Scientists have developed a way to turn memories on and off — literally with the flip of a switch. Using an electronic system that duplicates the neural signals associated with memory, they managed to replicate the brain function in rats associated with long-term learned behavior.
“Flip the switch on, and the rats remember. Flip it off, and the rats forget,” said Theodore Berger of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Berger is the lead author of an article that will be published in the Journal of Neural Engineering. His team worked with scientists from Wake Forest University in the study, building on recent advances in our understanding of the brain area known as the hippocampus and its role in learning.
Full article at ScienceDaily
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I don’t usually quote Megadeth as a rule. But OMG “Next thing you know – they’ll take my thoughts away!”
I wonder if it could make you remember stuff that you’ve forgotten. Possiilities…
I’ll bet this will be a forerunner to a machine like the one in ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’. D:
Scientist: I will now demonstrate how to turn memory off at the flick of a switch. So!
Reporter: How does this actually work Professor?
Scientist: How does what actually work, and why are we in this laboratory?