This information highway – the corpus callosum – is the largest white matter structure in the human brain. It’s made up of 200-250 million nerve fibers (primarily contralateral axon projections.) As “white matter” – it is designed to carry information, but not process it. (Information is processed in your brain’s grey matter.)

The corpus callosum is a wide, flat region located just below the cortex, and directly connects your left and right cerebral hemispheres. Almost all communication between regions in different halves of the brain are carried over it.

But more than being a mere information carrier, the corpus callosum also takes an active role from infancy in directing the development of the brain. It is believed that most of us cannot recall events before our fourth or fifth year because the corpus callosum had not yet completed its development.

The function of the corpus callosum during cognitive activity is one of maintaining the balance of arousal and attention between the two sides, enabling each side to contribute its part to achieve optimal mental processing and activities.

The corpus callosum actually controls brain functions by: • Assigning processing to the area of the brain best equipped for each task, • Controlling mental arousal, • Controlling the distribution of attention over the two hemispheres, and • Supporting sustained attention during complex cognitive tasks.

“Whole brain thinking,” experiencing “the zone,” and clear mental focus are directly tied to optimal corpus callosum functioning. Optimal corpus callosum functioning increases mental focus (and thus practical intelligence), and also allows you to apply “logic” to your creative right brain – and creativity to your logical left brain.

The author, Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler, is a renowned brain/mind researcher, and was one of the first in the world to introduce brainwave training to the corporate world. She is the co-developer of the web’s first brain gym – the quantumbraingym.com

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