Is It Possible to Keep a Brain Alive?

From stem cell research to artificial intelligence, contemporary science is often loaded with controversy. Now, Yale University neuroscientists are pushing the boundaries even further by restoring circulation to the brains of decapitated pigs, then keeping the organs alive for multiple hours. The goal is to advance scientific knowledge of the human brain, though the study raises a handful of ethical questions. While there is no evidence suggesting that the pig brains are aware of the situation, there is concern that some degree of consciousness could exist during the neuroscience experiment.

A "mind-boggling" breakthrough

The study was presented at a recent National Institutes of Health brain science ethics meeting, with head researcher Professor Nenad Sestan explaining that he and his team had experimented on over 100 pig brains. Using a combination of pumps, heaters and artificial blood, the team were able to restore circulation to the brains and maintain normal activity for up to 36 hours.  

Sestan described the findings as "mind-boggling" and stresses that if the same procedure could be replicated with human brains it could revolutionise treatments for neurological disorders. That said, they were quick to admit that the research is laden with potential ethical concerns.

"If researchers could create brain tissue in the laboratory that might appear to have conscious experiences or subjective phenomenal states, would that tissue deserve any of the protections routinely given to human or animal research subjects?", ask Sestan and his colleagues.

Scientists call for consciousness guidelines

They go on to assert that in order to advance the field of neuroscience and avoid overstepping ethical boundaries, clear-cut ways of measuring consciousness need to be developed.

Professor Colin Blakemore, of the University of London's School of Advance Study agrees, maintaining that public debate is key.

"The techniques, even to a researcher, sound pretty ghoulish - so it is very, very important that there should be a public discussion about this, and not least because the researchers who have some investment can tell the public why it would be so important to develop such techniques."

Pig brains spur immortality debate

The research also flirts with the concept of mortality, with Blakemore warning that the ability to preserve brains and transplant them into new bodies could open a whole new can of worms.

"Our planet is already overpopulated. You need space for young people and new ideas, and the notion of desperately clinging on to any mechanism possible for human beings living forever, I find very unsavoury."

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