I know that heart transplants are around but the same can’t be said for brains. Both are organs, however the brain is a delicate and complex one more the heart. Also there’s the issue of removing it literally kills the patient since the brain is connected to the spinal cord, optic nerve & etc.

Even if it was possible under the current technology we have, would there still be limitations? How will memory transfer work if giving an Alzheimer’s patient a new mind, implanting a new one replacing the diseased one. The brain is sensitive to drops in oxygen levels (it dies when low).

The brain is the command center for a person, without one: person is dead (literally), so there’s that dilemma. You need technology similar to a cardiopulmonary bypass but for the brain to retain essential functions and information, if you want to keep the patient alive during a mind transplant.

Let’s say you managed to implant a new mind: you now have the arduous task of reconnecting every single nerve (visible and microscopic) and restoring key functions (spinal cord integration), also taking into account if the patients immune system will accept or reject that.

  • andrew0@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    2·
    1 day ago

    Your mind is your body + brain. Your behavior and all of your memories are due to how your synapses and intermediary cells were developed. Similarly, it also depends on the body chemistry.

    If you were to fully transplant a brain to a new body and correctly link all the nerves, in theory you could have the same brain in a different body. In practice, this can fail miserably due to differences in all of your sensory connections to the brain and hormone levels.

    It’s been a while since I looked into neuroscience, so there might be some things I am missing. The conclusion is that altering the chemistry around your body could change you as a person, even if your hypothalamus is the same (i.e., same memories).