Through her sister’s eyes: Conjoined twins Tatiana and Krista

I didn't see this posted anywhere.

These two girls being conjoined at their head are able to concentrate and see through eachothers eyes.

Felicia holds up a small stuffed animal in front of Krista’s open eyes.

“What am I holding?” she asks Tatiana.

Tatiana, her eyes completely covered, hesitates.

Her mother prompts her. “Tati, look through your sister’s eyes.”

There is a pause, a breath held.

Then Tatiana, eyes covered, somehow floats into her sister’s brain: “The Lorax!” she announces.

In order to see through each other’s eyes there is some internal shift, a decision, as if each sister’s soul moves over and makes space for the other.

A part of me thinks she knew the feel of the toy, and was able to tell by touch. Just an opinion.

Either way a great read, and something that boggles the mind.

www.vancouversun.com...

Each child has a fully structured brain, two cerebral hemispheres, a fully formed brain stem, cerebellum and spinal cord. There was also the bridge of tissue, through which neurological information might be shared; within days of their birth, it became apparent that if one twin was pricked with a needle, the other would cry.

Fascinating...

I wonder if this holds true when they are asleep? Imagine one is asleep dreaming, and the other is able to describe what she is experiencing in real-time. Could it be possible to simulate the connection they share amongst separated twins using wireless technology?

a reply to: Crumbles

Wow I misread my own thread. She wasn't holding it. It was their mother. So touch is out.

I'd guess it has to do with the neuronal connections in their conjoined brains. Without being able to see a picture of how their heads are joined, it's hard to say, but it wouldn't surprise me if there are some connections between the vision centers that the two can consciously access.

originally posted by: ketsuko
I'd guess it has to do with the neuronal connections in their conjoined brains. Without being able to see a picture of how their heads are joined, it's hard to say, but it wouldn't surprise me if there are some connections between the vision centers that the two can consciously access.

I wouldn't consider vision something I consciously accessed and that's one thing that I find most interesting about the pair. She closes her eyes and pauses for a moment, almost like she's seeing the image in her minds eye. How that switch is made '"consciously" is what intrigues me most. Oh, and then there's this,

The circus has already come calling. Hollywood agent Chuck Harris, 75, has signed the family. Harris, the so-called Wizard of Odd, represents curiosities like the fire-breathing midget, “Wolf Boy,” and the world’s longest surviving set of craniopagus twins, the 51-year-old Schappell sisters.

Harris has gained the trust of the family and hopes to bring the twins to the biggest big top of them all: reality TV.

No need for words...

a reply to: eisegesis

It makes me wonder if they can remember eachothers thoughts, and ideas. Or speak to one another through thought. Endless possibilities. They are to young to comprehend something along those lines I'm assuming.

a reply to: eisegesis

Well, I worked at a place where we dealt with learning disabilities, and what we did was work with retraining the brain in a sense and building brain connections.

For most things, you do them unconsciously. In our case, we were dealing with language/phonemic processing, but in the kids we worked with phonemic processing was weak, so certain sounds were getting "lost." So we had to get kids to work on becoming aware of the process and concentrate on it which was hard for them. It meant focusing on how their mouths were moving. As they got more adept, they had to think about what they were doing less, it was more automatic.

I'm guessing this is similar. The connections are there, but the girls don't use them often. So it takes concentration. Conscious thought to access and use them. After all, it's far more natural to look out their own eyes.

Or another way to look at it.

I can raise both my eyebrows independently of each other, but since I am not in the habit of doing it often, especially the right one. It always takes a bit of concentration to raise that right brow the first few times I do it. The left is easy.

I have two eyes but only see through one of them. The other is what is generally referred to as a lazy eye.

With a little concentration, I can switch my vision between the. The lazy eye is rated at only 5% so I don't see terribly much but it does take some concentration. I can readily understand how the twins can do this.

Truly fascination. What a marvel if they could see each others dreams as eisegesis has suggested.

Fascinating research if it can be done without harm to the twins. In fact, they should charge for the honor, in the longer term, perhaps this could be their income stream!

P

a reply to: ketsuko

The brain has a tendency to extract patterns from the environment. With enough repetition, most are able to fall into a pattern of doing anything. I commend you because I know how hard it is to work with people who have severe physical and mental disabilities. Consistency develops familiarity, which breeds a more stable environment to work in.

With these girls, every preconceived outcome to certain stimulus produces entirely unexpected results. Each have both hemispheres of their brain which are connected by a tether of neural tissue and its uncertain how affecting one will affect the other. So much to learn, but so unmoral and selfish to expect their lives to be any less fulfilling and complete without judgement.

The point is, they are one in a trillion. I hope mom wakes up and smells the BS, because real research can take place while providing care and support to the family without turning them into a sideshow.