Theos-Talk Archives (September 1997 Message tt00015)

Gail:

> I wonder if this is not just another theory, Bart. There was a
> study done years ago on a some hydrocephalic children. There
> brains had been severely damaged by the pressure and considerable
> (like about 90%) material was removed. They went on to live
> normal lives; one even became a college professor. That would
> seem to indicate that memory was not stored in the brain. A
> quote from HPB is pertinent here (“A Note on Memory”, H.P.B.
> Articles II, 206), in which she writes:

It could also indicate, as I stated, that the brain has a lot of
built-in redundancy (although I personally believe that there is
more to the mind than the physical brain, I do not consider it
proven by a long shot).

> Regarding redundancy, it is my understanding that it is developed
> AFTER the original path is interrupted, and that this process is
> considerably more successful in children than in adults, perhaps
> because of what WQJ calls "the master power of imagination." Just
> a thought.

The more neural pathways are used, the stronger they become.
Therefore, in adults, where the neural pathways are much stronger
than in children, it is harder to move function from one to
another. The exception to this is when a section of the brain is
suddenly destroyed; then, if the adult is properly treated within
6 months or so, their capacity to move the function to a new part
of the brain is much greater.