brain transplant? what happens when not in a body?

[tommo123]

watching dark matters at the mo and on the ep where the dude in the 70s experiments with removing a monkeys brain and keeps it alive, as well as doing a head transplant.

what i was wondering is - in theory at least, what would you experience if your brain was removed and kept alive with oxygenated blood? i mean assuming you're conscious then you couldn't feel anything, hear, see, smell, taste. no sense of temperature. no feedback from your body at all

if someone touched your brain, would you feel anything from that? if so, what would you experience it as? very few of us have had something directly touch our brains so what the hell would that be like?

very freaky stuff, like something out of a horror movie ffs! i mean, awake but no input/ouput at all and no sense of time?

 

[yhelothar]

Any info on the isolated monkey brain? This wikipage suggests guinea pig brain was the highest order of complexity isolated.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolated_brain

I have read about the head transplant though.

As for what one would experience, they would definitely still feel their body, although be blind and deaf.

Amputees still feel their lost limb. This is due to the fact that the representation for that limb is still in the brain, so they will have what is called a phantom limb.

There are no sensory nerve endings on the brain, so you wouldn't feel anything if someone touched your brain. Brain surgery is actually done with general anesthesia to the head. The brain surgeon will use electrodes to prod at various areas and ask what the patient experiences to pinpoint the exact location to operate on. It's really quite interesting! They can prod at your hippocampus(memory), and you'll re-experience various parts of your life.

Senses can be simulated by electrodes on the somatosensory cortex. Recording electrodes on the motor cortex can determine the person's motor intentions. For the auditory cortex, we've mapped out the frequencies to the corresponding brain regions, and can basically play sounds that way(although crudely).
We're able to crudely draw a picture with vision now as well!
http://mashable.com/2011/09/23/scientists-brain-visual-memories/

 

[njdevilsfan87]

I'm pretty sure your brain would artificially create some kind of sensory input. Read up on sleep paralysis or mind awake body asleep. It'd probably be something like that. Except it would suck because there would be no waking up from it.

 

[yhelothar]

I'm pretty sure your brain would artificially create some kind of sensory input. Read up on sleep paralysis or mind awake body asleep. It'd probably be something like that. Except it would suck because there would be no waking up from it.

Good point. Sensory isolation studies confirms this as well. Subjects begin to hallucinate after a day or so.

 

[wuliheron]

There are clear stages of sensory deprivation including one stage where people report having hallucinations of cartoon figures. In the final stage they report seeing an endless parade of perfectly symmetrical objects.

This could be a kind of last ditch survival mechanism. Infants trapped by earthquakes, for example, will cry for several hours but, when no one comes, they go to sleep and conserve their energy enough they can survive 10 days without food and water.

 

[tommo123]

Any info on the isolated monkey brain? This wikipage suggests guinea pig brain was the highest order of complexity isolated.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolated_brain

I have read about the head transplant though.

As for what one would experience, they would definitely still feel their body, although be blind and deaf.

Amputees still feel their lost limb. This is due to the fact that the representation for that limb is still in the brain, so they will have what is called a phantom limb.

There are no sensory nerve endings on the brain, so you wouldn't feel anything if someone touched your brain. Brain surgery is actually done with general anesthesia to the head. The brain surgeon will use electrodes to prod at various areas and ask what the patient experiences to pinpoint the exact location to operate on. It's really quite interesting! They can prod at your hippocampus(memory), and you'll re-experience various parts of your life.

Senses can be simulated by electrodes on the somatosensory cortex. Recording electrodes on the motor cortex can determine the person's motor intentions. For the auditory cortex, we've mapped out the frequencies to the corresponding brain regions, and can basically play sounds that way(although crudely).
We're able to crudely draw a picture with vision now as well!
http://mashable.com/2011/09/23/scientists-brain-visual-memories/

the best i found on google quickly was:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-426765/TV-programme-reveals-REAL-Frankensteins.html

ooh, actually
http://science.discovery.com/tv/dark-matters/episodes/episode-guide-03.html

FULL BODY TRANSPLANT: In 1971, in the culmination of a series of gruesome experiments, neurosurgeon Dr. Robert White successfully transplanted the head of one rhesus monkey onto the decapitated body of another. A devout Catholic, White believed the techniques could one day save human souls when their bodies gave out. But would it ever have worked? And would we tolerate today the level of unnecessary animal cruelty that he believed acceptable?

very freaky. i mean what could happen to your mind if this was done to you is beyond imagining. i mean we're getting to a point now of pluggin cameras into brains and stuff right? imagine being wheeled into an OR, then darkness till someone plugs a camera into your visual cortex (or whatever they do) and feeds you sights. 😵

 

[lord_emperor]

the best i found on google quickly was:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-426765/TV-programme-reveals-REAL-Frankensteins.html

ooh, actually
http://science.discovery.com/tv/dark-matters/episodes/episode-guide-03.html



very freaky. i mean what could happen to your mind if this was done to you is beyond imagining. i mean we're getting to a point now of pluggin cameras into brains and stuff right? imagine being wheeled into an OR, then darkness till someone plugs a camera into your visual cortex (or whatever they do) and feeds you sights. 😵

One step closer to cyborg immortality, just hope it's possible before I die.

 

[tommo123]

wont stop brain illnesses though will it? your nutty brain would now be in a metal shell 😱

no sex again? eek!

 

[lord_emperor]

wont stop brain illnesses though will it? your nutty brain would now be in a metal shell 😱

no sex again? eek!

You haven't seen enough hentai.

 

[William Gaatjes]

I just watched the movie "Xfiles, I want to believe".

Spoiler

Similar plot

 

[William Gaatjes]

Good point. Sensory isolation studies confirms this as well. Subjects begin to hallucinate after a day or so.

I always wonder how the brain does it. I have always assumed that the brain does this by lowering the threshold that neurons need before the neurons start firing along the axon. Of course it depends on the location and function of the neurons if the threshold is lowered.

From an electronic perspective, an individual neuron could be a schmitt trigger input with adjustable level. The input(dendrite) would be a (resistor capacitor) integrator. the capacitor is being charged until the schmitt trigger fires. The output is the axon.

A neuron with more inputs or more dendrites, could have a summing opamp where each dendrite itself is an integrator rc network. The R and the C can be changed in value to determine priority. This would be similar as neurotransmitters modifying or even blocking the threshold of neuron inputs.
Then we have individual rc integrators connected to the inputs of a summing opamp. And the output of the summing opamp is connected to the input of a schmitt trigger.

Imagine that we can also individually set the gain for each input of the summing opamp next aside changing the rc values and therefore changing the integrator timing constants.

Now if we apply pwm signals or timed pulse signals, the widest pwm pulse will have highest priority. Or a pulse with a fixed pulse width but a high repetition rate would have a higher priority.

What we now have is an analog system that will only respond to signal changes from sensors.

Imagine if we would have a few of these circuits where some neurons are connected in such a way that a circular electronic path is created. But there is no oscillation, it depends on sensor input.

If there is no sensor input for a while and a basic oscillation must be maintained, then the summing amplifier inside the neuron would start to increase the gain of all inputs and the neuron would lower the r and c values of all input integrators. The system becomes now highly instable and starts oscillating on it's own. Creating random patterns dependent on the individual inputs.

Can be fun to simulate with for example ltspice...
When i have some free time...

 

[JTsyo]

Doesn't the brain also get hormones and such from other parts of the body to keep itself regulated? I guess you can figure out what these should be and release it in the blood.

 

[Grooveriding]

if someone touched your brain, would you feel anything from that? if so, what would you experience it as? very few of us have had something directly touch our brains so what the hell would that be like?

There is no sensory input for touch against your brain, you literally feel nothing. Most brain surgery is conducted with the patient fully conscious.

 

[HeXen]

it would suck to get beheaded. I'm sure for something like that, it would be like drowning cause you couldnt breath..and of course can't move, so that would have to feel horrific as you gradually lose conscientiousness. Perhaps even dream like flashes of various things getting more and more erratic, not making sense until it all goes black.

but brain being kept alive, i would imagine would suck even worse. paralysed, probably hallucinate or funky dream like stuff.

 

[tommo123]

would suck as a "life in prison" deal. remove brain, keep it alive and conscious (as above with whatever hormones etc needed). no complaints either, and far less space needed per prisoner 😱

 

[Onceler]

why do that, when we are able finally record experiences just record one of somebody burning alive then put that on the prisoners and make it play repeadiatly.
Oh wait I forgot that that is what the left is going to do to us Christians unless we blaspheme the Holy Spirit-unending agony untill it happens.

 

[SsupernovaE]

 

[DrPizza]

I think you would have an out-of-body experience. 😛

 

[fralexandr]

wont stop brain illnesses though will it? your nutty brain would now be in a metal shell 😱

no sex again? eek!

the anime series ghost in the shell: stand alone complex, & 2nd gig actually talk about both of these 😵 also they have some awesome prosthetics and robots pew pew.

 

[Oric]

The brain would shut itself down to protect .. What we know as the "coma"

 

[heymrdj]

the anime series ghost in the shell: stand alone complex, & 2nd gig actually talk about both of these 😵 also they have some awesome prosthetics and robots pew pew.

I think it's quite interesting what the anime touches on. It's actually quite complex..

 

[SMOGZINN]

I always wonder how the brain does it. I have always assumed that the brain does this by lowering the threshold that neurons need before the neurons start firing along the axon. Of course it depends on the location and function of the neurons if the threshold is lowered.

Neurons are not really electric instead they are chemical in nature, although they do use differences in potential to move chemicals around. Neurons sit in a ‘ready’ position and it takes effort to stay in that state. It is like a compressed spring, if they relax it goes sprong! The reason for the hallucinations is that neurons literally get tired of holding their chemical signal and let go releasing chemicals that triggers the chain reaction that we interpret as sensation.

it would suck to get beheaded. I'm sure for something like that, it would be like drowning cause you couldnt breath..and of course can't move, so that would have to feel horrific as you gradually lose conscientiousness. Perhaps even dream like flashes of various things getting more and more erratic, not making sense until it all goes black.

but brain being kept alive, i would imagine would suck even worse. paralysed, probably hallucinate or funky dream like stuff.

Beheaded people would lose consciousness rapidly due to shock caused by the sudden massive drop in blood pressure. I doubt they have time to register much of anything.

 

[ilogik]

Apparently people can blink their eyes and form facial expressions up to 30 seconds after decapitation.

http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/10-brain-myths6.htm

 

[gevorg]

^^^

...people executed by guillotine during the revolution were asked to blink afterward, and witnesses claim that the blinking occurred for up to 30 seconds.

lol!

 

[beginner99]

Seems to fit in this thread:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_and_Mary_(short_story)