The paradox of the corpus callosum: insights from the developing brain

29.09.2026 09:30 – 11:00

With more than 250 million axons, the corpus callosum is the largest white-matter bundle connecting the two hemispheres of the human brain. It presents an intriguing paradox: seemingly indispensable in typical development, yet remarkably dispensable when absent from birth. In typical development, the corpus callosum and interhemispheric functional connectivity play a central role in cognitive and socio-emotional development across childhood and adolescence, with variation in callosal architecture linked to general cognition, executive and attentional functions, memory, language, and socio-emotional outcomes. Yet in children born with congenital absence or anomalies of the corpus callosum, the brain appears to compensate for the alteration of this central structure, with children showing neurodevelopment comparable to peers with typical callosal development. This talk explores that paradox through studies of both typical callosal development and callosal dysgenesis, drawing on structural and functional neuroimaging evidence.

Lieu

Bâtiment: HUG

Auditoire de pédiatrie Fred Bamatter, HUG, Hôpital des Enfants

entrée libre