With one groundbreaking experiment, scientists ventured into unexplored realms of neurological function.
  • Researchers in Texas crafted a device meant to help isolate the brain for scientific study.
  • By keeping the brain alive and functioning separate from the body for hours, experts believe that they can improve heart-lung bypass technology.
  • This sci-fi-like concept was first modeled in pigs, but humans could be next.

When a pig recently went under anesthesia at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, it was for anything but a routine procedure. Researchers were able to isolate blood flow to the brain, separate that brain from the rest of the body, and use a new device to keep the brain alive and functioning.

The pig brains were all on their own for five hours. And they did just fine, thanks to the new extracorporeal pulsatile circulatory control (EPCC) device.

“This novel method enables research that focuses on the brain independent of the body, allowing us to answer physiological questions in a way that has never been done,” Juan Pascual, professor at UT Southwestern, said in a statement.

  • PrincessLeiasCat
    18·
    10 months ago

    I read the article but I genuinely do not understand what happened here.

    It sounds like by “isolating the brain from the body” they just removed some of the blood flow from the body going to it and/or controlled it via algorithm?

    But all of the nerves/neurons, electrical impulses, etc, that kinda stuff the brain does - what was going on there? Was the pig basically on what we consider “life support” when someone is “brain dead” after an accident or something? Was the blood flow to the pig’s body that didn’t go to the brain like it normally does rerouted somehow?

    Can someone please explain the mechanics of this to me because obviously I’m not getting it.