People often ask the question: “Will there ever be an opportunity to transplant the human brain? And who will it be after the brain transplant - the person whose brain was taken as a transplant, or the person whose body received a new brain?"
And finally, will the constant practice of brain transplant be the solution to the problem of the eternal life of the brain and human consciousness? This is how the scientists answer.
Angelique Bordey, MD, professor of neuroscience at Yale University School of Medicine:
1. [Is a brain transplant possible?] I don't know, but why not? Sounds creepy though. To do this, you will have to transplant not only the brain, but also the spinal cord, otherwise the person will not be able to walk.
2. [Will the person's personality and individuality be preserved?] From a psychological point of view, this will be terrible, since our brain grows and develops with our body. Therefore, the personality can change simply under the influence of psychological shock.
3. [Will this make it possible to live forever?] No. Our brains age at the same rate as the entire body. We can use artificial organs to replace the heart, lungs, kidneys … but not the brain. Otherwise, we will die of cancer or Alzheimer's disease, or some other disease caused by neurodegeneration. Or let us go down to the level of a child.
Now let's complicate the question: Do we want to live forever? What for? After all, it is the consciousness that you will die that makes us live.
Neurosurgeon Khalid M. Abbed, Professor at Yale University:
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Human brain transplant is still a long way off, but one day it will be possible. To ensure a brain transplant, it is necessary to solve the main problem - to find a way to connect the nerve fibers of the transplanted brain with the patient's own spinal cord. This is very difficult to do, and that is why severe spinal cord injuries have very serious consequences and are usually incurable.
If a brain transplant were possible, then the patient's personality would undoubtedly undergo a change, he would be more like a donor whose brain was used. The fact is that the brain, unlike the heart, is the organ that is responsible for the individual characteristics of the personality.
Neurosurgeon Konstantin Slavin, professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago:
Yes, I am convinced that the day will come when "transplant bodies" will appear, that is, a new body will be connected to the human brain (and not the brain to the body). If this happens, then it will be possible to give a person a new natural or artificial body, leaving him his "native" brain, and together with the brain to preserve his personality and individuality. This does not mean that a person can live forever, because over time, the brain ages and degrades - and I do not think that we can completely stop the aging process.
[Dr. Slavin also advised us to read the book by Russian science fiction writer Alexander Belyaev, Professor Dowell's Head.]
Yes! Neurosurgeons are optimistic about the theoretical possibility of a human brain transplant, although this is unlikely to happen in the near future. If your brain is transplanted to someone else, you will be able to maintain your individuality, although this procedure will be traumatic, unpleasant for you, and even ruin your life in general. And yet, a transplanted brain will not allow you to live forever - in fact, you need it ?! (Answer: Of course not, unless a sex robot is invented by then).