The Corpus Callosum and Young Children

If you're an adult, and now know that you're directionally challenged, do you recall at what age you discovered your inability?

I was about seven years old when I realized that I could not correctly identify left and right. 

Even though convention says that by that age a child should be able, with some consistency, tell left from right on their own bodies, and begin applying that knowledge to the world around them, at that age, I was definitely at a loss about which side was my right, and which was my left. Although I had a few quirks in my personality, I have to say that apart from not knowing my right from my left, and the cardinal points of a compass, I was relatively well adjusted.

Before I started my research into the functioning of the brain as it relates to our navigational abilities, I was only vaguely aware of the corpus callosum. I now know, however, that this mass of cranial cells plays an extremely important role in my ability or inability to navigate.

What exactly is the corpus callosum and how does it affect one’s ability to navigate or to otherwise function normally?

The corpus callosum is a large bundle of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain, allowing them to communicate with each other. It plays a crucial role in integrating sensory, motor, and cognitive information between the two sides of the brain.

There is need for a great deal more study to be carried out on this section of the brain, but what is already known indicates that there can be a direct connection between a malfunctioning or absent corpus callosum and conditions such as mild developmental delays in children, severe cognitive and motor impairments, and even autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Because we need both our right and left hemispheres of the brain to constantly be in connection, communication and cooperation with each other, and the corpus callosum is the facilitator of such collaboration, a properly functioning corpus callosum will allow for optimal balance and integration of functions such as language (in the left hemisphere) and spatial abilities (in the right). It also supports movements that require input from both hemispheres.

A malfunctioning of absent corpus callosum has been associated with learning disabilities or anti-social behavior, and in the inability to integrate sensory and cognitive information.

The foregoing lends credibility to the notion that children - especially those displaying early signs of autism or attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - will most benefit from further studies involving the activities of the brain hemispheres and their connector - the corpus callosum.