The pig brain has survived outside the body for five hours using a new machine developed by scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
The newly developed system allows the brain to be isolated from the rest of the body using a super-intelligent artificial pump, which is responsible for its blood**.
To simulate real blood circulation, the device can cleverly adjust the composition of the blood and adjust its flow based on a range of variables, including blood pressure, volume, temperature, oxygenation, and nutrition. This is achieved through a computerized algorithm that keeps a close eye on blood pressure, flow, pulsation, and other factors.
In this study, the system was tested on the brains of domesticated pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus). Once connected to the device, brain activity is monitored using continuous electrocorticogram and deep brain electrode recordings.
According to the researchers, brain activity and other measurements barely changed during the time the brain was isolated from the rest of the animal's body for up to five hours.
This new approach allows research to be independent of the body's brain, allowing us to answer physiological questions in a way that has never been done before," study author and professor of neurology, pediatrics and physiology at UT Southwestern University Dr. Juan Pascual said in a statement.
Why, you may ask? Well, the scientists behind the device believe that it could allow researchers to understand how certain aspects of the brain work without being influenced by the body.
They have used their system to understand the effects of low blood sugar on the brain. Studying this in a typical animal model is often tricky because the body can partially compensate for hypoglycemia by altering metabolism, which in turn alters the brain. Without the body, such problems would not arise.
Researchers are also interested in using the device as a cardiopulmonary bypass system, a "heart-lung machine" that keeps blood flowing during heart surgery and transplantation. Dr Pascual said the device had been patented to test its effectiveness for the job.
This research team is not the first to come up with the idea of isolating the brain from the body. Other scientists have previously isolated the heads of dogs and monkeys.
Who knows where this field of study will go, but perhaps the old sci-fi trope of "brains in a vat" isn't as fantastical as once thought.
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.