X-Message-Number: 981
Subject: CRYONICS Neurosuspension vs. Whole-Body
Date: Mon, 13 Jul 92 12:58:15 -0400
From: 

A question arose in sci.cryonics that I couldn't
immediately answer.  I'll cross-post any further contributions to this
thread to the newsgroup.

> Subject: Cephalic Isolation (was Re: Neurosuspension of ...)

Thanks for the thought-provoking post, John.


In article <>  (John 
Hagerman) writes:

   I assumed that the "cephalic isolation" procedure (for which details
   would be provided upon request, probably because they would be too
   gross for some) was doing just that.  I also assumed that it is done
   last because the rest of the procedure is more easily done with the
   entire body intact (easier to get to the veins, etc).

Your assumptions are right.

   I think I will prefer to have my whole body frozen and restored.  The
   shock of a totally new environment will be pretty bad.  The shock may
   be lessened by having my whole "self" restored, so that my memories of
   self correspond to my existence (injuries, "muscle memory" abilities,
   etc).  Then, as I become accustomed to the various options (keep the
   brain but put it in a new body, move everything to hardware, etc), I
   can ease into the future at a whatever pace is comfortable for me.

Freezing the whole body is certainly an option.  There are some
disadvantages, though:

1. The spine breaks in several places during freezing, so extensive repair
   would be required (although extensive repair is already required...
   Hmm...  Repairing a broken spine does look easier than repairing a
   frozen brain, doesn't it?).  
2. Brain perfusion during neurosuspension is typically better than
   brain perfusion during whole-body suspension.  
3. A head is much more portable than a body, which may make a
   difference if political troubles arise.  (For example, the location
   of Dora Kent's head is presently unknown to all but a few people.
   I'm not one of them.)
4. Suspending a body costs more.
5. If repairing a body is harder than making a new one, then
   stipulating that you only want to come back when the body can be
   repaired may delay reanimation, thus increasing the troubles you
   have adjusting to the new society.  On the other hand, if repair is
   easier than replacement, then the opposite holds.  By this
   criterion, freezing whole-body and then saying you want to come
   back as soon as possible (discarding the body if necessary) looks
   best. 

So if we assume portability and cost aren't issues, these are the
questions to answer to decide between whole body suspension (with
reanimation as soon as possible, discarding the body if necessary) and
neurosuspension:

1. How much better is brain perfusion during neurosuspension?  (Does
anyone have pointers to literature about this?  I think there's an
Alcor tract I could dig up.)

2. How important is preservation of the body to adjustment after
reanimation?  (How disoriented do new quadraplegics get?)

Tim

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