Inhemic

Inhemic is a neologism used in neuroscience and related fields to describe phenomena associated with processing that occurs primarily within a single cerebral hemisphere. In competing models, inhemic mechanisms are contrasted with interhemispheric processing, which involves communication and integration across the corpus callosum. The term is sometimes used to refer to cognitive or neural activity that remains contained within one hemisphere, either due to anatomical constraints, functional specialization, or pathological disruption.

Etymology and status: The word combines the prefix in- with hemic, derived from hemispheric, and the -ic suffix indicating pertaining to. It is not widely adopted in formal literature and has no stable, official definition in major neuroscience glossaries. Usage has been sporadic, appearing mainly in theoretical writings, educational blog posts, and speculative discussions.

In fiction and speculative theory: Inhemic is sometimes employed in science fiction or worldbuilding to describe brain-like systems or organisms that operate with fully contained hemispheric architecture, or to describe imagined conditions that isolate function to one hemisphere.

See also: interhemispheric, intrahemispheric, lateralization, corpus callosum, brain asymmetry.