If brain transplants were possible would the person receiving the new brain have all of the donor's thoughts a

Answer 1

The personality and experiences of the brain (i.e. those intangible traits that make each of us an individual) would persist from the "donor", as those things are primarily stored in the limbic system within the brain -- memories, learned attributes, acquired abilities, etc are all intimately related to the limbic system, and thus if brain transplants could occur, the "person" produced would be primarily the brain, as the body is more-or-less an apparatus directed by the brain.

However, I imagine that there would at least be some kind of adjustment period for dealing with a totally different body than the individual had before, somewhat analogous to how an amputee patient must learn to adjust to life with an altered or lost appendage. Such patients often report experiences of "phantom limbs", as the CNS has a great deal of trouble adapting to lost synapses and input that it once had. I suppose that a different body would produce "phantom experiences", in which certain stimuli or contextual cues could produce all kinds of distress and flashbacks to prior experiences within the past body.

It would probably be an emotional havoc for the individual, who would struggle terribly to adjust to a life so extremely foreign to everything that was once familiar. Lost in the experiential void of a different body, if you will.

Answer 2

Brain transplants would take place under strict ethical guidelines. A whole-brain transplant would be rare, if it was ever allowed and would, as has been pointed out, be more like a body transplant. There would be legal questions of identity that would need to be addressed.

Partial brain transplants will be more common once the technical problems are overcome, ultimately becoming an elective procedure in some cases, such as where two consenting individuals desire a kind of 'mental marriage'. The sale of potentially useful brain fragments, however, will never be legitimate, due to the potential for abuse.

The most common scenario will be partial transplant from a recently deceased 'donor' to an injured or diseased recipient, similar to organ transplants. These procedures will entail an extensive recovery period including counseling sessions as necessary, with the goal of restoring to an individual the ability to function.

Answer 3

Yes, he would. A bain transplant would more accurately be a "body transplant" since the individual sense of identity -- all thoughts and memories -- reside in the brain.

Answer 4

If you moved a brain from one body to another, the result would be a person in a different body, not a person with a different brain. It's the brain that determines who you are.

Answer 5

All the stored memory and personality would be the same as the donor. You would not recognize your own family and friends.

Answer 6

If it were possible to infuse artificial intelligence into the brain of every individual on earth would none of us be stupid?