How Long Does a Human Head Actually Remain Conscious After Being Cut Off?

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Forget NDEs, what about decapitation?

How Long Does a Human Head Actually Remain Conscious After Being Cut Off?

ADAM TAYLOR, THE CONVERSATION
25 APR 2019

When Jean-Paul Marat's killer, Charlotte Corday, was executed by guillotine in 1793, a man named Francois le Gros allegedly lifted her head and slapped both cheeks. Onlookers claimed that Corday's face took on an angry expression and her cheeks became flushed. There are other reports from history of severed heads that seem to have shown signs of consciousness.
Anne Boleyn, for example, apparently tried to speak after being beheaded. But are these stories bogus or is there scientific evidence that the head can remain conscious after it has been separated from the body that sustains it?

In recent years there has been significant interest in what has been called the world's first potential human head transplant. If it were to go ahead – and that is increasingly unlikely – the transplant would push multiple boundaries of science. The most obvious one being how long and whether the head and its contents might survive following removal from its original body.

Most recently, research has shown that even after the heart stops beating there is still activity in the brain, it finishes with a final wave of activity that sweeps across the brain occurring minutes after the heart finishes beating, termed "spreading depolarisation".

The activity detected in humans in these studies is large enough to be detected by an electroencephalogram (a device measuring electrical activity in the brain).

Actually the article does mention NDEs.

I can't answer the question posed in the title. But the mention of a head transplant raises questions (other than technical/ethical). When combining parts of two humans to form a new whole, which consciousness gets to reside in the finished body? There's certainly an assumption that it is the head-end which takes precedence. But I can envisage two consciousnesses hovering in an OBE state near the body, negotiating over who will have it. Or maybe some other, third-party consciousness might be there too?

I'm not entirely serious of course, but, and I've expressed this previously, I do feel that consciousness is a whole-body phenomenon, not limited to the brain.

Actually, I’m fairly sure that transplant rejection will solve that issue fairly quickly. Likely before the patient has time to wake up. Oh, and no. I don’t think that donor similarity or anti-rejection drugs could overcome the magnitude, not in their present condition. I’m willing to bet that we may actually see Futurama-style “heads in a jar” before seeing a donor body accept a transplanted head.

Actually, I’m fairly sure that transplant rejection will solve that issue fairly quickly. Likely before the patient has time to wake up. Oh, and no. I don’t think that donor similarity or anti-rejection drugs could overcome the magnitude, not in their present condition. I’m willing to bet that we may actually see Futurama-style “heads in a jar” before seeing a donor body accept a transplanted head.

I'd say transplant rejection defers rather than answers the problem.

The idea of "heads in a jar" also doesn't address the 'whole-body consciousness' idea which I think is of interest, certainly not one to which we already have an answer. We can observe for example decapitated snakes and chickens, the snake head and chicken body continue to remain alive for some time.

I'd say transplant rejection defers rather than answers the problem.

The idea of "heads in a jar" also doesn't address the 'whole-body consciousness' idea which I think is of interest, certainly not one to which we already have an answer. We can observe for example decapitated snakes and chickens, the snake head and chicken body continue to remain alive for some time.

The brain of a chicken doesn't reside in their head, so cutting off the head won't kill them, as their brain is still fully functional.

Snakes, though? Not sure how that works.

The brain of a chicken doesn't reside in their head, so cutting off the head won't kill them, as their brain is still fully functional.

Snakes, though? Not sure how that works.

Still, are we talking about a brain as part of a physical control mechanism, or about consciousness? I don't know.

The brain of a chicken doesn't reside in their head, so cutting off the head won't kill them, as their brain is still fully functional.

I had wondered about that, and did a search for "headless chicken" earlier. The BBC has quite an informative article (with photos) on Miracle Mike the Headless Chicken, who survived his decapitation in 1945 by 18 months:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34198390

The explanation given there is the same as yours. The article says that although Mike lost pretty much all of what we'd think of as his head, 80% of his brain remained.

Actually, I’m fairly sure that transplant rejection will solve that issue fairly quickly. Likely before the patient has time to wake up. Oh, and no. I don’t think that donor similarity or anti-rejection drugs could overcome the magnitude, not in their present condition. I’m willing to bet that we may actually see Futurama-style “heads in a jar” before seeing a donor body accept a transplanted head.

What's the difference between a any other organ transplant and a head transplant?

Forget NDEs, what about decapitation?

How Long Does a Human Head Actually Remain Conscious After Being Cut Off?

ADAM TAYLOR, THE CONVERSATION
25 APR 2019



Actually the article does mention NDEs.

The article also mentions "terminal depolarization" . I've seen it twice, have you seen it?

Waiting breathlessly for Tim.