They see through each other’s eyes and feel a common pain: How Siamese twins who are not separated live

Siamese twins are unique in that they fuse with some part of the body, but in 2006, girls were born with their heads connected. Their uniqueness is even higher because, in addition to surviving, they also formed a thalamic bridge, despite a 20% chance of doing so. No one has ever had this, but he allows the sisters to live as a whole: they can feel each other’s pain, emotions, and desires. The girls had an almost fulfilling lifestyle: they went to the pool, rode a special bike, and then went to a regular school.

Krista and Tatiana have overcome the threshold of survival at birth

In 2006, a significant event occurred for both the Hogan family and the world of science – conjoined Siamese twins were born. She found out that Felicia Simms would have unusual daughters even before they were born, but decided not to do anything – she could not take their lives. For the girls to be born, 16 doctors participated in the birth and completed the operation.

It turned out that the girls didn’t just grow together with skulls – they had almost a single brain. This is very rare – 1 case per 2.5 million twins born, and these are called “craniopaguses.” They mostly die on the first day, only 20% survive, and the girls have overcome this threshold perfectly. The girls, Tatiana and Krista, had to adjust to the fact that they were inseparable. The uniqueness began to manifest itself over time, and it was subsequently confirmed during the examination.

The thalamic bridge is a feature of the sisters

The biggest feature of the Siamese twins Tatiana and Krista is that they have a thalamic bridge. The structure of their brains turned out to be special: each has its brain, but one part of the hemisphere is smaller, and a connection has formed between the thalamuses from the processes of neurons. In medical practice, separating twins who have fused their heads is an almost impossible story. In the case of the Hogan twins, it is completely impractical because they work as a single unit.

The thalamus is an egg-shaped gray matter responsible for the brain’s ability to perceive sensory information. Scientists, specifically Krista and Tatiana, had a unique opportunity to examine and observe the brain’s work, which transmits data between the sisters, illustrating how the personal merges into the common.

The feelings, emotions, and desires of the Hogan sisters are the same for two

The thalamic bridge enabled the girls Krista and Tatiana to become one. That is, they can sense and know each other’s desires, feel physical pain, and taste food. At the same time, Visit . A F R I N I K . C O M . For the full article. they remain individuals; they are different – one is calm, and the other is hyperactive.

Not only did Mom have to adapt to her unique daughters, but it wasn’t easy for the girls either. They did not understand why they could not “get rid” of each other and were angry about it. To calm down, they sucked their sister’s finger, not understanding where “mine” was and where “someone else’s” was. For scientists, it was the practice of observing how “I” and “we” are separated when the brain is shared. The sisters have found a balance where they can feel comfortable despite their imperfections, and they are not discouraged. These are funny laughs, especially from Tatiana, and Krista is calmer, preferring playful taunts.

Scientists constantly monitored the development of girls, discovering a feature that allowed them to sense what was happening with their sisters, including their emotions and each other. When they covered their eyes with one hand and showed the toy with the other, the sister, with her eyes closed, definitely called it. They could play quietly and then abruptly get up and go to the kitchen without saying a word to each other. In the kitchen, Krista silently took a cup of water and handed it to Tatiana because she was closer to the water.

That is, without saying a word, Kristina found out that Tatiana was thirsty. They couldn’t look at the screen together when watching cartoons, but they both laughed at the same story. It felt like they had a telepathic connection, but that was the work of the thalamus. It is he who transmits the information that arose from one sister to the thalamus of the other sister. In this case, they cannot be individuals, but they are not.

They learned to ignore their sister’s emotions and be only themselves. For example, Krista likes ketchup, but Tatiana doesn’t, so she makes a face and makes swiping movements with her tongue as if she wants to erase something. To determine whether one sister’s brain could process the sensation of touching areas of the other’s body, doctors stimulated her heel, leg, or arm by touching or tingling it. The result was excellent.

As it turned out, Krista’s brain could respond to signals from Tatiana’s foot, which was closer to her, and Tatiana could direct Krista’s hand, which was closer to her. Not only could they feel the touch, but they could also guide their sister’s limbs. The information entered the brain and was then divided into two directions, each arriving. Hence, the general feelings and emotions.

How Krista and Tatiana Hogan grew up

The parents of the unusual Siamese twins did not focus on their peculiarities, and they were not discriminated against in any way. They were treated like ordinary children, and besides, they were not the first in the family. They had an older brother and two sisters. However, the uniqueness gave side effects – the sisters have grade 1 diabetes, so they had to inject insulin from an early age, as well as epilepsy, which caused them to take special medications.

They were constantly monitored by specialists, who, at one point, noticed that Tatiana’s heart was working harder to supply the necessary blood circulation to Christa’s brain. This caused problems, and an operation was performed that helped regulate blood circulation. Krista’s heart began to work harder, and Tatiana’s body no longer needed to strain.

The girls lived a full life: they were taken to the pool, where an instructor worked with them, and they built a special bike on which they learned to ride. They even managed to run, slightly propping each other up. Some moments were depressing. For example, girls could not attend kindergarten for a long time because some parents began to forbid their children from communicating with them. They were shocked by the sight of the twins, although the twins had good contact with the children and even found friends.

Mom took them out of kindergarten, and they were brought up at home. However, she decided to highlight the topic of her children, telling the world about the peculiarities of her daughters and emphasizing that they are, above all, ordinary people. Therefore, in 2010, she agreed to make a documentary about Krista and Tatiana, giving exclusive access to only one company. There was only one film about the twins’ lives. Mom said that the daughters are growing up and should have a private life; after they come of age, they will have the right to decide for themselves whether to act or not. For this reason, there was no more filming or reporting on the Conjoined Hogan twins.

All that is known is that the girls went to a regular school. They experienced a slight lag in development due to the peculiarities of certain brain parts, but they eventually learned to read, count, and write. How long Tatiana and Krista will live remains a mystery to everyone, but there is a similar case of craniopagus who lived to old age – these are Lori and George Schappell who died at the age of 62 in 2024. They not only lived a full life but managed to shock society when Lori declared that she was a man. They established that everyone should have a private life and, in turn, tolerated what the other sister was doing. They even bathed separately as much as their position allowed.

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