Is a Brain Transplant Possible?

There are two meanings, one is the transplantation of brain tissue (brain cell suspension transplantation and brain tissue block transplantation) and the other is the transplantation of the entire brain. These experiments are theoretically feasible, but this experiment has never been performed on humans.

Brain transplant

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There are two meanings, one is the transplantation of brain tissue (brain cell suspension transplantation and brain tissue block transplantation) and the other is the transplantation of the entire brain. These experiments are theoretically feasible, but this experiment has never been performed on humans.

Chinese name

Brain transplant

Experimental animal

Healthy Adult Taihang Mountain Tamarin 10

Preparation of suspension

Ketamine 0.5mg / kg for pregnant monkeys

Experimental animals: 10 healthy adult Tamarin monkeys ^[1]

Recipients were sacrificed at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 months, and one animal died from each group in each month for histomorphological observation. Animals sacrificed at the 6th month (1 per group) were used as the final histological observation. The dura mater in the transplantation area was thickened, about 1 ~ 3mm. After removing the dura mater, we can see that the surface of the brain has a depression with a diameter of 15mm and a depression of 2mm.

One month after transplantation, there was a clear rejection in the transplant area under the light microscope. Neurons were distributed in clusters in the center of the transplant, with round nuclei, deep staining, and even chromatin distribution. There is a large amount of infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells, and there are more multinuclear phagocytic cells and neutrophil debris. The interstitial space between the graft and the recipient's brain is edema, with new capillaries visible. Under the electron microscope, the ultrastructure of the transplanted neurons was basically normal, and more rough endoplasmic reticulum, microfilaments, and microtubules were seen in the cytoplasm, forming synaptic-like structures with peripheral nerve fibers. Chromatin is evenly distributed. Two months after transplantation, the aforementioned rejection was reduced, the number of neurons in the transplanted area was reduced, the cell body was blurred, and some nuclei were condensed. Visible scattered lymphocyte infiltration, glial cell density increased.

Three months after transplantation, the neurons

I. Timing of fetal brain tissue implantation

People on Willis

Because humans now generally think that the brain stores one person's thoughts, behaviors, and feelings, whether it is a whole brain or a brain tissue transplant, it is possible to bring one person's thoughts to another person. At present, even in heart transplantation, there is still a change in the patient's interest after transplantation, or he claims to have another person's memory. Therefore, the moral controversy caused by brain transplantation will be even greater. At present, brain tissues of dead babies or stillbirths are used to treat Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease in the western countries. However, many people oppose this operation.