No Disconnection Syndrome after Near-Complete Callosotomy

Abstract

Sensorimotor processing in the human brain is largely lateralized, with the corpus callosum integrating these processes into a unified experience. Following complete callosotomy, this integration breaks down, resulting in disconnection syndromes. We asked how much of the corpus callosum is sufficient to support functional unity--the absence of disconnection syndrome--by comparing three complete callosotomy patients with one retaining only the splenium. Using lateralized tasks across visual, tactile, visuospatial, and language domains, we predicted domain-specific deficits in the splenium-only patient based on established anatomical models of callosal topography. Strikingly, while complete callosotomy patients exhibited disconnection syndromes, the splenium patient demonstrated functional unity across all domains--as if his entire corpus callosum were intact. Our findings highlight the brains remarkable capacity to maintain behavioral integration through minimal preserved pathways, highlighting how the structure-dependent reorganizational capacity of the human brain allows to preserve functional unity.