Brain Transplant

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by alxian

so the tech is nigh and the demand is unquestioned..

how much should such a procedure cost?

Enough to cover the malpractice insurance....

Cheers,
Buffy

[OpenMind5]

Idk...But I will do it for yah for a reduced price!

LOL
Op5

[McGyver]

Originally Posted by alxian

getting memories to transfer could be the most difficult part. reliving a life time within a few days of weeks might not be so easy. the clone once 'complete' would lack the memories of its former host.

perhaps if we had a way now to make hardcopies of our memories we could avoid that loss during body transferences?

We actually have technological capability now. It would involve today's powerful PDAs, with not yet released "voice to text" on board PDA software for quick archiving and searching of files, and a couple of years of patience and committment to inputing the information.

I know this stuff well first hand, as I lost a good deal of memory after a 1992 auto accident and brain injury. I had to use antiquated means to rebuild my memory, and by 1996, began to research AI prospects and later earned a U.S. patent on a device.

Clearly, memory is the biggest problem with the human brain, and when we introduce measures to improve memory, we elevate neurocognitive skills and human potential. I wrote an interesting web section on this topic for my site at www.diaceph.com/AITechnology.htm.

[Deepak Modak]

k

[InfiniteNow]

What I feel is missing from this thread is the understanding that the brain is simply a cog in the overall being. Consciousness is not located (I propose) in some corner of the brain, but the sum total of the body, and the space and time providing context for it.

Cutting off the hand of a master guitar player and sewing it onto my arm does not make me a master guitar player. Why would switching brains be any different?

Please note, I recognize that I am significantly overstating my case, but I think it will make for interesting discussion all the same.


Cheers.

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

Consciousness is not located (I propose) in some corner of the brain, but the sum total of the body,

There’s a lot of evidence that that-which-is-you is located in your brain, though not any particular small region of it.

People who have had all of their limbs amputated report no sense of “ceasing to be themselves”, other than the obvious regret for the loss of physical capability. Similarly, people have had nearly every major organ other than the brain removed report no loss of sense of self.

Contrastingly, people who have had significant injury to the brain, either traumatic (eg: bullet through the head), insulting (eg: loss of oxygen supply due to drowning or stroke), or degenerative (eg: Alzheimer's disease ) often report such a feeling, or may suffer changes in personality that cause people who known them to report that they are no longer the same (or any) person.

It’s not unreasonable to assume that a person who’s brain was transplanted from one body to another, were such a surgery possible, would, with the vocal apparatus of the replacement body, report about the same feeling as any transplant recipient.

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by CraigD

Contrastingly, people who have had significant injury to the brain... It’s not unreasonable to assume that a person who’s brain was transplanted from one body to another...

When an amputee has lost a foot or similar appendage, they often report "phantom limb" sensation, where they feel tingling or even pain in an area where they no longer have that appendage.

I wonder if they'd have a sense of "phantom brain," where they get tingling sensations where the former brain was connected. This is wildly thought provoking topic for me I must admit.

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

When an amputee has lost a foot or similar appendage, they often report "phantom limb" sensation, where they feel tingling or even pain in an area where they no longer have that appendage.

I wonder if they'd have a sense of "phantom brain," where they get tingling sensations where the former brain was connected. This is wildly thought provoking topic for me I must admit.

I think they’d be more likely to experience a sense of “phantom whole body”, where their mental image of the precise shape of their body was out-of-whack with their new one. I imagine this would be something like the “coltish” awkwardness rapidly growing children experience, where they seem unsure of the length of their limbs and mass of their bodies.

The visual experience would likely be strange, as well. If you’ve ever worn extensive costume makeup, you’ve likely been startled when you failed briefly to recognize your own reflection in a mirror, or caught a glimpse of you disguised hands. Getting a whole body transplant might be like this, but couldn’t be washed off with a bit of cold cream.

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by CraigD

I imagine this would be something like the “coltish” awkwardness rapidly growing children experience, where they seem unsure of the length of their limbs and mass of their bodies...If you’ve ever worn extensive costume makeup, you’ve likely been startled when you failed briefly to recognize your own reflection in a mirror, or caught a glimpse of you disguised hands.

Good call with both examples. Clear and easy to follow... Although I'm none too pleased with the possibility of bumped and bruised toes, legs, and arms all over again...

I was impacted greatly by this during puberty, where my body grew faster than my own awareness of the space it occupied.

[Deepak Modak]

o