One of the most commonly-asked questions twins receive is whether or not they can read each other’s minds. The answer is usually no – except for these twins. The Hogan twins of British Columbia, Canada, are joined not just at the head, but rather they share a cranium and have connected brains. This is their story. To say the Hogan twins are one in a million is a massive understatement. Conjoined at the head as craniopagus twins, they are one in 2.5 million to be exact.

What makes them even more special, is that they survived. Krista and Tatiana were born on October 25, 2006. The doctors told their parents that the chances of craniopagus twins surviving the past 24 hours were slim. When they did survive, they then told the parents that the girls would likely be bed-bound vegetables unable to do anything for themselves. The girls, however, proved them wrong and they are still thriving today.

As already mentioned, it is not just their skull that is connected, but their brains are, too. For this reason, they could not be separated. The risk for serious injury or death to one or both of them was too high. Their brains are connected by a bridge that connects one of their thalami to the other. The thalamus is essentially the control center of the brain, controlling sensory and motor signals, as well as consciousness.

They combine the touch and taste senses. Tatiana can control three arms and one leg, whereas Krista controls three legs and one arm. They can also control each of their own limbs independently. Tatiana can see through both of Krista’s eyes, whilst Krista can only see through one of Tatiana’s. Finally, they can hear what each other is thinking. They refer to it as “talking in their brains.” “They can sit there and say nothing to each other.”

and then one of them will appear and grab something to eat for the other. “Like, there are no words exchanged between them at all, yet they each know precisely what the other one wants,” their mother explained. “You can tickle one while the other laughs. Though you pinch one, the other will cry along with her, as if she is feeling it,” (2)

The females can choose when to take control of their twin’s limbs, when to smell what the other is smelling, and when to taste what the other is eating. Whether they can see through each other’s eyes or not is a bit more difficult, but they can do it!