From meat-seeking vegetarians to changes in sexual preferences, some organ transplant patients report personality changes that mirror the organ donor's personality. Oh 2024 study It claims to challenge “traditional theories of memory and identity” by suggesting organs carry memories and emotions, and that the findings raise “ethical and philosophical questions” about transplantation.
In medical history, though, each are already familiar themes. The doctor J. Andrew Armour Argued that The heart holds memories and feelings in 1991. Nor is there anything recent about proposing organ transplants in that they raise ethical and philosophical questions – they've been controversial. Since their inception in the 1950s.
The study authors aren't sure by the cultural histories of organ donation, or its ethnic, religious and historical context. Without their understanding, the research – and the media coverage – can proceed. Frankenstein-style horror myths About Transplantation Already an emotional one And moral Mine field
For a long time, researchers have studied whether memories and emotions can reside in the center, and A History of Medicine and the Emotions Show why the query is vital. It is the center, the middle of the self – which is valued in all cultures. The Weight of the Heart of the Ancient Egyptians Until today Valentine's Day Cards – who speaks the emotional truth.
I'm a historian of drugs, emotions and the body. In 2010, I wrote Matters of the Heart: History, Medicine, and EmotionsA history of the emotional, physical and spiritual importance of the center. My research shows that before the appearance of scientific medicine, the center was considered the middle of emotion and memory.
English physician William Harvey 1628 Popularized model of circulatory blood – first theorized by thirteenth century Arab physician Ibn al-Nafis. replaced it Galen's 2000 year old theory That the blood was born within the liver and the body was burned.
Once the center was understood as a pump, the brain was developed into the middle of thought, memory and emotion – helped by René Descartes whose 1949 book, Emotions of the soulExplored the connection between mind and body. Gradually, this secularized view of the center became widespread – the mechanical pump model still stays. Taught in schools..
And, while some cardiologists imagine that the center—the middle of a fancy chemical system—is a straightforward organ, most prefer not to consider the center because the seat of the soul. “Then how”, a famous heart transplant surgeon asked me, “can I cut it out of a man's body?”
Not all organs are emotionally meaningful. i Research on face transplantation Faces are emotionally more essential than hearts. Faces and Hearts Express Emotions: Faces express emotions while the center beats faster when anxious or in love. It's hard to be emotional a few spleen, kidney, or small intestine. So, then, it isn't all of the organs that carry memories and meaning, but the center, specifically.
But what about xenotransplants, when non-human tissues, cells and organs are used to treat humans? Recipients of Genetically modified pig hearts Remember their time within the trough?
There is growing evidence to suggest cellular memory. exists in one form or another. – That is, cells retain details about past events which are stored outside the brain. And Basil van der Kolk believes that “The Body Keeps Score”while not scientifically proven, is familiar in trauma research, including Intergenerational Studies of Slavery And Holocaust survivors.
However, K 2024 study Provides only a summary of existing work, a few of which is barely included. Ten patientswith unclear results. The study also cites earlier, widespread anecdotal accounts that heart transplant recipients may experience changes in food, music and even sexual preferences.
For example, Claire Sylvia Craved chicken nuggetsidentical to his donor. But won't the memory of chicken nuggets clog the intestines? gave Gut is never more important In the understanding of emotion and mental illness, including schizophrenia.
Given that there's also a well-established gut-brain axis—a two-way communication system between the brain and the gut—perhaps it's less concerning the potential for organ transplants to vary patients' personalities and more scientific limitations. There is more to discuss. The medicine that divides mind and body so cleanly and with a lot trouble.
Cultural context
Memory and emotions aren't simply biological phenomena but are driven by environment, experiences and relationships. They, like beliefs concerning the heart, are informed by cultural context.
In Thailand or Japan, for instance, medical interest within the spiritual heart is more pronounced – Japan is not going to admit Brain Death by 1985 For this reason. Therefore, cross-cultural comparisons are needed to grasp the extent to which narratives of memory transfer are universal in heart transplantation.
And the study doesn't discuss the complex cultural and psychological explanation why people may feel they've modified tastes or attitudes after an organ transplant. The heart Transplant surgery is major surgery. which might evoke feelings of fear, gratitude, hope, and longing, in addition to post-traumatic stress disorder. Survivor's Crime.
The same bride He found his father's heart receptive Because she wanted him to walk her down the aisle. Patients can hearken to conversations and browse between the lines, While immunosuppressants But change can have an effect. Patients' feelings.
So, there are lots of explanation why these extraordinary stories of personality transformation exist. And they're extraordinary – A study of Austria Of the 47 heart transplant recipients, 79% had no change.
We need more discussion about organ donation – and the division of mind and body in modern medicine – but specializing in essentially the most pressing issues. Like, why there isn't any real inclusion in mental and physical health care, and the right way to change that.
Public debates about whether informed consent is working, and whether Xenotransplantation (using animal parts) And organogenesis (growing organs) is the best way forward. Another discussion that is required is about whether the hospital's responsibilities for transplant patients extend far beyond the operating theater, especially within the American context of privatized health care.
Right now, I worry about what's going to occur to UK transplant patients who might be similarly crushed by expensive drugs if we don't save the NHS. We need these discussions not only to support rigorous ethical standards and evidence-based research, but in addition to do more. Misinformation about scienceTo avoid the media Sensationalism.