Medical No Body, No Problem: Can a Head Survive?

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The discussion centers around the hypothetical scenario of sustaining life for a decapitated head through advanced technology. It explores the idea of using machines to pump blood and provide necessary inputs to the brain, particularly the medulla oblongata, which regulates vital functions. However, the consensus acknowledges that current technology cannot interface a head with a machine effectively. The conversation touches on ethical considerations, emphasizing that maintaining a body without the possibility of revival raises serious medical ethics concerns, as brain death is typically considered the end of life. Some participants reference cultural works, such as the film "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" and Roald Dahl's stories, to illustrate the fascination with this concept. The discussion also briefly mentions the idea of transferring consciousness to artificial circuits, questioning the ethics of funding such endeavors if they do not yield practical benefits.
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This may be an absurd question partially due to the fact that I don't know a lot about biology. But is it possible to sustain life for a person who lost his head. What I mean, is a machine that pumps blood and supplies the head with everything it needs to keep surviving. From the top of my head, I can only thing of blood and information from the nervous system as being an input to the head from the body.
 
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I don't think with present technology we can interface a head to a machine. But if you duplicate the necessary conditions as provided by rest of the body, then I don't see why not.
 
The brain (medulla oblongata) controls blood pressure, respirations and heartbeat, for example. The headless body will not survive long.

Keeping bodies alive when there is absolutely no way to "wake them" violates medical ethics, anyway.
 
Brain-death means dead.
 
I think bassplayer is asking if a head can be kept alive, not the body.

There is an old scifi classic that played with this idea: The Brain That Wouldn't Die. Now public domain.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6660611491774828467

That movie scared the bejeesuz out of me when I was a kid. :biggrin:
 
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Yes I did mean the head being alive and not the body. I realize its not possible but thought it would be interesting if someday it would be.
 
You may read Roald Dahl's classic short story on that theme..
 
jim mcnamara said:
Keeping bodies alive when there is absolutely no way to "wake them" violates medical ethics, anyway.
Why?
I see absolutely nothing unethical (in principle) in maintaining an individual's mental existence beyond the duration of his or her body's existence (for example, transferring the thoughts etc onto artificial circuits, creating a soul-bank).

It MIGHT be unethical to demand of others to pay the upkeep of such machinery if the disembodied souls would not be able to provide services of various kinds to those others.
 

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