I’m a long way from being an expert neuroscientist, but as far as I can tell the mechanism under which neural change happens essentially involves a few physical changes:
1) Myelination—the Myelin coating over the Axon of a neuron grows, making the Axon conduct it’s signal more powerfully and quickly
2) Change in number and distribution of neurotransmitter receptors in the dendrites of the neuron. Obviously the more of them you have, the more likely the neuron is to fire in the presence of the transmitter which fits that receptor.
3) Change in the number and distribution of vesicles which release neurotransmitters in the Axon Terminal. When the neuron fires, the vesticles in it’s Axon terminal’s release their load of neurotransmitters. Again, the more of them you have the stronger the signal to make the neuron the other side of the synapse fire.
4) The actual path the Axon’s and Dentrites take, snaking from one cell to the next. Litterally the ‘wiring’.
There may well be other changes to the neural structure which change the way it behaves, but these seem to be the major mechanisms. Interestingly, a neuron firing tends not only to release neurotrasmitters from it’s vesticles, but also to change the structure of the neuron, make it grow more receptors etc
So does Cryonics actually preserve these things?
I’m not in a position to tell. If the cell walls were really being burst, then no, I doubt that the number and distribution of vesticles and receptors would be preserved since those things are built into the cell walls. My impression was that proper cryopreservation did indeed store the cells intact though.
If the cells are stored intact, including the position of the receptors and releasors in the cell walls at each end of every branch of the axons in the neurons, then I think this seems likely to be where the brain’s long-term state is stored.
There’ll doubtless also be short-term memories which are just feedback loops of signals travelling around the brain. They’ll be lost, I would think, just as they were lost in my brother when he spent a few weeks in a coma and remembered nothing until the day before he got beaten up.
Course, I’m nowhere near qualified to really judge either. All I’ve done is read a bit.
I signed up for the Alcor UK mail-list at the beginning of the year. It’s pretty much silent though. As far as I can tell, shipping your dead body to the US is the only way it’s really gonna work. I fear that makes it much less viable here than there.
If the topic is the technical plausibility of cryonics then this is on-topic, but I’m hoping to focus a little more narrowly than that, on the specific subject of existing writing that argues against cryonics, its accuracy and quality, and what we can infer from that.
Heard back from the guy I emailed. Sounds like the meeting next month is mostly for folks who are signed up already, with more policy and practice stuff than enrolment and talk about the actual process.
I’ve asked him if he’ll either do a Q&A here on exactly what UK folks would have to do, or else suggest someone who will.
Seems like it’d be a lot of effort to trek up to Sheffield for just the answers to some questions.
Yeah, I can’t help on finding stuff written on cryo though I’m afraid. That’s the topics it’d have to address to have much meaning to me: Whether or not the distribution of those proteins in the cell membrane are stored or destroyed. It might still not work even if it saves those things, but if it doesn’t save those things it’s not got a chance.
There’s some kinda cryonics UK meeting next month which I’d half planned to think about going to. Will give it more thought when I get back from a work-trip next week.
{EDIT: Actually, I’ll email ’em now and see what the score is]
I’m a long way from being an expert neuroscientist, but as far as I can tell the mechanism under which neural change happens essentially involves a few physical changes:
1) Myelination—the Myelin coating over the Axon of a neuron grows, making the Axon conduct it’s signal more powerfully and quickly
2) Change in number and distribution of neurotransmitter receptors in the dendrites of the neuron. Obviously the more of them you have, the more likely the neuron is to fire in the presence of the transmitter which fits that receptor.
3) Change in the number and distribution of vesicles which release neurotransmitters in the Axon Terminal. When the neuron fires, the vesticles in it’s Axon terminal’s release their load of neurotransmitters. Again, the more of them you have the stronger the signal to make the neuron the other side of the synapse fire.
4) The actual path the Axon’s and Dentrites take, snaking from one cell to the next. Litterally the ‘wiring’.
There may well be other changes to the neural structure which change the way it behaves, but these seem to be the major mechanisms. Interestingly, a neuron firing tends not only to release neurotrasmitters from it’s vesticles, but also to change the structure of the neuron, make it grow more receptors etc
So does Cryonics actually preserve these things?
I’m not in a position to tell. If the cell walls were really being burst, then no, I doubt that the number and distribution of vesticles and receptors would be preserved since those things are built into the cell walls. My impression was that proper cryopreservation did indeed store the cells intact though.
If the cells are stored intact, including the position of the receptors and releasors in the cell walls at each end of every branch of the axons in the neurons, then I think this seems likely to be where the brain’s long-term state is stored.
There’ll doubtless also be short-term memories which are just feedback loops of signals travelling around the brain. They’ll be lost, I would think, just as they were lost in my brother when he spent a few weeks in a coma and remembered nothing until the day before he got beaten up.
Course, I’m nowhere near qualified to really judge either. All I’ve done is read a bit.
I signed up for the Alcor UK mail-list at the beginning of the year. It’s pretty much silent though. As far as I can tell, shipping your dead body to the US is the only way it’s really gonna work. I fear that makes it much less viable here than there.
If the topic is the technical plausibility of cryonics then this is on-topic, but I’m hoping to focus a little more narrowly than that, on the specific subject of existing writing that argues against cryonics, its accuracy and quality, and what we can infer from that.
BTW: I too am in the UK and having real trouble!
Heard back from the guy I emailed. Sounds like the meeting next month is mostly for folks who are signed up already, with more policy and practice stuff than enrolment and talk about the actual process.
I’ve asked him if he’ll either do a Q&A here on exactly what UK folks would have to do, or else suggest someone who will.
Seems like it’d be a lot of effort to trek up to Sheffield for just the answers to some questions.
Hopefully he’ll say yes :)
Yeah, I can’t help on finding stuff written on cryo though I’m afraid. That’s the topics it’d have to address to have much meaning to me: Whether or not the distribution of those proteins in the cell membrane are stored or destroyed. It might still not work even if it saves those things, but if it doesn’t save those things it’s not got a chance.
There’s some kinda cryonics UK meeting next month which I’d half planned to think about going to. Will give it more thought when I get back from a work-trip next week.
{EDIT: Actually, I’ll email ’em now and see what the score is]