As the brain cells develop and then deteriorate and die, the way a human sense’s, records, recalls and deals with reality changes.

The way a 1 year old relates to the world is very different to the way a 5 year old relates to the world which is very different from the way a teenager relates to the world which is very different from the way a 30 year old relates to the world which is very different to the way a senile octogenarian relates to the world.

Brain cells continue to be added from the first few months after conception to the end of the first half year of life outside the womb. These cells mature at different rates, depending on where they are in the brain. The brain is fully mature at around the age of 19 when it performs at its peak.

Brain cells begin to die from early childhood. Any part of memory or function which is stored in dead cell is permanently lost. Since there is a lot of redundancy, the loss of a skill or the distortion of a memory is generally not obvious unless there has been a dramatic and sudden loss of brain function.

The person who has had a stroke has already partly “died”. They are like an amputee whose existance continues minus a limb. Only part of their body/brain continues to exist.

If a person’s consciousness was to be “resurrected” then which one would it be? Would it be the one they had at the age of 1? 5? 10? 30? 60? senility? pre-stroke? post-stroke? Which memories would they recall? What about false and distorted memories?

What consciousness would a boxer have after “resurrection”? Would it be the one he had just before he lost his first brain cell to boxing? Would it be the immature one he had before he lost his very first brain cell during childhood?

Of course, the same questions would apply to the type of “spiritual body” a human would have after “resurrection”. Do they have the physique that had at the moment of brain death. Which parts removed by accident or surgery to they have in the “after life”? Do they have parts which were damaged at some time before physical death? Are they resurrected with all their genetic flaws?

The personality and cognitive “footprint” of a person is strongly dependent on the stage of life, their experiences, what they recall of past events, what they have learned … and so on.

Which aspects of a person would survive or be restored in this hypothetical situation? To whom would they be recognizable following this restoration? Would they be recognizable as the “same” person at all?

However, it seems possible for even the positions of trillions of complex cells to be represented as information. In this sense our brain, and even the rest of our body, could be a “pattern.”