Guest guest Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Interesting. I saw an interview with a heart transplant patient a few years ago. The patient developed a taste for beer after the transplant, even though he had never been a beer drinker in the past. When he questioned the family of the donor, they said that the donor was a beer connoisseur. - Bill Schoenbart >>>Changes in Heart Transplant Recipients That Parallel the Personalities of Their Donors >>>Paul Pearsall, Gary E. R. Schwartz and Linda G. S. Russek Abstract: It is generally assumed that learning is restricted to neural and immune systems. However, the systemic memory hypothesis predicts that all dynamical systems that contain recurrent feedback loops store information and energy to various degrees. Sensitive transplant patients may evidence personal changes that parallel the history of their donors. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether changes following heart transplant surgery parallel the history of the donors. We conducted open-ended interviews with volunteer transplant recipients, recipient families or friends, and donor families or friends, in hospitals in various parts of the country. Patients included ten recipients who had received heart or heart–lung transplants. Main outcome measures were transcripts of audiotaped interviews quoted verbatim. Two to 5 parallels per case were observed between changes following surgery and the histories of the donors. Parallels included changes in food, music, art, sexual, recreational, and career preferences, as well as specific instances of perceptions of names and sensory experiences related to the donors. The incidence of recipient awareness of personal changes in cardiac transplant patients is unknown. The effects of the immunosuppressant drugs, stress of the surgery, and statistical coincidence are insufficient to explain the findings. We suggest that cellular memory, possibly systemic memory, is a plausible explanation for these parallels. .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 1, 2006 Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 I liked the movie 24 Grams where Sean Penn goes a little overboard with this concept after getting a heart transplant. He gets obsessed with the donor's widow. Pretty weird and cool film. doug , Bill Schoenbart <plantmed2@g...> wrote: > > Interesting. I saw an interview with a heart transplant patient a few years > ago. The patient developed a taste for beer after the transplant, even > though he had never been a beer drinker in the past. When he questioned the > family of the donor, they said that the donor was a beer connoisseur. > > - Bill Schoenbart > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 1, 2006 Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 I have heard the same story in regard to a liver transplant.. -Jason > > > On Behalf Of Bill Schoenbart > Saturday, December 31, 2005 11:42 PM > > Re: Digest Number 2675 > > Interesting. I saw an interview with a heart transplant patient a few > years > ago. The patient developed a taste for beer after the transplant, even > though he had never been a beer drinker in the past. When he questioned > the > family of the donor, they said that the donor was a beer connoisseur. > > - Bill Schoenbart > > > >>>Changes in Heart Transplant Recipients That Parallel the Personalities > of > Their Donors > > >>>Paul Pearsall, Gary E. R. Schwartz and Linda G. S. Russek > Abstract: It is generally assumed that learning is restricted to neural > and > immune systems. However, the systemic memory hypothesis predicts that all > dynamical systems that contain recurrent feedback loops store information > and energy to various degrees. Sensitive transplant patients may evidence > personal changes that parallel the history of their donors. The objective > of > this study was to evaluate whether changes following heart transplant > surgery parallel the history of the donors. We conducted open-ended > interviews with volunteer transplant recipients, recipient families or > friends, and donor families or friends, in hospitals in various parts of > the > country. Patients included ten recipients who had received heart or > heart-lung transplants. Main outcome measures were transcripts of > audiotaped > interviews quoted verbatim. Two to 5 parallels per case were observed > between changes following surgery and the histories of the donors. > Parallels > included changes in food, music, art, sexual, recreational, and career > preferences, as well as specific instances of perceptions of names and > sensory experiences related to the donors. The incidence of recipient > awareness of personal changes in cardiac transplant patients is unknown. > The > effects of the immunosuppressant drugs, stress of the surgery, and > statistical coincidence are insufficient to explain the findings. We > suggest > that cellular memory, possibly systemic memory, is a plausible explanation > for these parallels. > . > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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