The fact that brains from decapitated pigs were able to produce some activity could be a remarkable discovery.
The researchers put the brains in a BrainEx container with a computer controlled pump which circulated a secret sauce through the brain. Here's an excerpt from Pig experiment challenges assumptions around brain damage in people:
This computerized network of pumps, heaters and filters controlled the flow, temperature and constituents of a proprietary perfusate solution for six hours.
There was no evidence of the kind of neural activity that is thought to signal consciousness, or the ability to perceive the environment and experience sensations such as pain or distress. But, incredibly, BrainEx did restore and sustain circulation to major arteries, small blood vessels and capillaries, cellular responsiveness to drugs and cerebral metabolism. A drug that increases blood flow in people’s brains, for instance, dilated pig blood vessels and increased the rate of flow of the perfusate.
Some large-scale anatomical and small-scale morphological features were restored and preserved, thanks to a reduction in swelling and other changes that would otherwise have led to cell damage and cell death. Electrodes inserted into slices of brain tissue (cultured in standard medium) detected electrical activity in individual neurons; neurons fired action potentials in response to an electrical stimulus and even displayed spontaneous synaptic activity. All of this was detected at normal body temperature.
All the articles are quick to assert that the results did not display any form of consciousness. That was surely an attempt to divert any ethical scrutiny. But the reason for the lack of consciousness may be because the chemicals contained enough channel blockers to prevent it. Here's an excerpt from Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body:
However, it could also be due to chemicals the Yale team added to the blood replacement to prevent swelling, which also severely dampen the activity of neurons. “You have to understand that we have so many channel blockers in our solution,” Sestan told the NIH. “This is probably the explanation why we don’t get [any] signal.”
Anyway, the potential, if this works on humans, is big. And the comedy potential -- how long will it take for the joke writers for those lame late night political comedy shows to come up with a Donald Trump joke with a dead pig brain theme?
Related reading:
Pig experiment challenges assumptions around brain damage in people
Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body
Neuroscientists just brought pig brain cells back to life, changing our view of death
Scientists restore some brain cell functions in pigs four hours after death
Pig brains partially revived four hours after death
Scientists Restore Some Function In The Brains Of Dead Pigs
Pig brains partially revived hours after death—what it means for people
Dead pig brains bathed in artificial fluid showed signs of cellular life
A dead pig's brain was brought back to life, sort of.
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2:26 PM 4/18/2019
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