The only thing you need the brain for with the heart is to change the pace of the heartbeat. Without the brain, the heart beats at a constant rate, as long as it gets a steady flow of oxygen and nutrients.
<!--QuoteBegin-5kyh16h91+Jul 30 2004, 08:27 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (5kyh16h91 @ Jul 30 2004, 08:27 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> The heart has it's own pacemaker. Other bodily functions we don't think about, like the movement of our digestive system, are controlled by (I believe) the medulla oblongata part of the brain. The heart, however, has a specific region that produces the electrical impulses that regulate the heartbeat. So, attach electrical wires to these areas and fire pulses of current and the heart will beat as if it were alive. Biology for the win. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Another interesing biology fact about the heart: once said electric flow is removed, individual cells that make up the heart will continue to pulsate for I think 40 hours. (It was 40 something - either days or hours, and hours seems more likely.)
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Biology for the win. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Another interesing biology fact about the heart: once said electric flow is removed, individual cells that make up the heart will continue to pulsate for I think 40 hours. (It was 40 something - either days or hours, and hours seems more likely.)