To function, the brain requires oxygen, nutrients and stimulii: these could be provided by external mechanical support.
- Could we remove a brain from a body and keep it "alive" that way? (serious question)
- Assuming we could, how long could the brain survive?
2007-09-23 23:50:29 · 16 answers · asked by just "JR" 7 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
Of course. Any organ can be kept alive outside the body as long as its basic requirements are met. The problem is that the brain has the consistency of custard, so taking it outside its protective shell and re-making all the many many blood and nerve connections would be an incredibly difficult task.
You'd also need to have the spinal cord too though, as it is unclear exactly the part this plays in the brain's activities. i.e. where the brain stem ends and the nerve pathways begin.
The main problem is the sheer volume of electric connections that would need to me made. Impossible for the foreseeable future, certainly.
2007-09-24 00:36:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
That is a very good question and there is no definitive answer. It really comes down to the question as to whether of not a brain needs embodiment to have conciousness. Embodiment doesn't have to be a conventional organic body. For the AI arguments you can goto Turing and the Turing Test (he published a couple of papers on the subject) and for the counter arguments look at Searle and the Chinese Room arguments. Ther eisn't room or time to go into these kind of things here, but that gives you the starting point from AI. From philosophy you probably need to go back to Descarte and dualism and work your way forward from there through Hobbs. So, while the question has not been answered, my personal view is that you need embodiment and situatedness in order to have a conciousness. Whether an artificial environment could supply these or not has been covered by science fiction for the past 100 years. Could a brain be kept alive in an artificial environment, then sure, that's just plumbing, we might not be there yet, but given a concerted effort it shouldn't take too long. Could the conciousness live like that i doubt it.
2016-04-05 22:44:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, but I do not know how long. But I know it will survive. The main thing is oxygen for brains and of course some "food". If it gets everything it needs, it will survive with no doubt. In addition there can not be any injures or etc to interrupt work.
2007-09-25 01:50:45 · answer #3 · answered by kolibrizas 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oxygen and nutrients are all that are required
yes, in theory, you could keep a brain alive within an artificial cranium.
how long? how long is a piece of string? indefinitely, I would say - or as long as a brain would survive in a healthy body
2007-09-23 23:56:51 · answer #4 · answered by Vinni and beer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe not, but a body can survive without a brain.... Gordon Brown is a classic example.
2007-09-24 00:10:00 · answer #5 · answered by Polo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Have u not seen the man with 2 brains?... lol
I suppose so.. I have always wondered if you were to get a brain transplant would you have the previous owners' thoughts and memories?.. I would love to have my husbands brain for a bit! lol....
2007-09-24 00:00:10 · answer #6 · answered by gellygoggles 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It must work the other way because you have survived without a brain
2007-09-23 23:57:20 · answer #7 · answered by fosyfos 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What you ask is the stuff of science fiction but what will the brain do outside the body?
2007-09-23 23:57:02 · answer #8 · answered by Swamy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am sure I saw a documentary where this had been done, but not with a human brain of course....one of those weird experiments that scientists do on animals.
2007-09-23 23:58:11 · answer #9 · answered by Knownow't 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course it would survive but would you want it to be your brain?
2007-09-23 23:55:53 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋