Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
@arielzj.bsky.social
Neuroscientist, author | Book out now on brain preservation as a means of life extension: https://www.arielzj.com/the-future-loves-you |
Currently a postdoctoral fellow in @conscious_tlab
Currently a postdoctoral fellow in @conscious_tlab
Pinned
'The Future Loves You: How and Why We Should Abolish Death' is out now!
Read it, listen to it, steal it, ban it, review it, trash it, love it, etc
Read it, listen to it, steal it, ban it, review it, trash it, love it, etc
Come along if you'll be at SfN!
2 weeks until our satellite event at SFN SD! RSVP at link in bio.
November 7, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Come along if you'll be at SfN!
Reposted by Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
Remembering past winners and nominations for the Aspirational Neuroscience Awards!
November 5, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Remembering past winners and nominations for the Aspirational Neuroscience Awards!
Reposted by Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
Memory Decoding advances nominated for 2025 Aspirational Neuroscience Awards!
November 5, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Memory Decoding advances nominated for 2025 Aspirational Neuroscience Awards!
Reposted by Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
If people with advanced dementia really do sometimes cognitively recover just before death, i.e. terminal lucidity is real, it means that even severely damaged brains can have their function restored.
It's crazy that science hasn't investigated this properly yet
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
It's crazy that science hasn't investigated this properly yet
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
Is terminal lucidity real?
Or are we just desperate to say one last goodbye?
open.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:28 AM
If people with advanced dementia really do sometimes cognitively recover just before death, i.e. terminal lucidity is real, it means that even severely damaged brains can have their function restored.
It's crazy that science hasn't investigated this properly yet
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
It's crazy that science hasn't investigated this properly yet
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
If people with advanced dementia really do sometimes cognitively recover just before death, i.e. terminal lucidity is real, it means that even severely damaged brains can have their function restored.
It's crazy that science hasn't investigated this properly yet
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
It's crazy that science hasn't investigated this properly yet
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
Is terminal lucidity real?
Or are we just desperate to say one last goodbye?
open.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:28 AM
If people with advanced dementia really do sometimes cognitively recover just before death, i.e. terminal lucidity is real, it means that even severely damaged brains can have their function restored.
It's crazy that science hasn't investigated this properly yet
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
It's crazy that science hasn't investigated this properly yet
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
Reposted by Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
Sydney people:
I'm giving a talk at #SXSWSydney on Mon afternoon hosted by Tom Nash focusing on survey results of hundreds of neuroscientists on their thoughts about the feasibility of brain preservation for eventual uploading.
Come check it out!
www.sxswsydney.com/lineup?date=...
I'm giving a talk at #SXSWSydney on Mon afternoon hosted by Tom Nash focusing on survey results of hundreds of neuroscientists on their thoughts about the feasibility of brain preservation for eventual uploading.
Come check it out!
www.sxswsydney.com/lineup?date=...
October 10, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Sydney people:
I'm giving a talk at #SXSWSydney on Mon afternoon hosted by Tom Nash focusing on survey results of hundreds of neuroscientists on their thoughts about the feasibility of brain preservation for eventual uploading.
Come check it out!
www.sxswsydney.com/lineup?date=...
I'm giving a talk at #SXSWSydney on Mon afternoon hosted by Tom Nash focusing on survey results of hundreds of neuroscientists on their thoughts about the feasibility of brain preservation for eventual uploading.
Come check it out!
www.sxswsydney.com/lineup?date=...
Sydney people:
I'm giving a talk at #SXSWSydney on Mon afternoon hosted by Tom Nash focusing on survey results of hundreds of neuroscientists on their thoughts about the feasibility of brain preservation for eventual uploading.
Come check it out!
www.sxswsydney.com/lineup?date=...
I'm giving a talk at #SXSWSydney on Mon afternoon hosted by Tom Nash focusing on survey results of hundreds of neuroscientists on their thoughts about the feasibility of brain preservation for eventual uploading.
Come check it out!
www.sxswsydney.com/lineup?date=...
October 10, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Sydney people:
I'm giving a talk at #SXSWSydney on Mon afternoon hosted by Tom Nash focusing on survey results of hundreds of neuroscientists on their thoughts about the feasibility of brain preservation for eventual uploading.
Come check it out!
www.sxswsydney.com/lineup?date=...
I'm giving a talk at #SXSWSydney on Mon afternoon hosted by Tom Nash focusing on survey results of hundreds of neuroscientists on their thoughts about the feasibility of brain preservation for eventual uploading.
Come check it out!
www.sxswsydney.com/lineup?date=...
When writing a chapter on how optogenetics enables memory manipulation (forced recall, erasure, etc), I was shocked that there were no popular science books that already covered the topic.
I'm glad to see that's finally been remedied! Very much excited to read this.
I'm glad to see that's finally been remedied! Very much excited to read this.
Good morning everyone!
So, I wrote a book (!!) and it’s coming out November 4th in physical and audiobook form. It’s called *How to Change a Memory*
www.amazon.com/How-Change-M...
So, I wrote a book (!!) and it’s coming out November 4th in physical and audiobook form. It’s called *How to Change a Memory*
www.amazon.com/How-Change-M...
How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist’s Quest to Alter the Past
Buy How to Change a Memory: One Neuroscientist’s Quest to Alter the Past on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders
www.amazon.com
September 16, 2025 at 5:57 AM
When writing a chapter on how optogenetics enables memory manipulation (forced recall, erasure, etc), I was shocked that there were no popular science books that already covered the topic.
I'm glad to see that's finally been remedied! Very much excited to read this.
I'm glad to see that's finally been remedied! Very much excited to read this.
Reposted by Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
New #preprint out! In this paper @naotsuchiya.bsky.social and I take a look at the current debate on theories of #consciousness from a #meta-theoretical standpoint, and we argue that there is an ongoing process of #schismogenesis in consciousness science. [1/n]
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) Intrinsic Universal Structures and Extrinsic Local Functions
PDF | Contemporary consciousness science faces an impasse: competing theoretical frameworks, structuralist vs. functionalist, universal vs. local,... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on...
www.researchgate.net
September 14, 2025 at 10:30 AM
New #preprint out! In this paper @naotsuchiya.bsky.social and I take a look at the current debate on theories of #consciousness from a #meta-theoretical standpoint, and we argue that there is an ongoing process of #schismogenesis in consciousness science. [1/n]
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
"I'd accepted losing my husband, until others started getting theirs back"
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
"I'd accepted losing my husband, until others started getting theirs back"
"We're not just grieving the dead. We're grieving our own failure of imagination. And that's a grief our psychological frameworks aren't equipped to handle."
open.substack.com
September 3, 2025 at 12:05 PM
"I'd accepted losing my husband, until others started getting theirs back"
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
Melbourne people, I'll be giving a talk at the @wheelercentre.bsky.social tomorrow.
It's part of the Now or Never festival's theme this year: "I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE" - very on topic for my book!
nowornever.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/twc-ta...
It's part of the Now or Never festival's theme this year: "I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE" - very on topic for my book!
nowornever.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/twc-ta...
August 26, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Melbourne people, I'll be giving a talk at the @wheelercentre.bsky.social tomorrow.
It's part of the Now or Never festival's theme this year: "I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE" - very on topic for my book!
nowornever.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/twc-ta...
It's part of the Now or Never festival's theme this year: "I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE" - very on topic for my book!
nowornever.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/twc-ta...
However much you appreciate sewers, it's not enough. Great piece on how our lives have gotten less shitty throughout history.
www.asimov.press/p/sewers?r=4...
www.asimov.press/p/sewers?r=4...
What We Find in the Sewers
Our ancestors once spread their excess effluent on their fields; now we mine it for vital molecules.
www.asimov.press
August 25, 2025 at 10:38 PM
However much you appreciate sewers, it's not enough. Great piece on how our lives have gotten less shitty throughout history.
www.asimov.press/p/sewers?r=4...
www.asimov.press/p/sewers?r=4...
@spencrgreenberg.bsky.social grilled me on:
1. Why do humans live 80 years, instead of 20 or 300?
2. How has the understanding of death changed over time?
3. If someone walks into a teleporter, who comes out the other end?
Was a great discussion!
podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/276/...
1. Why do humans live 80 years, instead of 20 or 300?
2. How has the understanding of death changed over time?
3. If someone walks into a teleporter, who comes out the other end?
Was a great discussion!
podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/276/...
August 22, 2025 at 11:11 PM
@spencrgreenberg.bsky.social grilled me on:
1. Why do humans live 80 years, instead of 20 or 300?
2. How has the understanding of death changed over time?
3. If someone walks into a teleporter, who comes out the other end?
Was a great discussion!
podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/276/...
1. Why do humans live 80 years, instead of 20 or 300?
2. How has the understanding of death changed over time?
3. If someone walks into a teleporter, who comes out the other end?
Was a great discussion!
podcast.clearerthinking.org/episode/276/...
Eating a delicious lunch is definitely the right place to make the case for an unlimited lifespan.
Great piece by Cass Knowlton in @theageaustralia.bsky.social on my work and how it might help people enjoy great food indefinitely
www.theage.com.au/national/vic...
Great piece by Cass Knowlton in @theageaustralia.bsky.social on my work and how it might help people enjoy great food indefinitely
www.theage.com.au/national/vic...
August 19, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Eating a delicious lunch is definitely the right place to make the case for an unlimited lifespan.
Great piece by Cass Knowlton in @theageaustralia.bsky.social on my work and how it might help people enjoy great food indefinitely
www.theage.com.au/national/vic...
Great piece by Cass Knowlton in @theageaustralia.bsky.social on my work and how it might help people enjoy great food indefinitely
www.theage.com.au/national/vic...
"The treatment works like this: doctors use a modified teleporter that targets just one cubic centimeter of brain tissue at a time. That tiny chunk gets scanned, disintegrated, and instantly rebuilt in the exact same spot - minus any disease proteins."
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
In-Place Teleportation And More: New Thought Experiments For Probing Personal Identity & Survival
In an era of shrinking science budgets, thought experiments remain affordable
open.substack.com
July 19, 2025 at 11:49 AM
"The treatment works like this: doctors use a modified teleporter that targets just one cubic centimeter of brain tissue at a time. That tiny chunk gets scanned, disintegrated, and instantly rebuilt in the exact same spot - minus any disease proteins."
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
open.substack.com/pub/preservi...
Reposted by Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
Awake, asleep or drugged? This #PreRegistered study in flies by @naotsuchiya.bsky.social &co uses a data-driven approach to search for markers that can determine the individual performance of time-series features in distinguishing levels of #consciousness @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/44xzIeE
July 14, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Awake, asleep or drugged? This #PreRegistered study in flies by @naotsuchiya.bsky.social &co uses a data-driven approach to search for markers that can determine the individual performance of time-series features in distinguishing levels of #consciousness @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/44xzIeE
Do synapses come in analog or binary strengths? Come discuss tomorrow!
Join our Memory Decoding journal club on TUESDAY: carboncopies.org/Events/Journ... #neuroscience #memory #decoding #aspirational #prize
July 15, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Do synapses come in analog or binary strengths? Come discuss tomorrow!
If proponents of brain preservation/biostasis/cryonics want the field to become mainstream science, we need standards for what counts as a well-preserved brain. To become mainstream medicine, we need 3rd-party reviews and accreditation.
The Brain Preservation Foundation wants to make this happen
1/n
The Brain Preservation Foundation wants to make this happen
1/n
July 3, 2025 at 11:37 AM
If proponents of brain preservation/biostasis/cryonics want the field to become mainstream science, we need standards for what counts as a well-preserved brain. To become mainstream medicine, we need 3rd-party reviews and accreditation.
The Brain Preservation Foundation wants to make this happen
1/n
The Brain Preservation Foundation wants to make this happen
1/n
Reposted by Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
Join tomorrow 3 pm PDT! Systems consolidation reorganizes hippocampal engram circuitry - carboncopies.org/Events/Journ... #neuroscience #memory #decoding #hippocampus #consolidation
June 30, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Join tomorrow 3 pm PDT! Systems consolidation reorganizes hippocampal engram circuitry - carboncopies.org/Events/Journ... #neuroscience #memory #decoding #hippocampus #consolidation
New paper showing cryopreservation & subsequent functional/electrophysiological recovery in both
1. hippocampal slices
2. partially in whole mouse brains (!)
Great discussion of how to deal with osmotic shrinkage too
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1. hippocampal slices
2. partially in whole mouse brains (!)
Great discussion of how to deal with osmotic shrinkage too
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
June 27, 2025 at 7:06 AM
New paper showing cryopreservation & subsequent functional/electrophysiological recovery in both
1. hippocampal slices
2. partially in whole mouse brains (!)
Great discussion of how to deal with osmotic shrinkage too
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1. hippocampal slices
2. partially in whole mouse brains (!)
Great discussion of how to deal with osmotic shrinkage too
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
What do neuroscientists think is the physical basis of long-term memory?
Could memory theoretically be read out from a static snapshot of brain structure?
Our survey of hundreds of participants has just been published!
1/🧵
Could memory theoretically be read out from a static snapshot of brain structure?
Our survey of hundreds of participants has just been published!
1/🧵
June 25, 2025 at 10:09 PM
What do neuroscientists think is the physical basis of long-term memory?
Could memory theoretically be read out from a static snapshot of brain structure?
Our survey of hundreds of participants has just been published!
1/🧵
Could memory theoretically be read out from a static snapshot of brain structure?
Our survey of hundreds of participants has just been published!
1/🧵
Melbourne people,
On Wed 27 Aug, I'll be giving a talk at the State Library (Wheeler Centre) about:
-why we die
-how by preserving someone's brain, we can stop them from dying
-many other weird and fun things from my new book
nowornever.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/twc-ta...
On Wed 27 Aug, I'll be giving a talk at the State Library (Wheeler Centre) about:
-why we die
-how by preserving someone's brain, we can stop them from dying
-many other weird and fun things from my new book
nowornever.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/twc-ta...
How to Live Forever - Now or Never
Join neuroscientist Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston as he offers a compelling argument for why human life could – and should – be eternal.
nowornever.melbourne.vic.gov.au
June 23, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Melbourne people,
On Wed 27 Aug, I'll be giving a talk at the State Library (Wheeler Centre) about:
-why we die
-how by preserving someone's brain, we can stop them from dying
-many other weird and fun things from my new book
nowornever.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/twc-ta...
On Wed 27 Aug, I'll be giving a talk at the State Library (Wheeler Centre) about:
-why we die
-how by preserving someone's brain, we can stop them from dying
-many other weird and fun things from my new book
nowornever.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/twc-ta...
Reposted by Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
"How much delay could the brain withstand between the moment of death and the moment perfusion started? ...After hundreds of experiments on rats and mice, I found my answer: 12 minutes."
@asteriskmag.bsky.social asteriskmag.com/issues/10/br...
@asteriskmag.bsky.social asteriskmag.com/issues/10/br...
Brain Freeze—Asterisk
The idea of cryonics — freezing the bodies of the dead in the hopes that they can one day be revived — has existed since the 1960s. We’ve since learned that perfect preservation is much, much harder t...
asteriskmag.com
June 17, 2025 at 9:48 AM
"How much delay could the brain withstand between the moment of death and the moment perfusion started? ...After hundreds of experiments on rats and mice, I found my answer: 12 minutes."
@asteriskmag.bsky.social asteriskmag.com/issues/10/br...
@asteriskmag.bsky.social asteriskmag.com/issues/10/br...