[extropy-chat] Brain and Cryonics: old memories

[Mike Lorrey]

--- "Robert J. Bradbury" <bradbury at aeiveos.com> wrote:
> 
> Scientists appear to have deduced that the "anterior cingulate
> cortex"
> (which you can lookup in wikipedia but it doesn't help much...)
> appears
> to be the central structure that holds lifelong memories:
>   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/05/040507081403.htm
> This is in contrast to the hippocampus which appears to deal with
> recent memories.
> 
> Now, given some of the recent conversations about cryonics and
> freezing damage and assuming that "lifelong memories" aren't
> scattered all over the brain and simply "fetched" by the anterior
> cingulate cortex this raises the interesting concept that there
> is a unique portion of your brain that represents "you".  Retain
> this in functional form and one has oneself.  Lose it or
> significantly damage it and one effectively loses oneself.

Well, that isn't inherently obvious, it only applies if your current
day personality is constantly being formed by reference to past
memories, rather than the memories making an impact when they happen,
and perhaps as they are processed in sleep, but having no long term
effect beyond this impact on the structure of the centers of reasoning
as they are processed.

=====
Mike Lorrey
Chairman, Free Town Land Development
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                                       - Gen. John Stark
Blog: http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Sadomikeyism


	
		
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