagues are delighted with Nico's progress and grateful for the opportunity to help him and learn with him. Antonio Battro received his MD from the School of Medicine at the University of Buenos Aires and his PhD in Psychology from the University of Paris. He has worked with Jean Piaget, Marvin Minsky, and others and is well known around the world for his publications in cognitive development. He lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. |
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Contents
The heart is in the brain | 1 |
Sculpting a new brain | 14 |
Compensatory analysis | 25 |
First schooling | 36 |
The cortical shift | 56 |
The double brain | 66 |
Brain education and development | 77 |
Notes | 91 |
97 | |
113 | |
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Common terms and phrases
abilities activity analysis become brain called certainly cognitive compensatory analysis complex connections conservation continue cortex cortical damage described difficulty disabled discuss drawing example expected experience fact field Figure functional give growth half half-brained child hand hemispherectomy human images important increase instance intelligence interesting involved kind knowledge language later learning left hemisphere lesion linguistic Logo loss measure mental mind motor nature neural neurons Nico Nico's normal objects observed operational organization particular performed person Piaget possible practice problem produce question reached reading reason recent remaining remarkable removal right hemisphere scale sense shift side significant skills space spatial specific stage subjects surgery tasks teachers theory thinking tion University virtual visual whole writing
Popular passages
Page 98 - Reorganisation of descending motor pathways in patients after hemispherectomy and severe hemispheric lesions demonstrated by magnetic brain stimulation.
Page 101 - Epstein, HT (1974). Phrenoblysis: Special brain and mind growth periods. Developmental Psychobiology, 7, 207—224.
Page 103 - Goldman-Rakic, P. (1987). Development of cortical circuitry and cognitive function.