There are two main explanations for personality changes after organ transplantation. One is the psychological impact of the emotional roller coaster of the experience, and the other is the biological impact of hormones and, in some cases, cellular memory from the donor organ.More research is needed to clearly understand how transplantation affects personality, but this knowledge can help future recipients prepare for potential changes.
Personality changes after heart transplantation have received considerable attention since the beginning of transplantation. In one case, a person who hated classical music developed a passion for the genre after receiving the musician's heart. The recipient later died, still holding the violin case. In another case, a 45-year-old man said that since he received the heart of a 17-year-old boy, he loves wearing headphones and listening to loud music, something he had never done before the transplant. Ta. Recent research suggests that heart transplant recipients may not be the only ones who experience personality changes. These changes can occur after transplantation of any organ.
What can explain this?
One suggestion is that this may be a placebo effect, where the overwhelming joy of receiving a new life gives the person a brighter personality. Other transplant recipients suffer from bouts of guilt, depression, and other psychological problems that may also be seen as personality changes. However, there is some evidence to suggest that these personality changes are not all psychological. Biology may also play a role. Cells in transplanted organs perform their expected functions, such as heart cells beating, kidney cells filtering, and liver cells metabolizing, but they also have roles elsewhere in the body.
Many organs and their cells release hormones or signaling molecules that have effects locally or elsewhere in the body. Mind seems to be most commonly associated with changes in personality. This chamber releases peptide hormones such as “atrial natriuretic peptide'' and “brain natriuretic peptide,'' which help regulate fluid balance in the body by influencing the kidneys.
It also plays a role in electrolyte balance and suppresses activity in the part of the nervous system responsible for the fight-or-flight response. The cells responsible for this are located in the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the part of the brain responsible for everything from homeostasis (balancing biological systems) to mood.
The donor organ therefore has a different base level of hormone and peptide production than the source organ, and can alter the recipient's mood and personality through the substances released. It has been shown that natriuretic peptide levels increase after transplantation and do not return to normal. Some of the increase is probably a response to the trauma of the surgery, but that doesn't explain everything.
memories stored outside the brain
The body stores memories in the brain. We access them when we think, but they can also be triggered by sight or smell. However, memory is fundamentally a neurochemical process, in which nerves transmit impulses to each other and exchange special chemicals (neurotransmitters) at their interfaces.
During transplant surgery, many of the nerves that control organ function are severed and cannot be reconnected, but this does not mean that the nerves within the organ will not function. In fact, there is evidence that partial recovery can occur a year after surgery. These neurochemical effects and interactions can affect the recipient's nervous system, cause physiological responses, and influence the recipient's personality according to memories from the donor.
We know that two years after the transplant, cells from the donor are circulating in the recipient's body and the donor's DNA can be found in the recipient's body. This again raises the question of where the DNA goes and what it does. One of the things it does is stimulate the immune response. It is known that long-term, low-level inflammation can alter personality traits such as extraversion and conscientiousness, so these immune responses may be sufficient to cause personality changes. Regardless of which mechanism, or combination of mechanisms, is responsible, further investigation is needed in this area of research to help recipients understand the physical and psychological changes that may occur following surgery.
(The author works at Lancaster University)
