keeping a live brain in a jar for reals??

D

dazzlepecs

Registered Senior Member
Would this be possible?? Maybe the arteries hooked up to a blood supply with dialysis or something?


If it was possible, how long could a consciousness survive like that? Would it not be the ultimate torture? Perhaps the eyes could be left?
 
lets see...its theoretically is possible. But the question is, are you planning to imitate signals of sensory apparatus to be transmitted to the brain in this "jar"...for example if the olfactory nerves get visual data the brain will "see" what you transmit to it. In fact we can be currently brain in the jars and this life is just whats feeded to us through all the sensory apparatus, meanwhile this body is just an illusion for us to fall for.
 
dazzlepecs said:
...If it was possible, how long could a consciousness survive like that? Would it not be the ultimate torture? Perhaps the eyes could be left?
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how would it be any different than being in a sensory depravation tank? Is that torture?
 
dazzlepecs said:
Would this be possible?? Maybe the arteries hooked up to a blood supply with dialysis or something?


If it was possible, how long could a consciousness survive like that? Would it not be the ultimate torture? Perhaps the eyes could be left?
Click to expand...

Sure, one could keep some tissue alive but not the brain as a functioning organ. In theory we could keep a functioning brain performing but no such technology avalailble today or near future.

150 years from now? Probably
 
oreodont said:
Sure, one could keep some tissue alive but not the brain as a functioning organ. In theory we could keep a functioning brain performing but no such technology avalailble today or near future.

150 years from now? Probably
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should we have live subjects currently for study to facilitate in this research? :cool:
 
dazzlepecs said:
Would this be possible?? Maybe the arteries hooked up to a blood supply with dialysis or something?


If it was possible, how long could a consciousness survive like that? Would it not be the ultimate torture? Perhaps the eyes could be left?
Click to expand...
In Ukraine I thought they did a body transplant with a human? Isn't this the same sort of thing?
 
oreodont said:
Sure, one could keep some tissue alive but not the brain as a functioning organ. In theory we could keep a functioning brain performing but no such technology avalailble today or near future.
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I agree.

I do not believe that it is possible with current technology. Even if we managed to hook up a blood supply that delivered nutrients and removed waste metabolites, I do not think we can simulate the nervous system inputs that the brain receives from the peripheral nervous systems via the spinal cord. The health and stability of neurons is dependent on their connections with other neurons. Without their synaptic connections with the spinal cord/PNS, I think that there would be widespread (if not complete) neuronal cell death.
 
The real question is WHY? We are on the verge of stopping aging, preventing many diseases and generally having whatever type of child we would want. With the advent of genetics we are just about to cross a threshold that would put nonsense like this to rest.
 
cosmictraveler said:
The real question is WHY? We are on the verge of stopping aging, preventing many diseases and generally having whatever type of child we would want. With the advent of genetics we are just about to cross a threshold that would put nonsense like this to rest.
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having extra senses! :eek: just imagine!
 
cosmictraveler said:
The real question is WHY?
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Why what?


cosmictraveler said:
We are on the verge of stopping aging...
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No we're not. What makes you think that? We're not even close to stopping aging (in humans). :bugeye:


cosmictraveler said:
...and generally having whatever type of child we would want.
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No. Once again, you're over-extrapolating current technology.


cosmictraveler said:
With the advent of genetics...
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The advent of genetics was the mid-19th century.

Edit: Gregor Mendel is credited with performing and publishing the first experiments in genetics in the mid-19th century despite not knowing anything of the existence of genes and chromosomes. However, it took another 50 years for the significance of his discoveries to be recognized, so alternatively you might say that genetics was born at the start of the twentieth century.


cosmictraveler said:
...we are just about to cross a threshold that would put nonsense like this to rest.
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What nonsense are you referring to?
 
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I really hope I'm not a brain in a jar because then I might be…THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE! Lolz for b-movie reference.
 
No we're not. What makes you think that? We're not even close to stopping aging (in humans).


We are learning about the genetic codes everyday. With that knowledge we will be able to identify the genes that make us age. It already has been found in certain animals already so it's just a matter of a few decades before we will find those genes in humans and be able to manipulate them. I'd prefer waiting for that instead of being put into a jar!

“ Originally Posted by cosmictraveler
...and generally having whatever type of child we would want. ”

No. Once again, you're over-extrapolating current technology.

Again science is very close to understanding which genes trigger aging.

“ Originally Posted by cosmictraveler
With the advent of genetics... ”

The advent of genetics was the mid-19th century.

Edit: Gregor Mendel is credited with performing and publishing the first experiments in genetics in the mid-19th century despite not knowing anything of the existence of genes and chromosomes. However, it took another 50 years for the significance of his discoveries to be recognized, so alternatively you might say that genetics was born at the start of the twentieth century.



“ Originally Posted by cosmictraveler
...we are just about to cross a threshold that would put nonsense like this to rest. ”


What nonsense are you referring to?


Genetics, if you haven't been keeping up with science.
 
A lot of these discussons revolve around the universal 'we'. What 'we' fail to realize today is that the 'we' is not goig to be a European based culture that we are familiar with and share some values. Regardless of any prohibitions we might feel are right, other cultures are goig to zoom full speed ahad ...the chinese, the Indians... or whoever. some cultures are just not going to have our hangups, resrtaints, cautions or whatever positive or negative word put on a particular path of research.

Human genetic engineering...cloning...brain kept alive and similar issues are going to decided in other parts of the world. The first head staring back from a jar isn't likely to be a white European
 
oreodont said:
A lot of these discussons revolve around the universal 'we'. What 'we' fail to realize today is that the 'we' is not goig to be a European based culture that we are familiar with and share some values. Regardless of any prohibitions we might feel are right, other cultures are goig to zoom full speed ahad ...the chinese, the Indians... or whoever. some cultures are just not going to have our hangups, resrtaints, cautions or whatever positive or negative word put on a particular path of research.

Human genetic engineering...cloning...brain kept alive and similar issues are going to decided in other parts of the world. The first head staring back from a jar isn't likely to be a white European
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Father ?
 
people often think that we only have 5 senses (though some foolish scientists say that balance is a sense). but if i was just a brain in a jar, i would still feel all emotions and thoughts, so you see.. those inner emotions and thoughts are our 6th sense. if the thought and emotion sense was turned off we wouldn't exist... we wouldn't be aware of anything..

Enmos said:
Father ?
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why hath thou forsaken me?
 
Yorda said:
people often think that we only have 5 senses (though some foolish scientists say that balance is a sense). but if i was just a brain in a jar, i would still feel all emotions and thoughts, so you see.. those inner emotions and thoughts are our 6th sense. if the thought and emotion sense was turned off we wouldn't exist... we wouldn't be aware of anything..
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Perhaps, but for how long ? lol
 
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