page_title: Isolated brain
section_title: Film and television
hierarchical_section_title: Isolated brain / In fiction / Film and television
caption_attribution_description: English: Theatrical poster for the film The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)
context_page_description: An isolated brain is a brain kept alive in vitro, either by perfusion or by a blood substitute, often an oxygenated solution of various salts, or by submerging the brain in oxygenated artificial cerebrospinal fluid. It is the biological counterpart of brain in a vat. A related concept, attaching the brain or head to the circulatory system of another organism, is called a head transplant. An isolated brain, however, is more typically attached to an artificial perfusion device rather than a biological body.
  The brains of many different organisms have been kept alive in vitro for hours, or in some cases days. The central nervous system of invertebrate animals is often easily maintained as they need less oxygen and to a larger extent get their oxygen from CSF; for this reason their brains are more easily maintained without perfusion. Mammalian brains, on the other hand, have a much lesser degree of survival without perfusion and an artificial blood perfusate is usually used.
  For methodological reasons, most research on isolated mammalian brains has been done with guinea pigs.
context_section_description: Isolated brains also appeared in Star Trek.  In the episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion", the Providers are disembodied brains that kidnap individuals in order to force them to fight against each other.  Later, in the episode "Spock's Brain", Mr. Spock's brain is removed by a native of the Sigma Draconis system in order to serve as the Eymorg Controller. Due to Vulcan physiology, Spock's body remains alive. The crew of the Enterprise follow an ion trail to Sigma Draconis VI where, using the knowledge of the Eymorg, Dr. Leonard McCoy is able to restore Spock's brain to his body.
  Isolated brains also appear in The Wild Wild West.  In the episode "The Night of the Druid's Blood", one of James West's old tutors is killed and West discovers that it is Dr Tristam who has removed the brains from the bodies and is forcing them to work for him.  Finally West manages to communicate to the isolated brains that if they all work together they can destroy Dr Tristam and have peace.
  In the 1970s Doctor Who serial The Brain of Morbius, Solon, an authority on micro-surgical techniques, transplants Morbius's brain into an artificial translucent brain cylinder casing.  Additionally, in the modern Doctor Who series (2005–present), the recurring antagonists known as the Cybermen are presented as human brains (in one instance, an entire human head) encased in mechanical exoskeletons, connected by an artificial nervous system; this is ostensibly done as an "upgrade" from the comparatively fragile human body to a far more durable and longer-lasting shell. Another group of modern Doctor Who foes, the Toclafane, were revealed to be human heads encased in flying, weaponized spheres, the final forms of humans from the far future who turned to desperate measures in order to survive the conditions of the impending heat death of the universe.
  In the Doctor Who episodes "The End of the World" and "New Earth", Lady Cassandra is an isolated brain attached to a canvas of skin with a face.
  The mad scientist in the French film The City of Lost Children has a "brain in a vat" for a companion.
  In RoboCop 2, the brain, eyes, and much of the nervous system of the Detroit drug lord Cain is harvested by OCP officials to use in their plans for an upgraded "RoboCop 2" cyborg. These systems are stored in a vat shortly after the surgery, where the disembodied Cain can still see the remains of his former body being discarded before being placed into the fitted robotic skeleton.
  Observer from Mystery Science Theater 3000 carries his brain in a Petri dish.
  In the animated series Futurama, numerous technological advances have been made by the 31st century. The ability to keep heads alive in jars was invented by Ron Popeil (who has a guest cameo in "A Big Piece of Garbage") and also apparently Dick Clark of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve fame still doing the countdown in the year 2999, has resulted in many political figures and celebrities being active; this became the writers' excuse to feature and poke fun at celebrities in the show. In "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" the Big Brain, an isolated brain and leader of the Brainspawn, is outwitted by Fry. The brain's disciples have been attempting to dumb down every lifeform they meet to enable them to steal all the universe's data and hoard it in the infosphere.
  In the animated series Evil Con Carne, the main character Hector Con Carne was reduced to a brain and a stomach in two jars. Both of them are able to move and talk, even without jars. Hector's brain sometimes controls the bear Boskov while Hector's stomach digests parts of Boskov's food.
  The science fantasy television series LEXX includes a robot head containing human brain tissue. Also whenever the current Divine Shadow body dies his brain is removed and placed in a device that allows him to speak and kept with rest of the Divine Predecessors.
  In the movie Crank High Voltage, Ricky Verona’s head is being kept alive in a tank to watch his older brother El Huron kill Chev Chelios the main protagonist of ””Crank,. The tank is later destroyed by a gunshot and Ch
caption: A monstrous brain in a jar, in a poster for The Brain That Wouldn't Die
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