Does the Human Brain Actually Have Two Minds? NOVA | PBS

A surgery that severs the connection between the two halves of the brain reveals how the hemispheres function.

The two hemispheres of the brain communicate via a bundle of fibers called the corpus callosum. For some people with epilepsy, seizures can quickly spread to the other through this region. But if that bridge is surgically severed, a seizure can no longer cross.

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[evanneal]

So i have a crazy and true personal story about this... im on the autism spectrum, and i was raised my entire life as a musician, particularly a drummer...
When you play drums you have to manually control this "split brain" thing and i have learned how to control it to the point where i can LITERALLY at will MANUALLY control which parts of my brain are used and when... i can draw the 2 shapes separately at the same time in opposite hands, like the epileptic people who had the separation surgery, but i can also turn off that function at will and act normally like the non surgery people... i thought it was just me, but i guess EVERY drummer CAN do this to SOME degree... i can also split my legs and arms, where all 4 are playing a separate beat or rhythm in different time signatures, all while maintaining perfect accuracy and control the entire time... It's truly astonishing... its been suggested to me that i go in and do a special medical test or observation to see why this happens and how i can so easily control it, and if it's true that we can ALL learn how to control our brains like this...

[ShahidIqbal-wf]

Experiments on left and right hemisphere. Good effort and explained

[shawnsimmons]

I watched a forum on this topic and one of the speakers described an experiment that showed that the two hemispheres of the brain were indeed independent. He explained how one of the questions that were asked to participants’ halves of their brain and the question was whether or not they believed in a god. In most of the participants, one hemisphere answered an affirmative on a belief in a god and the other hemisphere responded by saying that they didn’t believe in a god. One half was a theist and the other half was an atheist. My question is which half of those people are doomed to an eternity of torture and misery and which half will spend eternity in a place of paradise?

[XSNForte]

Search "Your Brain: Who's in Control?" for full vid

[chrisscott]

I can draw the square and circle and I have my whole brain connected. It's because I'm a guitar player. We use both hands simultaneously for different things.

[andersonsystem]

This is very interesting and the brain is like a universe itself.

[argos.languages]

That is very interesting. Could it be a protective measure against brain damage from physical injuries? I mean two brains that work as one, but in case one of the sides gets damaged the other one could keep us alive.

[dodgingrain]

Would be interesting to see a third case where hand independence is critical like with a drummer, etc and see the results.

[bretnetherton]

Awareness is known by awareness alone.

[PraiseGar]

They told her to draw those shapes as fast as she could and most people probably go faster than they should rather then going slower and more accurate.

[cortster]

I say we have many minds, all working together to make the illusion of one. Two just so happens to be the biggest parts before they work together into the whole.

[johndunn]

I have half a mind that thinks you may be right but, the left side of my brain 🧠 thinks you're all wrong on this one...

[blucat]

This article on free will has a great section at the end which shows this better than this video. Video is called:
"Science Suggests Free Will Doesn't Exist", go to the 10:24 sec mark to get the left/right brain bit.

[donaldf.switlick]

Like a mirror, self-consciousness is each mind recognizing itself by reflection in the other hemisphere.

[GeorgesDupont-dope]

We have many more than 2, but try listening to an audio book while writing an essay/letter/report whatever. That's when the realisation comes that different parts of the brain do different kinds of work. Drive while listening to an audio book? Probably illegal, but safer than gabbing to your passenger, and easy-peasy.

[lars]

Even they claim to have understood how a brain functions, they have lots of missing information. It's not common but even though not rare that people are missing parts of their brain, sometimes large parts, but while some of these show that something is wrong, others have no sign of that parts of their brain are missing. So whatever the brain does after this surgery, it's not necessarily evidencing that the brain is the brain, as we understand it. It's part of what we consider the brain, but it's not mandatory as it seems. It's pretty interesting to know this.

[donaldf.switlick]

Is the verbal hemisphere always the left or can they be reversed in some people. If yes, is this related to handedness???

[pauld]

See “The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind” by Julian Jaynes, a very interesting theory that posits that early humans had a different type of consciousness from ours brought about by a different type of communication between the two hemispheres of the brain. According to the theory, the massive disruption of the bronze age collapse caused the shift in brain function.

[VeronicaRamirez-NWI]

For some people who have audio evidence of a nurse claiming to have shut down someone's entire left hemisphere, it would seem that they had split brain surgery. Sneaky, its hypnotic suggestion and can also be done by magnetic resonance technology also found BBC Michael Mosley

[nrnoble]

Interesting topic. How old is this video? In the video is a Mac that dates back to early 90s. If the video is that old, how far has research come over the past 30 years?