Neuropreservation
Encyclopedia
Neuropreservation is cryopreservation
of the human brain
with the intention of future resuscitation and regrowth of a healthy body around the brain. Usually the brain is left within the head for physical protection, so the whole head is cryopreserved
. Neuropreservation is a type of cryonics
procedure and, like cryonics in general, is considered highly speculative and reliant on future technologies. A cryonics patient who undergoes neuropreservation is said to be a neuropatient.
Recently, the procedure is most often done for the sake of vitrification of the brain (neurovitrification
), which has not yet been perfected on a full body level and is seen by some as a superior method of preservation, causing almost no tissue damage.
and the Cryonics Institute
, along with the community of people signed up for or interested in the process) claim that extremely advanced future technologies will be required for successful cryonics, such as mature nanomedicine
. It is said these technologies must necessarily be capable of tissue and organ regeneration, so neuropreservation is just as likely (or unlikely) to work as whole body cryopreservation
. Neuropreservation is typically less expensive than whole body cryopreservation, and can potentially result in better brain preservation because the process can be optimized for the brain. Neuropreservations are easier to maintain, and none has been lost to thawing as of yet.
The hypothetical future recovery process is said to involve programming cells on the brain to regenerate a new body around the repaired brain inside a fluid life support environment, requiring cell-by-cell repair technology, as cryonics in general would. News media sometimes report that new bodies are expected from cloning
, but some cryonics experts dismiss cloning
, claiming that nothing as crude as nuclear transfer
or transplants
will ever have to be used in cryonics
. They believe the methods used for recovery of neuropatients will be an extension of mainstream medical technologies that will someday be developed to regrow lost limbs and treat severe trauma.
Another, equally speculative technology for the revival of neuropatients, or cryonics patients generally, is mind transfer
. Although philosophically more radical, transferring the information content of a cryopreserved brain into an artificial brain may be no more or less feasible than re-growing a biological body, especially to a society with technology capable of reviving cryopreserved brain tissue.
has theorized that neuropatients will be revived after procedures have been perfected on whole body patients, and therefore have better chances for revival.
, and Fred and Linda Chamberlain
. The Chamberlains were the founders of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation
. In 1976 Fred’s father became the first of many neuropreservation patients at Alcor
.
Prior to the year 2000, neuropreservation was performed by surgical separation of the body from the head (called cephalic isolation or "neuroseparation") at the end of cryoprotectant
perfusion
performed on the upper body via the ascending aorta
. After that year, Alcor
began performing cephalic isolation before cryoprotectant
perfusion, in deep hypothermia
, and then using the carotid and vetebral arteries directly for perfusion with cryoprotectants.
As of 2008, Alcor and KrioRus
are the only cryonics
organizations that offer neuropreservation. Other organizations, such as the other major provider, the Cryonics Institute
, avoid it because they say it is bad for public relations. Alcor
claims there are good technical justifications for neuropreservation, and that they will continue to offer it. Approximately three quarters of the cryonics
patients stored at Alcor
are neuropatients.
Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, such as 77 K or −196 °C . At these low temperatures, any biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped...
of the human brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
with the intention of future resuscitation and regrowth of a healthy body around the brain. Usually the brain is left within the head for physical protection, so the whole head is cryopreserved
Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, such as 77 K or −196 °C . At these low temperatures, any biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped...
. Neuropreservation is a type of cryonics
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
procedure and, like cryonics in general, is considered highly speculative and reliant on future technologies. A cryonics patient who undergoes neuropreservation is said to be a neuropatient.
Recently, the procedure is most often done for the sake of vitrification of the brain (neurovitrification
Neurovitrification
Neurovitrification is the term that refers to vitrification of only the human brain , usually with the intention of neuropreservation. The term is used in cryonics....
), which has not yet been perfected on a full body level and is seen by some as a superior method of preservation, causing almost no tissue damage.
Future recovery prospects
Cryonics proponents (providers AlcorAlcor Life Extension Foundation
The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often referred to as Alcor, is a Scottsdale, Arizona, USA-based nonprofit company that researches, advocates for and performs cryonics, the preservation of humans in liquid nitrogen after legal death, with hopes of restoring them to full health when new...
and the Cryonics Institute
Cryonics Institute
The Cryonics Institute is a member-owned-and-operated not-for-profit corporation which provides cryonics services. It is located in Clinton Township, Michigan....
, along with the community of people signed up for or interested in the process) claim that extremely advanced future technologies will be required for successful cryonics, such as mature nanomedicine
Nanomedicine
Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology. Current problems for nanomedicine involve understanding the issues related...
. It is said these technologies must necessarily be capable of tissue and organ regeneration, so neuropreservation is just as likely (or unlikely) to work as whole body cryopreservation
Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, such as 77 K or −196 °C . At these low temperatures, any biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped...
. Neuropreservation is typically less expensive than whole body cryopreservation, and can potentially result in better brain preservation because the process can be optimized for the brain. Neuropreservations are easier to maintain, and none has been lost to thawing as of yet.
The hypothetical future recovery process is said to involve programming cells on the brain to regenerate a new body around the repaired brain inside a fluid life support environment, requiring cell-by-cell repair technology, as cryonics in general would. News media sometimes report that new bodies are expected from cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
, but some cryonics experts dismiss cloning
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
, claiming that nothing as crude as nuclear transfer
Nuclear transfer
Nuclear Transfer is a form of cloning. The steps involve removing the DNA from an oocyte , and injecting the nucleus which contains the DNA to be cloned. In rare instances, the newly constructed cell will divide normally, replicating the new DNA while remaining in a pluripotent state...
or transplants
Organ transplant
Organ transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. The emerging field of regenerative medicine is allowing scientists and engineers to create organs to be...
will ever have to be used in cryonics
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
. They believe the methods used for recovery of neuropatients will be an extension of mainstream medical technologies that will someday be developed to regrow lost limbs and treat severe trauma.
Another, equally speculative technology for the revival of neuropatients, or cryonics patients generally, is mind transfer
Mind transfer
Whole brain emulation or mind uploading is the hypothetical process of transferring or copying a conscious mind from a brain to a non-biological substrate by scanning and mapping a biological brain in detail and copying its state into a computer system or another computational device...
. Although philosophically more radical, transferring the information content of a cryopreserved brain into an artificial brain may be no more or less feasible than re-growing a biological body, especially to a society with technology capable of reviving cryopreserved brain tissue.
Advantages
Several advantages to neuropreservation over whole body preservation have been put forth. These include lower costs on the part of the patient and for storage, greater transportability in case of disaster, ease in reaching the brain with cryoprotectants and thus a better chance that the brain is preserved, and quicker cooling which may also increase likelihood of future recovery. Aubrey de GreyAubrey de Grey
Aubrey David Nicholas Jasper de Grey is an English author and theoretician in the field of gerontology, and the Chief Science Officer of the SENS Foundation. He is editor-in-chief of the academic journal Rejuvenation Research, author of The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging and co-author...
has theorized that neuropatients will be revived after procedures have been perfected on whole body patients, and therefore have better chances for revival.
History
Neuropreservation was first proposed in 1965 by cryonics co-creator Evan Cooper, proposed again in a speculative scientific paper by gerontologist George M. Martin in 1971, and independently proposed yet again in 1974 by Mike DarwinMike Darwin
Michael G. Darwin, also known as Michael Federowicz, was the president of the cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation from 1983 to 1988, and Research Director until 1992...
, and Fred and Linda Chamberlain
Fred and Linda Chamberlain
Frederick Rockwell Chamberlain III and his wife Linda are the founders of the cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation. Their long and continued history of activism in cryonics make them among the most well-known cryonics pioneers...
. The Chamberlains were the founders of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation
Alcor Life Extension Foundation
The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often referred to as Alcor, is a Scottsdale, Arizona, USA-based nonprofit company that researches, advocates for and performs cryonics, the preservation of humans in liquid nitrogen after legal death, with hopes of restoring them to full health when new...
. In 1976 Fred’s father became the first of many neuropreservation patients at Alcor
Alcor Life Extension Foundation
The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often referred to as Alcor, is a Scottsdale, Arizona, USA-based nonprofit company that researches, advocates for and performs cryonics, the preservation of humans in liquid nitrogen after legal death, with hopes of restoring them to full health when new...
.
Prior to the year 2000, neuropreservation was performed by surgical separation of the body from the head (called cephalic isolation or "neuroseparation") at the end of cryoprotectant
Cryoprotectant
A cryoprotectant is a substance that is used to protect biological tissue from freezing damage . Arctic and Antarctic insects, fish, amphibians and reptiles create cryoprotectants in their bodies to minimize freezing damage during cold winter periods. Insects most often use sugars or polyols as...
perfusion
Perfusion
In physiology, perfusion is the process of nutritive delivery of arterial blood to a capillary bed in the biological tissue. The word is derived from the French verb "perfuser" meaning to "pour over or through."...
performed on the upper body via the ascending aorta
Aorta
The aorta is the largest artery in the body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it branches off into two smaller arteries...
. After that year, Alcor
Alcor Life Extension Foundation
The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often referred to as Alcor, is a Scottsdale, Arizona, USA-based nonprofit company that researches, advocates for and performs cryonics, the preservation of humans in liquid nitrogen after legal death, with hopes of restoring them to full health when new...
began performing cephalic isolation before cryoprotectant
Cryoprotectant
A cryoprotectant is a substance that is used to protect biological tissue from freezing damage . Arctic and Antarctic insects, fish, amphibians and reptiles create cryoprotectants in their bodies to minimize freezing damage during cold winter periods. Insects most often use sugars or polyols as...
perfusion, in deep hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
, and then using the carotid and vetebral arteries directly for perfusion with cryoprotectants.
As of 2008, Alcor and KrioRus
KrioRus
KrioRus is the first Russian cryonics company. Established in 2005 by 8 Russian cryonicists, it is the first cryonics company outside the United States, except for Alcor-UK ....
are the only cryonics
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
organizations that offer neuropreservation. Other organizations, such as the other major provider, the Cryonics Institute
Cryonics Institute
The Cryonics Institute is a member-owned-and-operated not-for-profit corporation which provides cryonics services. It is located in Clinton Township, Michigan....
, avoid it because they say it is bad for public relations. Alcor
Alcor Life Extension Foundation
The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often referred to as Alcor, is a Scottsdale, Arizona, USA-based nonprofit company that researches, advocates for and performs cryonics, the preservation of humans in liquid nitrogen after legal death, with hopes of restoring them to full health when new...
claims there are good technical justifications for neuropreservation, and that they will continue to offer it. Approximately three quarters of the cryonics
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
patients stored at Alcor
Alcor Life Extension Foundation
The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, most often referred to as Alcor, is a Scottsdale, Arizona, USA-based nonprofit company that researches, advocates for and performs cryonics, the preservation of humans in liquid nitrogen after legal death, with hopes of restoring them to full health when new...
are neuropatients.