Synaptic pattern A synaptic pattern or neural pattern was the unique configuration of neuron s and synapse s in the brain . Since memories , thought patterns , and aspects of personality were encoded in this pattern , it was often considered to represent a person ' s consciousness . In the 22nd century , the Ilari autarch Tieran found a way to transfer his neural pattern from one body to the next , using a cortical implant to enhance the pattern and send it through bioelectric microfibers in his finger s . He lived this way for over two centuries , taking over a succession of bodies until he was finally removed in 2373 , via a synaptic stimulator , and destroyed . ( ) In the hopes of giving Data a better understanding of Human ity , Doctor Noonian Soong experiment ed with scanning the synaptic patterns of colonist s on Omicron Theta and programming them into Data ' s neural net . ( ) In 2368 , three disembodied Ux - Mal criminal s superimposed their neural patterns over those of Data , Deanna Troi , and Miles O ' Brien during an away mission to a moon of Mab - Bu VI . They attempted to take over the and do the same to the rest of the rest of the crew , as they had done to the crew of the two centuries before . ( ) In 2369 , Klingon cleric s on Boreth imprinted specific information onto the neurosynaptic patterns of a , giving him memories and experiences of the original Kahless the Unforgettable as described in Klingon sacred texts . ( ) In the same year , the analysis of synaptic patterns was used , along with a DNA scan , to determine that a transporter duplicate of William T . Riker , left on Nervala IV eight years before , had been created by a transporter accident and not through cloning . This discovery was realized because the double , later called Thomas Riker , lacked gene tic drift , with his and Will Riker ' s synaptic patterns being nearly identical except for minor variations resulting in different memories from their divergent lives after this accidental separation . ( ) Kobliad criminal Rao Vantika developed a way to preserve his consciousness beyond death by encoding his neural patterns into bioelectrical pulses and transmitting them along the glial cell s of another person ' s nervous system . He had the transfer mechanism installed beneath his fingernails , which allowed him to " inject " his mind into Julian Bashir after his body was critically injured in 2369 . Jadzia Dax found a way to disrupt Vantika ' s control over Bashir using an electromagnetic pulse , allowing the glial cells affected by Vantika to be beam ed out . Vantika ' s neural pattern was subsequently destroyed by Ty Kajada . ( ) In 2371 , a sample of photonic matter collected by the from a protostar displayed a synaptic pattern . This led the starship ' s crew to discover that it was , in fact , an intelligent photonic lifeform . ( ) In 2372 , the patterns of the Deep Space 9 senior staff were caught mid - transport as their runabout suffered a warp core breach . Their neural signatures had to be stored in the Deep Space 9 computer system until a means could be found to rematerialize them , which required all the memory storage space available on the station . ( ) When Tom Paris underwent hyper - evolution after he undertook an experimental warp 10 flight in 2372 , The Doctor observed that his synaptic patterns were changing every second . ( ) During a mind meld to resolve an apparent t ' lokan schism in Tuvok in 2373 , his neural pattern and that of Kathryn Janeway became locked . The Doctor separated them using thoron radiation , which also revealed the presence of a third pattern : a memory virus . ( ) Later that year , Enaran female Korenna Mirell attempted to impart memories of her people ' s genocide of the Regressive s to B ' Elanna Torres via telepathy . However , the synaptic patterns of the new memories were somewhat incompatible with Torres ' neural pathways , causing her to lose consciousness . ( ) When Captain Benjamin Sisko experienced a strange vision in 2374 , Doctor Bashir noted that his neural patterns were similar to those during a " pagh ' tem ' far " Sisko had experienced the previous year , leading Bashir to suspect that the Prophet s might be involved . ( ) The neural patterns of every individual assimilate d by the Borg Collective was stored and laid dormant in the cortical implant s of drones . In 2375 , the neural interlink frequency of a vinculum infected by Species 6339 ' s synthetic pathogen caused these patterns to emerge in Seven of Nine ' s mind . ( ) The Druoda series 5 long - range tactical armor unit included a complex bio - neural circuitry that mimicked a humanoid synaptic pattern . The Doctor suggested that the pattern of one such unit encountered by " Voyager " in 2375 could be transferred to a holographic matrix like his , but the device interpreted the transfer as an attempt by the " Voyager " crew to destroy it . ( ) In 2375 , Captain Kathryn Janeway asked an EMH whether the log s contained a neural pattern that might help in programming the universal translator to communicate with attacking nucleogenic lifeform s . The EMH , however , was from the " Equinox " and was less than helpful . ( ) In 2376 , B ' Elanna Torres re - created the conditions of an accident that had led her to experience a vision of the Barge of the Dead . Eventually , however , her neural patterns began to break down , threatening her life . ( ) Later in 2376 , Seven of Nine made an unsuccessful attempt to download information directly into her mind . This " threw [ her ] synaptic patterns into chaos , " causing her to experience paranoia . ( )