In Chapter 1, “The Science of Animal Dreams,” author David M. Peña-Guzmán relays the history of researchers digging into the mental realities of nonhuman brains.
The National Academies’ report touches on ethical issues raised by new technologies such as brain organoids and human-animal chimeras, and suggests that current regulatory oversight is sufficient.
Inserting human “mini-brains” into rodents has the potential to broaden scientists’ understanding of neurological disease, but raises quandaries about consciousness.