Unlocking the Science: Neuropsychologists Break Down Apple’s Severance Strategy

The show “Severance” takes us to a strange world where a person’s work life is completely separated from their personal life. It’s set to return for a second season on Apple TV+. While this idea might seem wild, it raises fascinating questions about the brain. Can a person’s mind truly be split in two?

Interestingly, “split-brain” patients have existed since the 1940s. To control severe epilepsy, doctors performed surgeries that disconnected the two halves of the brain. This kind of surgery is still used today.

Research shows that the left and right hemispheres of split-brain patients can work independently. This means that after surgery, some may essentially have two different minds sharing one skull. This idea is a little unsettling but also intriguing.

In the first season of “Severance,” a character named Helly R, played by Britt Lower, grapples with a struggle between her work self, or “innie,” and her life outside of work, the “outie.” This mirrors the real-life experiences of split-brain patients, who sometimes show conflicting behaviors between their two hemispheres.

Typically, when we talk to these patients, we’re engaging with their left side, which handles speech. However, some can convey feelings or thoughts using their right side—like arranging Scrabble letters or writing. For example, one young patient wanted an office job, but more intriguingly, his right side spelled out “automobile racer.”

Patients have also reported “alien hand syndrome,” where one hand seems to move on its own. This suggests that two separate “people” might exist within a single brain, each with their own desires.

In “Severance,” both the innie and outie can speak. This points to a more complex separation of brain networks than simply severing connections.

A noteworthy case is that of a boy named Neil, who faced unique challenges after a tumor. He suffered from rare amnesia, failing to remember his daily experiences. Interestingly, he could write down memories without being aware of them until they were shown to him later.

In “Severance,” a similar theme appears. Another character, Irving, creates art that reveals elements of his work life, even though he doesn’t consciously remember them. This aligns with Neil’s case, suggesting that memories could exist outside conscious recall.

One part of the brain that plays a crucial role in memory is the hippocampus. It helps us remember daily events and understand our environment. In the show, a switch takes place at the office elevator, which echoes a real-life phenomenon where entering a new space can make us forget things—this is often referred to as the “doorway effect.”

This effect arises because the hippocampus sorts experiences into episodes. When we enter a new space, it might signal the start of a new episode, which can lead to forgetting connected information. However, in real life, this kind of forgetting is not as complete as what happens in “Severance.”

But there are challenges to thinking that a surgery could simply snip the hippocampus. In “Severance,” characters have extensive knowledge about their workplace that would be inaccessible to their outies. They also form emotional memories tied to their experiences, which involve much more than just the hippocampus.

Moreover, memory isn’t just a standalone activity; it connects deeply with perception, attention, and language. The complex nature of human memory makes it unlikely that it could be entirely severed as depicted in the show. Still, “Severance” challenges us to think creatively about the possibilities within our minds.