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Human brain is two separate organs, Stanford Medicine-led research finds
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inari piefed.zip inari@piefed.zip
Joined: 2026-02-07
(edited) Quote

242   Original
Elting piefed.social Elting@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-11-18
#2 · Quote Reply

Neat, has nothing to do with your two hemispheres if you haven't read the article.

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grte lemmy.ca grte@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2023-06-09
#3 · Quote Reply

Wow, that was a really fascinating article. I suppose this will also factor in to understanding the differing ability for higher thought between us and other animals.

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pulsewidth lemmy.world pulsewidth@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-01-29
#4 · Quote Reply

Inside of you there are two brains meme when

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thenextguy sh.itjust.works thenextguy@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2026-07-01
#5 · (edited) Quote Reply

Dr. Hfuhruhurr: Get that cat out of here!

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BlackVenom lemmy.world BlackVenom@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-23
#6 · Quote Reply

The parts for dummies like me:

Forebrain and midbrain: the thing you think of when someone says brain

Hindbrain: the brainstem/bottom part going to spine

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taiyang lemmy.world taiyang@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-08
#7 · Quote Reply

Funny enough, I already guessed what parts of the brain they were talking about.

I always thought it was fun to think of the brainstem as the Id to the midbrain and cortex' Ego and Superego (specially the prefrontal cortex, that's my favorite part of a brain). Freud was pretty coked out of his mind but those terms remain kinda cool to me as a metaphor, lol.

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Mouselemming sh.itjust.works Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-07-12
#8 · Quote Reply

Wow, that was a really fascinating article. I suppose this will also factor in to understanding the differing ability for higher thought between us and other animals.

It's not unique to humans at all. They originally found the two types of brain cells by looking at mouse embryos. Then,

"Finally, the researchers looked back over 550 million years of evolutionary time. They found the same two-origin brain pattern in chickens; zebrafish; and, remarkably, in acorn worms, tiny creatures living on the ocean floor that share a distant common ancestor with humans. Jellyfish, which diverged from humans about 600 to 700 million years ago, have two nervous systems at different ends of their body.

“Our research suggests that evolution took two existing neural systems and pushed them together spatially,” Loh said. “Having the brain as one organ would probably be more efficient, but we rely on this primordial way to make the brain as two separate pieces.”

We've long known the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain control different things, we just didn't know the hindbrain neuron cells evolved so fundamentally differently. Being able to grow the right kind in a lab will enable research that wasn't possible before.

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grte lemmy.ca grte@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2023-06-09
#9 · Quote Reply

It's not unique to humans at all. They originally found the two types of brain cells by looking at mouse embryos. Then, "Finally, the researchers looked back over 550 million years of evolutionary time. They found the same two-origin brain pattern in chickens; zebrafish; and, remarkably, in acorn worms, tiny creatures living on the ocean floor that share a distant common ancestor with humans. J...

I didn't suggest it was unique to humans.

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Wildmimic anarchist.nexus Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus
Joined: 2025-09-05
#10 · Quote Reply

Funny enough, I already guessed what parts of the brain they were talking about. I always thought it was fun to think of the brainstem as the Id to the midbrain and cortex' Ego and Superego (specially the prefrontal cortex, that's my favorite part of a brain). Freud was pretty coked out of his mind but those terms remain kinda cool to me as a metaphor, lol.

And it might even be that these different personality pieces (Id, Ego, Superego) actually have different locations in the (different) brain(s), (which would be pretty awesome - Freud with his limited information actually having glimpsed structural information about our nervous system would be insane), distributed in the way you just mentioned. Many subconscious decisions depend on very basic impulses, the kind of which the brainstem/midbrain is responsible for. This might have repercussions into psychiatry and psychotherapy.

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Lushed_Lungfish lemmy.ca Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2025-02-14
#11 · Quote Reply

"We are two brains" - Brain.

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birdwing lemmy.blahaj.zone birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone
Joined: 2025-08-19
#12 · Quote Reply

It's not unique to humans at all. They originally found the two types of brain cells by looking at mouse embryos. Then, "Finally, the researchers looked back over 550 million years of evolutionary time. They found the same two-origin brain pattern in chickens; zebrafish; and, remarkably, in acorn worms, tiny creatures living on the ocean floor that share a distant common ancestor with humans. J...

Maybe it's one for automatic processes and another for manual?

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Victor lemmy.world victorz@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-11-14
#13 · Quote Reply

The parts for dummies like me: Forebrain and midbrain: the thing you think of when someone says brain Hindbrain: the brainstem/bottom part going to spine

Weird, I kind of already considered them separate organs...

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13igTyme piefed.social 13igTyme@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-08-14
#14 · Quote Reply

Weird, I kind of already considered them separate organs...

If you've ever seen them in a cadaver lab, the brain stem always had slightly different texture and color.

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couldhavebeenyou lemmy.zip couldhavebeenyou@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2025-07-02
#15 · Quote Reply

Wow, that was a really fascinating article. I suppose this will also factor in to understanding the differing ability for higher thought between us and other animals.

*some other animals

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SCmSTR lemmy.blahaj.zone SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone
Joined: 2023-07-24
#16 · Quote Reply

If you've ever seen them in a cadaver lab, the brain stem always had slightly different texture and color.

But what about the mouthfeel?

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Soggy lemmy.world Soggy@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-01
#17 · Quote Reply

But what about the mouthfeel?

Not good, mushy and fatty.

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Kellenved sh.itjust.works Kellenved@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2024-12-16
#18 · Quote Reply

Inside of you there are two brains meme when

One brain gnawing on a bone and jerking off, the other reciting poetry and wondering if the stocks laid in for winter are sufficient

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Elting piefed.social Elting@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-11-18
#19 · Quote Reply

Funny enough, I already guessed what parts of the brain they were talking about. I always thought it was fun to think of the brainstem as the Id to the midbrain and cortex' Ego and Superego (specially the prefrontal cortex, that's my favorite part of a brain). Freud was pretty coked out of his mind but those terms remain kinda cool to me as a metaphor, lol.

Freud is funny because there is usually a nugget of truth buried under all his bullshit. Like, not everybody wants to fuck their mom like he did but the way your parents raise you will determine how you attach to others.

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Aqarius lemmy.world Aqarius@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-14
#20 · Quote Reply

Freud is funny because there is usually a nugget of truth buried under all his bullshit. Like, not everybody wants to fuck their mom like he did but the way your parents raise you will determine how you attach to others.

It's how Seinfeld isn't that funny anymore: what he got right is now so foundational to the whole field that it's basically common sense, so he's only famous for what he got wrong.

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Elting piefed.social Elting@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-11-18
#21 · Quote Reply

It's how Seinfeld isn't that funny anymore: what he got right is now so foundational to the whole field that it's basically common sense, so he's only famous for what he got wrong.

Yeah I think you are right. It can leave those with a contemporary view thinking "What's all the fuss about this?"

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flango lemmy.eco.br flango@lemmy.eco.br
Joined: 2023-08-03
#22 · Quote Reply

They deserve the Nobel prize

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VirtigoMommy sh.itjust.works VirtigoMommy@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-07-23
#23 · Quote Reply

It's how Seinfeld isn't that funny anymore: what he got right is now so foundational to the whole field that it's basically common sense, so he's only famous for what he got wrong.

I would argue the same with the Beatles and modern music making

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Aqarius lemmy.world Aqarius@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-14
#24 · Quote Reply

I would argue the same with the Beatles and modern music making

Another excellent example

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prettybunnys piefed.social prettybunnys@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-06-10
#25 · Quote Reply

Maybe it's one for automatic processes and another for manual?

Lizard v Monkey brain as the kids say

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Treczoks lemmy.world Treczoks@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-09
#26 · Quote Reply

Weird, I kind of already considered them separate organs...

Well, yes, but in a complete different way than scientists thought.

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Treczoks lemmy.world Treczoks@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-09
#27 · Quote Reply

Amazing what one can learn in the details. TIL that face musculature is controlled by the hindbrain. I always thought they were run like all the other actively controlled muscles.

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Treczoks lemmy.world Treczoks@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-09
#28 · Quote Reply

Maybe it's one for automatic processes and another for manual?

In a way, yes. Breathing is a very interesting case here. Breathing is controlled by both sides, actually. At night, you don't want to have to think about breathing in, breathing out. But for diving and swimming and speaking, you need precise and active control.

So there is a complex mechanism to hand over the control from one side to the other. Sudden infant death syndrome is probably linked to the development of this handover process.

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orenj [he/they] leminal.space orenj@leminal.space
Joined: 2026-04-04
#29 · Quote Reply

But what about the mouthfeel?

I'm glad someone is thinking about the mouthfeel

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prettybunnys piefed.social prettybunnys@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-06-10
#30 · Quote Reply

I'm glad someone is thinking about the mouthfeel

Ok but you forgot about the smell you dumb bitch

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MrOtingocni lemmy.world MrOtingocni@lemmy.world
Joined: 2026-06-06
#31 · Quote Reply

Amazing what one can learn in the details. TIL that face musculature is controlled by the hindbrain. I always thought they were run like all the other actively controlled muscles.

Maybe that's why reading someone's face is such a good method for determining another's mental state. Even when we try to control it there is something that gives us away.

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Victor lemmy.world victorz@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-11-14
#32 · Quote Reply

Well, yes, but in a complete different way than scientists thought.

If they only would've just asked me. 😮‍💨

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SatansMaggotyCumFart piefed.social SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-06-16
#33 · Quote Reply

But what about the mouthfeel?

Found the zombie.

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humanspiral lemmy.ca humanspiral@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2024-10-23
#34 · Quote Reply

they didn't explain mid brain. is that also forebrain cells?

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heartSagan5 lemmy.zip heartSagan5@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-05-27
#35 · Quote Reply

It’s not too dissimilar to Windows OS. If you’ve gone into the System application of the Control Panel, you can flip the Windows host to optimize for services or applications. And I think they mean the hindbrain, as in the brain stem and medulla oblongata, is one type of neuron, whereas the lobes — occipital, temporal, frontal, etc. — are another type. The former is likely genetically-optimized for fight or flight, reflexes, and such, whereas the latter is for added analysis, deeper reasoning, etc.

Did I read that right? Maybe I muddied some brain structures between these types of neurons? Eh, I’m no neurologist.

In a college course, we discussed the idea of System 1 and System 2. The System 1 (autonomic, unconscious) handles primitive work — fight or flight, organ management, and feelings, but it’s reliable, whereas System 2 requires more conscious effort and it’s linked with consciousness and it can intercede in a decision, if applied. So, now, there is genetic evidence to support this System 1&2 idea. Fascinating.

NOTE: I said Windows had a similar setting; however, unlike us meat suits, we shouldn’t and can’t swap between these.

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heartSagan5 lemmy.zip heartSagan5@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-05-27
#36 · (edited) Quote Reply

they didn't explain mid brain. is that also forebrain cells?

That’s what I read. I thought it said mid- and fore- have the same gene expressions, whereas the hindbrain has a distinctly different gene expression and development.

They identified two different brain progenitor cells. One, which expresses a gene called Otx2, is destined to become the forebrain and midbrain. The other, which expresses a gene called Gbx2, is committed to forming the hindbrain.

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heartSagan5 lemmy.zip heartSagan5@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-05-27
#37 · Quote Reply

Amazing what one can learn in the details. TIL that face musculature is controlled by the hindbrain. I always thought they were run like all the other actively controlled muscles.

So is emotion. That’s why marketing and propaganda targets it.

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Viceversa lemmy.world Viceversa@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-12-29
#38 · Quote Reply

It’s not too dissimilar to Windows OS. If you’ve gone into the System application of the Control Panel, you can flip the Windows host to optimize for services or applications. And I think they mean the hindbrain, as in the brain stem and medulla oblongata, is one type of neuron, whereas the lobes — occipital, temporal, frontal, etc. — are another type. The former is likely genetically-optimized...

And I think they mean the hindbrain, as in the brain stem and medulla oblongata, is one type of neuron, whereas the lobes — occipital, temporal, frontal, etc. — are another type.

Hindbrain and the lobes aren't neuron. Neither are they a type of neuron.
They have neurons. Of different types.

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humanspiral lemmy.ca humanspiral@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2024-10-23
#39 · Quote Reply

That’s what I read. I thought it said mid- and fore- have the same gene expressions, whereas the hindbrain has a distinctly different gene expression and development. They identified two different brain progenitor cells. One, which expresses a gene called Otx2, is destined to become the forebrain and midbrain. The other, which expresses a gene called Gbx2, is committed to forming the hindbrain.

Missed that. What does the mid brain do?

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heartSagan5 lemmy.zip heartSagan5@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-05-27
#40 · Quote Reply

And I think they mean the hindbrain, as in the brain stem and medulla oblongata, is one type of neuron, whereas the lobes — occipital, temporal, frontal, etc. — are another type. Hindbrain and the lobes aren't neuron. Neither are they a type of neuron. They have neurons. Of different types.

I get that. Those are regions of the brain, and they contain neurons.

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RunawayFixer lemmy.world RunawayFixer@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-09-02
#41 · (edited) Quote Reply

Headless chickens are a good example of this. If the chop leaves enough of the brain stem intact, then the now headless chicken can still run around and "live" for some time. Since "running around like a headless chicken" is a saying in several languages, this probably wasn't an ultra rare occurrence.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_the_Headless_Chicken

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ohulancutash feddit.uk ohulancutash@feddit.uk
Joined: 2025-02-16
#42 · Quote Reply

I’m in two minds about this.

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AliOski feddit.nl AliOski@feddit.nl
Joined: 2023-07-03
#43 · Quote Reply

We all sort of/kind of knew this but we never realized this? That's kinda crazy. Glad it has been formally established.

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