The scientific event came to an end yesterday, celebrating the World Disorders of the Corpus Callosum Awareness Day

This year, the D’Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR) had the pleasure to organize the Cortical Connections Conference, a scientific event idealized by the International Research Consortium for the Corpus Callosum and Cerebral Connectivity (IRC5). The Cortical Connections 2021, which was held completely online, started on June 27th and ended yesterday. During the event, we were able to bring together doctors, researchers of scientific relevance from a wide range of areas of knowledge, other clinicians, and individuals with callosal malformations and their families. In addition to lectures and presentations on genetics, fetal development, experimental models, brain morphology, imaging, and neuropsychology, the Cortical Connections also offered special activities addressed to the families.

The closure of the event was also a special day for the de corpus callosum disorders community: the 2nd of July is celebrated as the World Disorders of the Corpus Callosum Awareness Day. But do you know what that is?

Just like the second day of July divides the year into two halves, the corpus callosum is the central structure and the main route of communication between the two brain hemispheres. Among the most common congenital malformations, the Corpus Callosum Dysgenesis (CCD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the total or partial absence of the brain central structure, and the theme attracts special attention from doctors and scientists. The condition affects thousands of people around the world, but it’s difficult to have accurate statistics about patients since symptoms range from asymptomatic cases to epileptic seizures and psychomotor development retardation.

The disorders of the corpus callosum, however, shed light on the investigation of neuroplasticity, which are the adaptive abilities the brain exposes once faced with adversities. By presenting malformations in the structure that connects its hemispheres, the brain with the absence or underdevelopment of the corpus callosum creates alternative neural pathways, seeking to compensate for its congenital hardships. This may be beneficial or not, which explains why there is a wide range of symptoms among patients with CCD.

Seeking to investigate these disorders, it was created the International Research Consortium for the Corpus Callosum and Cerebral Connectivity (IRC5), an organization formed by researchers and doctors all over the world, whose mission is to discover the causes, consequences, and possible effective interventions for CCD and associated brain connectivity disorders.

About Cortical Connections and IRC5:
Cortical Connections 2021 is an internationally recognized scientific event created to discuss developmental malformations of the corpus callosum with both the scientific community and the lay public, including non-governmental organizations and Family Groups connected to the cause. The conference is idealized by the International Research Consortium for the Corpus Callosum and Cerebral Connectivity (IRC5).