Two Sides to Every Story: Growing Up with Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum

The corpus callosum is the largest white matter structure in the human brain. Among other functions, it permits communication between the two cerebral hemispheres. Many psychiatric, neurocognitive, and neurologic conditions are associated with malformation of, or injury to, the corpus callosum. This is a case of an adolescent struggling with a genetic illness, seizure disorder, and problems with pragmatic language. In this case, the existence of agenesis of the corpus callosum proved to have marked effects cognitively and socially and led to difficulties in mitigating anxiety with verbal reassurance. In this patient, the complex function of the corpus callosum is demonstrated by social, emotional, language, and psychiatric effects associated with its congenital malformation.