Disembodied pig brains could be the next great revolution in neuroscience. Find out how scientists kept a pig's brain alive while separated from its body.
But what is animal consciousness in terms of being self-aware? Pigs are damn smart, but I’m not sure they’re on the list of animals that exhibit self-awareness.
Also, the article merely states that blood flow to the brain was interrupted, not that the head was removed, which, I’m guessing, is why brain activity was largely unchanged.
If the head was still attached to the spine, then I would assume that all the nerves were still functioning normally. As normal as they would in an anesthetized pig that is, with no interference from outside stimulus. In this study, the animal was quietly sleeping. I can’t imagine any reputable doctor of science today doing such a thing to a conscious animal or human.
And, in one of the linked articles, it talks about how this research can further work on better life saving techniques for humans by developing much better blood and oxygen machines used during complicated surgeries.
So long as the animal is treated respectfully, I have no issue in using animals for research that help human medicine.
I might have let my imagination run a bit rampant there, for some reason I was thinking of a completely detached brain. but what you said makes more sense.
But what is animal consciousness in terms of being self-aware? Pigs are damn smart, but I’m not sure they’re on the list of animals that exhibit self-awareness.
Also, the article merely states that blood flow to the brain was interrupted, not that the head was removed, which, I’m guessing, is why brain activity was largely unchanged.
If the head was still attached to the spine, then I would assume that all the nerves were still functioning normally. As normal as they would in an anesthetized pig that is, with no interference from outside stimulus. In this study, the animal was quietly sleeping. I can’t imagine any reputable doctor of science today doing such a thing to a conscious animal or human.
And, in one of the linked articles, it talks about how this research can further work on better life saving techniques for humans by developing much better blood and oxygen machines used during complicated surgeries.
So long as the animal is treated respectfully, I have no issue in using animals for research that help human medicine.
As far as animal consciousness is concerned, the consensus now seems to be that many animals have some kind of consciousness, including non-mammals such as birds. e.g. http://fcmconference.org/img/CambridgeDeclarationOnConsciousness.pdf
I might have let my imagination run a bit rampant there, for some reason I was thinking of a completely detached brain. but what you said makes more sense.