X-Message-Number: 4991 From: (Brian Wowk) Newsgroups: sci.cryonics Subject: Re: Dendritic spines Date: 14 Oct 95 05:50:51 GMT Message-ID: <> References: <45i9tf$> <> <> <> Okay, you got me. I suppose the basic impossiblity of holding intelligent conversations with dogs makes that model inherently limited in its ability to measure preservation of high level intellectual function. What we really need is another electron microscopy study, like the one recently presented by BioPreservation, but extended to include a long period of cold ischemia. Still, I would be very surprised if a 60% loss of dendritic spines was compatible with the excellent neurological outcomes seen in the 5-6 hour ischemic time dogs. Of course, there remains the possibility that long cold ischemia wipes out declarative memory by a process OTHER THAN loss of dendritic spines, which may be what you are alluding to. But that is a separate question. Perhaps some of the people involved in those hypothermic dog experiments (Mike Darwin, Steve Harris?) can comment on whether they believe declarative memory survived in the animals, or whether more elaborate studies could be devised to test this. ---Brian Wowk Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=4991