Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

The Human Brain - Chemically Fixed And Embedded In Plastic

Is it possible to use standard chemical fixation and plastic embedding techniques to preserve the synaptic connectivity of an entire human brain?

This question is asked by The Brain Preservation Foundation, for the following reasons:

  1. The new science of connectomics is gearing up to map the connectome, the full synaptic connectivity of an entire brain. The first major milestone for mammals will be a mouse brain and eventually, we will map an entire human brain. Development of whole brain chemical fixation and plastic embedding procedures seems an absolute prerequisite for such a scientific endeavor.
  2. Since most neuroscientists today would agree that our unique memories are written into the brain at the level of synaptic connections, successful synaptic preservation of an entire brain after clinical death would very likely preserve the memories and identities of all individuals who might wish to do so, for themselves, for their loved ones, for science, or society. There are many who would desire the option to perfectly and inexpensively preserve their brains at the nanometer scale today, for the possibility that future science might be able to read their memories or restore their full identities, as desired.

If it is workable, this method has some benefits over cryonic storage of the brain, in that chemically preserved brains can be stored at room temperature.

Futurist John Smart discusses the idea at some length in the following video.


(Futurist John Smart discusses brain preservation)

Science fiction writers have been working on different versions of this idea for a long time. I'm thinking in particular about the Laminated Mouse Brains used as space craft autopilots, as described by Cordwainer Smith in his 1962 novel Think Blue, Count Two:

"This brain isn't frozen," said Tiga-belas indignantly. "It's been laminated. We stiffened it with celluprime and then we veneered it down, about seven thousand layers. Each one has plastic of at least two molecules thickness. This mouse can't spoil. As a matter of fact, this mouse is going to keep on thinking forever. He won't think much, unless we put the voltage on him, but he'll think. And he can't spoil..."

What would it be like to interact with a brain that has been preserved in this way? In his 1984 classic Neuromancer, William Gibson describes a hardware construct, "a hardwired ROM cassette replicating a dead man's skills, obsessions, knee-jerk responses."

Philip K. Dick gave an interesting description of what it might be like to be preserved after death, but still accessible, in his 1969 masterpiece Ubik. In the story, preserved persons can experience a kind of "half-life" after death, thanks to the technology called "cold-pac":

Herbert made his way back to the cold-pac bins to search out number 3054039-B.

When he located the correct party he scrutinized the lading report attached. It gave only fifteen days of half-life remaining. Not very much, he reflected; automatically he pressed a portable protophason amplifier into the transparent plastic hull of the casket, tuned it, and listened at the proper frequency for indication of cephalic activity...

The customer seated himself facing the casket, which steamed in its envelope of cold-pack; he pressed an earphone against the side of his head and spoke firmly into the microphone: "Flora, dear, can you hear me?"
(Read more about Dick's cold-pac)

Via The Brain Preservation Foundation via Kurzweil AI.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/18/2012)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Medical ")

Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'

Octopus Suckers Inspire Transdermal Patches
'...a capsule which he placed against his wrist.' - Philip K. Dick, 1960.

'Droplet' Battery Microscale Power Pack
'...a power pack the size of a pea.' - Alfred Bester, 1956.

Who Needs Asimov's 'Proteus' When You Can Have Pangolins?
'The Proteus was still falling, still shrinking...' - Isaac Asimov, 1966.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Wearable Energy Harvester
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'

Drones Participate In Buddhist Rites
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'

Anna Indiana AI Singer-Songwriter
'She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents'

Video Manicuring ala Schismatrix
'The program raced up the screen one scan line at a time'

'Feel the AGI' OpenAI Leader Now OpenWorship
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'

NASA Tests Prototype Europa Lander
Why have legs if they don't walk around?

Tailsitter Drone Aircraft For SAR
'...it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair.'

Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'

Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...'

Yamaha Motoroid 2 No Handlebars Self-Balancing Motorcycle
'He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace...'

San Francisco Autobus
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street...'

Should Your Car Decide If You Can Drive?
'Okay. Maybe the car was right...'

Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79
'the peeper did not operate by virtue of its machinery alone, but by the reaction of the brain and the body of its user...'

Honda UNI-ONE Hands-Free Wheelchair Follows 100 Year-Old Design
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed...'

EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer
'McKie held a chalf-memory stick over the dusted surface.'

Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin
'...tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.