Scientists working at the Southwestern Medical Center in the USA have developed a groundbreaking device that can keep a brain alive and enable it to function independently of the rest of the body.
Brain kept alive, separate from body, for 5 hours by scientists
Using ketamine, researchers successfully isolated blood flow to the brain of an anesthetized pig. A computerized algorithm was then used to maintain key physiological parameters for the brain, such as blood pressure, volume, temperature and nutrients.
Over a five-hour period, the brain exhibited minimal changes in activity despite receiving no biological input from the rest of the body. This discovery could pave the way for innovative ways to study the human brain independent of interference from other bodily functions. Additionally, this technology paves the way for brain transplantation in the future.
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The system, known as extracorporeal pulsatile circulatory control (EPCC), represents a first-of-its-kind approach. EPCC has been used in experiments to understand the effects of hypoglycemia on the brain without the confounding influence of external factors. Traditional studies of low blood sugar manipulated laboratory animals’ food intake or insulin dosages. However, these animals have natural defense mechanisms that can alter metabolism in response to such manipulations.
Isolating the brain via EPCC allowed scientists to independently study the impact of food intake, providing insights into brain function without interference from the body’s compensatory mechanisms. The researchers believe this new method will enable previously unexplored avenues of physiological research focusing on the brain.
Juan Pascual, professor of neurology, pediatrics and physiology at Southwestern’s Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, emphasized the potential of this technology: “This new method enables research focused on the brain independent of the body, allowing us to answer physiological questions in a way that has never been done before.”
The study detailing this research, titled “Maintenance of pig brain function under extracorporeal pulsatile circulatory control (EPCC),” was published in the journal Scientific Reports. If you wish, you can read the entire article here.
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