… think Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. At least in the sense of memory manipulation. Jessica Hamzelou in NewScientist (14 March 2015) reports scientists can implant false memories in mice.
[Karim] Benchenane’s team used electrodes to monitor the activity of mice’s place cells [neurons that fire in response to being in or thinking about a specific place] as the animals explored an enclosed arena, and in each mouse they identified a cell that fired only in a certain arena location. Later, when the mice were sleeping, the researchers monitored the animals’ brain activity as they replayed the day’s experiences. A computer recognised when the specific place cell fired; each time it did, a separate electrode would stimulate brain areas associated with reward.
When the mice awoke, they made a beeline for the location represented by the place cell that had been linked to a rewarding feeling in their sleep. A brand new memory – linking a place with reward – had been formed.
It seems so reasonable, but assuming this can be scaled up to human memory, it’s a trifle unsettling, especially if an electrode could be replaced with an electric cap.
Or a remote device.
I suppose I could talk about how memories are notoriously unreliable; pictures and videos are much more trustworthy. But then think about how they can be modified.
Reality is becoming far too plastic for my tastes.
