Like so many scientific pursuits, this one has its roots in science fiction. A terrific trashy futuristic novel from the 70's by Lawrence Sanders called The Tomorrow File[0] features preserved heads that are kept around to spout ideas in the future, when they might become useful, among many other Brave New World-type concepts.
That internet archive version is particularly boring, isn't it. The novel is his best, if you ask me. His detective fiction didn't ever rise to that level and this was the only one he wrote in the sci-fi genre. Perhaps being relegated to the dime store novelist category in his other books prevented this from getting the attention it deserves, but it was wonderfully smarmy and prescient.
[0] https://archive.org/details/tomorrowfile0000sand_t5i1