Cortexitron

The Cortexitron is a piece of Autobot technology from the Generation 1 continuity family.

The Cortexitron is a device that transfer consciousness from one body to another.

Fiction

The Transformers cartoon

After Spike Witwicky was seriously injured in battle, his doctor suggested that his only chance is to transfer his mind elsewhere so that his body can be operated on. Coincidentally, the Autobots happened to have a spare body lying around, so Spike's consciousness was moved. His personality was destabilized by the process, and he went on a rampage and was eventually taken in by Megatron's lies. Eventually he comes to his senses and allows his consciousness to be returned to his original body. Autobot Spike

Ask Vector Prime

Years later, Professor Chase took ill. To preserve his life, his consciousness was transferred into a backup Binaltech unit that had once housed Prowl's mind. The process was not a complete success, and some memories were lost, but eventually he was reawakened as the Maximal Prowl II. Ask Vector Prime

Notes

• The Cortexitron went unnamed in its original appearance. The name came from the pages of Ask Vector Prime some thirty years later.
• With a name like Cortexitron, it pretty much had to have been invented by either Wheeljack or Megatron. We're guessing Wheeljack.